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This time of the year is all about one thing: Stars
The NFL has their Pro Bowl. The NHL has their All-Star festivities. The NBA’s All-Star weekend is one of the most anticipated of the year — at least to this basketball junkie. In Hollywood, the Oscars are a time to celebrate the year in film.
This is also the time of year where our very own movie buff, Dre, releases his inner Roger Ebert. It only made sense to marry tonight’s Oscars with next weekend’s All-Star festivities.
Enjoy the Sunday edition of That’s A Rap and chime in with your own predictions!
On This Episode:
The Rising Stars challenge was not a topic that was discussed, because the anger over Terence Davis’ omission was so blatant, we knew his play would do the talking! Pascal Siakam’s inclusion in the Skills Challenge — which I personally think was a year late — gives Raptors fans a rooting interest on Saturday.
Siakam will go up against Domantas Sabonis, Bam Adebayo, Spencer Dinwiddie, Khris Middleton, and former Skills Challenge champions, Patrick Beverley and Jayson Tatum. Hometown legend, Derrick Rose, dropped out with no replacement revealed yet. We each chose our winners, but let us know in the comments who you think will win.
The 3-point contest will look a little different this year. With a pair of additional 30-foot shots worth three points each, the NBA appears to have embraced the increase in range of today’s players. The NBA has also embraced that Matt Thomas would obliterate the field, so it was nice of them to leave him out and give the other players a chance!
The 3-point contestants are Davis Bertans, Devonte Graham, Buddy Hield, Dame Lillard, Duncan Robinson, Trae Young, hometown favourite, Zach LaVine, and reigning champ, Joe Harris.
For the Dunk contest, three of the four competitors have taken part in previous editions. Aaron Gordon, Dwight Howard, and Derrick Jones Jr. have each taken turns getting fans off their seats. The wild card is Pat Connaughton. His invite was completely unexpected and, frankly, very intriguing. Who do you have winning?
It’s impossible to put in words how perfectly Dre laid out his comparisons of NBA teams to this year’s Best Picture nominees. Just click the link and enjoy!
2:05 - Previewing All-Star Saturday
21:55 - “He blew it out!”
24:20 - NBA teams as Best Picture nominees
34:10 - NBA players as Best Director nominees