NHL All-Star Game preview

NHL All-Star Game preview

The great and the good of the NHL will descend on Las Vegas this weekend for the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, February 5, with the All-Star Skills competition taking place the day before.

The NBA All-Star weekend is almost upon us and there will be plenty of entertainment on show across February 17th-19th, culminating in the the All-Star game between Giannis Antetokounmpo's Eastern Conference All-Stars (Team Giannis) and a LeBron James-led Western Conference All-Stars (Team LeBron).

Eastern Conference All-Stars vs. Western Conference All-Stars predictions

This will be the 72nd staging of the NBA All-Star game and it is fair to say that Western Conference captain James has been a key figure in the recent history of the annual contest, as he has featured in 18 editions, winning 10 of those games.

That includes victories for James in each of the last five years, the first of which came when he was representing the Eastern Conference, although the last four have seen him in the Western Conference team after he swapped the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.

James, who is a three-time NBA All-Star game MVP, will be hoping to extend his winning run in the contest this weekend, and he will be supported in his team by regular season MVP contenders Luka Dončić  and Nikola Jokić.

Dallas Mavericks star Dončić is, at the time of writing, averaging more points than anyone in the NBA Western Conference this season (33.3). As for Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, he has helped his team to the top of the Western Conference and is well placed to land the regular season MVP for the third year in a row.

Jokić will also be backed up by familiar figures during Sunday's game, as Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and his team will be taking charge of the Western Conference - a fact that could boost the Serbian's chances of being named the game's best player.

The Eastern Conference also have a two-time MVP in their ranks in the form of Milwaukee Bucks star Antetokounmpo and he will be joined in the team by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid who will replace the injured Kevin Durant in the starting team.

Embiid, who will be making his sixth All-Star appearance, is averaging more points (33.4) than anyone else in the NBA this season. He will be supported by Giannis who leads the way for rebounds.

NBA All-Star Weekend

The All-Star game may be the main draw of the weekend, but there will be plenty more entertainment on show in Salt Lake City, beginning on Friday night with the All-Star Celebrity Game and Rising Stars Challenge.

The celebrity game will see a team led by Utah Jazz governor Ryan Smith take on a team captained by Jazz minority owner and NBA legend Dwyane Wade, with tennis star Frances Tiafoe, singer Kane Brown and rapper 21 Savage among the celebs set to be on show.

Saturday's entertainment will begin with the HBCU Classic between Grambling State University and Southern University before the All-Star Saturday programme sees players compete in the skills challenge, three-point contest and slam dunk contest.

The three-point contest could be particularly competitive. Among the players set to feature are Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz,  both featuring on the Western Conference team for Sunday's All-Star game, as well as Eastern Conference team member Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.

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