The NBA All-Star Teams Have Been Set

The stage has been set for 2022 NBA All-star weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.Tonight on TNT premiered the all-star draft show displaying captains, LeBron James and Kevin Durant drafting one-by-one starters, then reserves. With Durant under injury and unable to participate in all-star weekend, Boston Celtic's forward Jayson Tatum took his spot as a starter.

Also, there is other news of new players being awarded as participants in this game due to unfortunate injuries to already selected players. The newly awarded players include, sophomore Charlotte Hornets guard: LaMelo Ball, and San Antonio Spurs guard: Dejounte Murray! Although it is unfortunate injuries made already selected players unable to play, it is still exciting to see these two young and upcoming superstars have a taste of all-star weekend.

Moreover, for the finalized teams, it looks like it is going to be a close game. For Team LeBron:

Starters-

PG- Stephen Curry- Golden State Warriors

SG-DeMar Derozan- Chicago Bulls

SF-LeBron James (Captain)- Los Angeles Lakers

PF-Giannis Antetokounmpo- Miluwaukee Bucks

C-Nikola Jokic- Denver Nuggets

Reserves-

G-Jimmy Butler- Miami Heat

G-Luka Doncic- Dallas Mavericks

G-Donovan Mitchell- Utah Jazz

G-Darius Garland- Cleveland Cavaliers

G-James Harden- Brooklyn Nets

G-Chris Paul-Pheonix Suns

G-Fred Vanvleet- Toronto Raptors

Then Team Durant:

Starters-

PG-Trae Young- Atlanta Hawks

SG-Ja Morant- Memphis Grizzlies

SF-Andrew Wiggins- Golden State Warriors

PF-Jayson Tatum- Boston Celtics

C-Joel Embiid- Philadelphia 76ers

Reserves-

G-LaMelo Ball- Charlotte Hornets

G-Devin Booker- Pheonix Suns

C-Rudy Gobert- Utah Jazz

F-Draymond Green (Injured)- Golden State Warriors

G-Zach Lavine- Chicago Bulls

F-Khris Middleton- Milwaukee Bucks

G-Dejounte Murray- San Antonio Spurs

C-Karl Anthony-Towns- Minnesota Timberwolves

This game looks like it is going to be neck and neck. The thing that sets Team LeBron over Durant is the starters. On Team LeBron they have 4/5 MVPs that are really recent versus Durant's 0. So I believe LeBron drafted extraordinarily better than Durant starters-wise.

But, what sets Team Durant over Team LeBron is their depth. As you can tell, all of Team LeBron's bench is guards, which is not a smart way to draft a team. Then, Durant's bench is very well-rounded, it has scorers in Lavine, Booker, and Ball, and, it also has an amazing defensive core in Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns.

My prediction for this all-star game matchup is... Team LeBron. I believe although Durant's defense is better, LeBron’s starters are way too overpowered compared to Team Durant's starting five. But the potential of it being close is very high. Also, I will not be surprised if Team Durant can pull off the win at the end. My all-star game MVP prediction is... Donovan Mitchell- Shooting Guard- Utah Jazz (Team LeBron).

The all-star game will be held on, Sunday, February 20th, 2022 at 8 pm EST on TNT and TBS so make sure you tune in.

Gabe Barile

Gabriel Takes