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Nuotr .: AFP-Scanpix
Nuotr. AFP-Scanpix
Already next night, the NBA will be shaken by the annual All-Star celebration, which will not be what we are used to seeing in recent decades.
The event, which will take place at the Atlanta State Farm Arena, will feature no fans, a reduced number of participants in individual competitions and a strict coronavirus protocol for basketball players participating in All Star Day.
The BasketNews.lt website offers an overview of the upcoming event and access to all the most important information.
Skills competition
Time: from 1 pm 30 minutes. Lithuanian time
As usual, the “All Stars” event will begin with a skills competition in which Domantas Sabonis, who reached the final of this tournament last year, will participate for the second year in a row.
In addition to the Lithuanian, Luka Dončičius, Chris Paulas, Nikola Vučevičius, Julius Randle and Robertas Covington will perform in this match. LaMelo Ball, a newcomer to the Charlotte Hornets, was also invited to the competition, but declined to participate.
Basketball players will have to step over the obstacles that are placed in front of them, make an accurate pass to the basket standing up and hit the triple. However, unlike normal conditions, this year’s competition will feature six players instead of eight.
For this reason, by decision of the NBA, Dončičius and Paul reached the semi-finals automatically.
Sabonis will face Randle in the first stage, and Dončičius will be waiting for the winner of this pair in the semi-finals. The next quarter-final pair will be Vučevičius and Covington with the winner meeting Paul in the semi-finals.
For Paul, it will be a record performance in this competition. The Phoenix Suns defender will participate in the skills competition for the fifth time and for the first time since 2011.
Moments from last year’s skills competition:
Three point contest
Time: after skill competition (no exact time)
As in recent years, this is probably the most intriguing competition of the All-Star Festival, and the names of the participants are not disappointing either.
Stephen Curry, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine and Mike Conley, who replaced Devin Booker, will compete for the title of best sniper. This will be the first three-point competition in NBA history in which all participants entered the All-Star Game.
Damian Lillard had been announced shortly before, but changed his mind.
Regular season indicators:
- Zach LaVine – 43.5 percent. (120 3s of 276)
- Mike Conley: 42.2 percent. (81 of 192)
- Stephen Curry: 41.1 percent. (169 of 411)
- Jaylen Brown: 38.8 percent. (76 of 196)
- Donovan Mitchell: 38.2 percent. (113 of 296)
- Jayson Tatumas: 36.8 percent. (81 of 220)
Last year, 8 basketball players competed in the three-point competition, but as in the skill match, this year the number of participants was reduced to 6.
The sniper competition rules will be the same as last season. Players will receive 70 seconds for their shots, during which they will have to shoot 27 3-pointers to score a maximum of 40 points.
2020 The novelty will also be brought into power this year, when two balls will be placed within 9 meters of the goal, and the value of such a hit will reach three points.
From the first stage, three basketball players will advance to the final, who will compete for the title of best sniper. Last year’s winner was Buddy Hield, a Sacramento Kings defender who is not around this year.
Moments from last year’s sniper competition:
Laying contest
Time: during the long break of the All-Star game
In recent seasons, the competition, which has become less and less popular, has reached a new low: not four, but three basketball players will participate in the competition. Not only that, they are far from a first-shine star.
New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin, Indiana Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley and Portland Trail Blazers defender Anfernee Simons will face the name of the king of the air this year.
Toppin led the entire league in the number of bets placed last season (107). At the time, Stanley posted the third-best jump against the NBA rookie since 2000, when he jumped almost 112 centimeters (44 inches) from place to place.
Zion Williamson, Jaylen Brown, Miles Bridges and Anthony Edwards turned down invitations to this year’s competition.
Basketball players will be judged this year by Dominique Wilkins, Dee Brown, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith and Spud Webb.
Nor will innovation be avoided in this competition. In the first stage, everything will be done in the usual way: all participants will make two entries, and the judges will give a score of 6 to 10 for each entry made.
Therefore, the minimum score for the classification will be 30 points and the maximum 50. Two basketball players will enter the final stage.
This is where innovation prevails. In the final, the players will make a single bet and the referees will no longer share points. The jury simply held up the card with the image of the basketball player who they thought made the best bet.
All-Star Party
Time: from 3 pm Lithuanian time
Format
The format of the match, which turned out last year, will remain the same this year. The teams made up of LeBron James and Kevin Durant will compete in three halves at 12 minutes, starting with a 0: 0 score and thus trying to win at least two quarters.
Before the start of the deciding quarter, the meeting timer will be turned off and the winners will be the basketball players who will be the first to score the final number of points established.
This figure will be compensated by adding all the points of the team that triumphed in the first three quarters and adding another 24, thus paying tribute to Kobe Bryant, who came out of Anapillin.
Once this number of points has been determined, the teams will play the fourth half without time and the team that reaches the established limit first will win.
For example, if a team wins 100: 95 after three halves, the threshold would be 124: the leading team would have to score 24 and the lagging team would have to score 29 points.
Last year, Giannis’s team led 133-124 against LeBron after three halves, and the teams went to work in the deciding quarter. During the first three halves, the teams had placed 49 bets, while in the last quarter, only three.
With a score of 152: 152 (played to 157 points), the referees even had to resort to a video review, and in the end the victory was given to LeBron’s team through an accurate penalty from Anthony Davis.
Numbers
two – This will be the second consecutive game for Domantas Sabonis “All Stars”. The Indiana Pacers star met his compatriot Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, who participated in this prestigious event in 2003 and 2005;
4 – Phoenix Suns defender Chris Paul became the third basketball player in NBA history to enter the All-Star Game wearing the jerseys of four different teams;
9 – Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George still holds the record for three-point hits during an All-Star game. In 2016, the forward made 9 triples and scored a total of 41 points;
17 – For LeBron James, this will be the 17th All-Star Game of his career. For LeBron, only Kobe Bryant (18) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19) appeared more frequently at this prestigious event;
twenty – Zion Williamson, 20, will be the fourth youngest basketball player to participate in the All-Star game. Zion forwarded only Kobe Bryant, LeBron and Magic Johnson;
385 – LeBron has scored so many points in every All-Star game and is the first among all basketball players to participate in this event;
7 424 951 – so many votes were cast by fans in one day, selecting players for the All-Star game and thus recording the best result in league history.
Equipment
This year, the NBA had to make three adjustments due to player injuries. Anthony Davis, who is being treated for an Achilles tendon injury, was initially replaced by Devin Booker, but straightened his knee just before All Star Day. Booker was replaced by Utah Jazz spokesman Mike Conley.
At that point, Sabonis took the place of Kevin Durant. Despite not participating in the match, Durant remained the captain and chose the team.
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