I finally have come to a conclusion of the NBA All Star "draft" from last week.

First off, I am one of the very few people that have enjoyed the lack of defense played in the NBA All Star game in recent years. I love the scoring. I love the dunking. I love the highlights. I am all for it. I want both teams to score 200 plus points. I think that would be amazing. I know people that are opposed to the way the game has been played lately, but I am on the total opposite end. It is an exhibition. It is supposed to be a show for the fans. They don't have to go 100 percent. I don't want these star players to get hurt because they went too hard in the All Star game. This is a fun game that needs to be filled with scoring, scoring and then a little more scoring.

With that being said, I do like this "draft" that they did. I think this is a neat idea. It is a lot like playground basketball. I love getting rid of the conference affiliation, because, lets be honest, the West would have crushed the East this year. I'm also fully on board with the winning team players getting 100k towards the charity of their choice. I think all of these ideas were well thought out. I do wish they would have televised LeBron and Steph picking the teams. I wanted to know who went first overall, and who went last. I wanted to see Steph and LeBron's faces while figuring out who they were going to pick after the other guy picked. I wished they could have picked anyone too. I was not a fan of the whole pick the starters that were voted on first, then pick the reserves. It should have just been an all out "draft" if that is what they were going for.

When looking at the teams now, I do think it is kind of clear who was the first overall pick. LeBron had the number one choice due to the fact that he was the highest vote getter, and I think it is pretty clear that he picked Kevin Durant first. He was the clear cut number one overall player. I have heard some people slander LeBron for doing this, but I think it is borderline genius for many reasons. First off, he breaks up the Warriors two best players. Splitting up KD and Steph was the absolute right choice. Also, I'm not sure what the jerseys will say, but if they say "Team LeBron" and "Team Steph", I think it is so hilarious that KD has to wear a jersey with LeBron's name on it. It is almost as if he is saying, I'm still the best player in the league, look at the name on your jersey, and don't forget it. That is also why I love his pick of Kyrie Irving as well. He is rubbing salt in the wound. Kyrie wanted out of LeBron's shadow, and rightfully so, but now, if he has to wear a jersey with "Team LeBron" on it, hilarious. So while some are trashing LeBron for taking a Warrior and picking Kyrie, I think it was, not only a smart, but also a move to prove to these guys who still owns the league.

The rest of LeBron's team is solid. He had Boogie, but he is out now, unfortunately. He also has Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bradley Beal, Kevin Love, Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, John Wall and Russell Westbrook. We have the obvious Boogie injury and John Wall and Kevin Love are out now, but the rest of his team is great. The starters are LeBron, KD, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. I don't know who is fifth starter will be, it was supposed to be Boogie, so lets just say that it will now be LaMarcus Aldridge. That is a solid starting 5. LeBron is the best player in the world. KD is a top notch scorer who has suddenly started to defend. Anthony Davis is just a nightmare everywhere on the floor for opponents. Kyrie is a wizard with the ball. Oh, he can score too and LMA is just a solid NBA player and guy. The bench is good too. Beal is a lethal shooter, Porzingis is a unicorn, Oladipo is having his best year in the league and Russ is a bulldog who wants to win, no matter the stakes. LeBron had a very good draft.

Steph's team is good, but not as good as LeBron's, in my opinion. Steph has, himself, Giannis Antentekoumpo, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid and James Harden as his starters. His bench has Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Klay Thompson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Just comparing the names of the two teams, Team LeBron wins by a mile. Steph does have great scoring in the backcourt in his starting five with himself and Harden. Harden is on fire right now, he is the front runner for MVP and I think he will be out to prove something. Steph is Steph. He can score from anywhere on the floor. The problem, they don't play any defense whatsoever. If defense will be attempted, they will get roasted. DeRozan can shoot threes and fill it up, but again, no defense. Also, will he get the shots he needs to get in rhythm playing with Steph and Harden? Probably not. Joel Embiid is a great young player with a ton of potential, but he is not an All Star starter yet. People need to chill on the Embiid stuff. I love him as much as any young guy in the NBA right now, but he is still not fully healthy, and he may only be allowed to play 10 minutes in the All Star game. The wild card on Team Steph, Giannis. That dude is amazing. He is the best young player in the league, and the best unicorn by a mile. He is just a specimen and he could absolutely explode in this All Star game. He is Team Steph's version of Russell Westbrook. He will go hard and take this game seriously. Steph's bench is pretty ho hum. I love Jimmy Butler, and he has been incredible this season, but he isn't 100 percent. I'd be shocked if he plays double figure minutes. Draymond Green will not care about this game, and he shouldn't. He is too important to the Warriors quest to win back to back titles and the All Star game will be a weekend of rest for him. Is there a more boring All Star than Al Horford? I know he is a great team guy and a very good passer, but come on. He had to have been the last pick. It was either him or Love. Lillard will go hard and score, but he is another guy that eschews defense in the regular season and the playoffs. He will not play any in the All Star game. I love Lowry and Klay Thompson. Lowry is back from injury and I feel like he will go hard. Thompson will want to prove that he can score against the best of the best, especially when he is the only Warrior on the floor. Hell, he might even want to showcase his talents for a future team he may be playing for in the city that the All Star game is in. KAT is a beast down low, can extend people outside and rebound. But, his defense comes and goes. That is the running problem with Team Steph, they don't have any real lock down defenders. If they can catch fire they could win, but they won't be able to stop pretty much anyone on Team LeBron.

When I broke it down, as I have said once already, LeBron won this draft and he won it by a mile. I hope it will be a good game, but I think it will be a slaughter. I do enjoy this new format and I hope it sticks, but I also hope I get to see one of these teams go for 200 points. I am excited for All Star weekend and the game. Lets get to it.

Ty