When the NBA decided to move All-Star Weekend from North Carolina to New Orleans, it took things from a situation to a lituation. Now that it coincides with the beginning of Mardi Gras, we can only imagine what will happen at the convergence of alcohol, a ton of rich dudes, the celebs coming to fawn over them, and (ahem) "fan luv."
The 2016 All-Star Game was singular because it was Kobe Bryant's 18th and final appearance. We won't top that emotion this year, but there are still some storylines to watch out for. Will Kevin Love's injury just days before the game spell defeat for the East? Will the cupcake wars continue, or will there be a cease-fire when Westbrook and KD take the court for the West? Here's what we want to know as we head into the Big Easy.
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We almost had the Cavaliers' Big Three of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James playing together. Sadly it was not to be, as Love had surgery on his knee and will miss six-to-eight weeks.
With Love out, Carmelo Anthony replaces him and with that news resurects the storylines about the two potentially being swapped for each other at next week's trade deadline. Bron recently said he only has three good friends in the league, one being Carmelo, so you can bet those two will be talking behind closed doors about the possibility of being teammates. This marks 10 All-Star nods for Melo and 13 for LeBron, so we'll get another glimpse of their chemistry on Sunday.