Here's a list of some of the likely candidates that will be starting in this years all-star game, which will be held in New Orleans next month:

           WEST                          EAST                          1. Guard - Chris Paul                                1. Guard - Dwayne Wade     2. Guard - Kobe Bryant                             2. Guard - Jason Kidd
3. Forward - Dirk Nowitzki                         3. Forward - LeBron James
4. Forward - Tim Duncan                          4. Forward - Kevin Garnett
5. Center - Yao Ming                                 5. Center - Dwight Howard

Jason Kidd has been named the USA's male athlete of the year for 2007 by USA Basketball Today. Kidd helped lead the US Mens basketball team reach 10-0 in the FIBA Americas Championship and qualify for a spot in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. In his 5 years on the US Men's basketball team, Kidd was able to contribute and achieve a perfect record of 44-0, something that you don't see very many players attain. Graciously accepting his award, Jason Kidd anxiously awaits to further his perfect record and play his best in this years Olympics. Good luck to him and team USA.

        EAST                          WEST                      

1. Boston (30-5)             1. Dallas (26-11)
2. Detroit (28-10)           2. Phoenix (26-11)
3. Orlando (23-16)          3. LA Lakers (25-11)
4. Toronto (20-17)          4. New Orleans (25-12)
5. Washington (19-16)    5. San Antonio (24-11)

See Lebron, Carmello, and a few others throw down the hammer in this video with the best dunks of last year. Which of these is the most vicious?

For those of you who like to bet on NBA teams, there are a few teams out there that are sure winners. First off, you can't ever really go wrong betting on the Boston Celtics who are dominating the league this year, winning over 90% of their games. A few other teams that are doing well, especially at home, are the Portland Trailblazers, the Dallas Mavericks, and the SA Spurs, all with a home record of 16-3 or better. The best road team to put money on are the Orlando Magic, the only team with 15 road wins. For some reason they seem to play a whole lot better away than they do at home. Another team who has turned up the heat is the Detroit Pistons, winning 9 of their last 10 games. They are the only team thus far that has beaten the unstoppable Celtics at home, and continue to pose a threat to the rest of the league. They have recently won several NBA championships and they know what it takes to be the best.

If anyone comes close to comparing with Michael Jordan it's definitely #24 of the LA Lakers, Kobe Bryant. Pretty much the same weight and height, both having 3+ NBA championships, jaw-dropping dunks, crazy athleticism, and the heart of a winner, these two leave it all on the court. Check out some of Kobe's ridiculous dunks and see what he has planned for his upcoming game against Lebron James and his calves on Christmas day.

With just .2 second left in the fourth quarter, Chauncey Billups draws a foul and nails his two free-throws, causing Boston to experience their first home loss of the season. As most of the game was 'neck and neck', Chauncey came up huge in the 4th, scoring 12 of his teams 26 points, including the game winning points. Just one of the many reasons I have voted for him in this years all-star game; he is one of the best clutch players in the league.

The Portland Trailblazers are on fire topping off the weekend with 8 strait wins, notably taking down the the Utah Jazz twice, as well as the Denver Nuggets. The two-time player of the week Brandon Roy has been a key factor in leading this team to many of their victories and has been averaging 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. Even though the Blazers will be without their Ohio superstar Greg Oden (knee surgery), their future still looks bright as many of their players have stepped up their level of intensity.

While there are many of us that would love to see the four superstars (V.C., Kobe, J. Ridge, and Lebron) duke it out in this years dunk contest, it's probable that none of them will be competing. However, there are some new guys that have the potential to do well, such as Nick Young, who is featured in the 1st video shown below. Rudy Gay is another popular candidate, as has shown that he can 'throw down the hammer' with authority (see bottom video). Many people speculate that Gerald Green will be back to defend his title, as well as Dwight Howard, who arguably got robbed in last years competition. Who do you want to see make it?

The voting for the 2008 NBA Allstars has already begun and KG seems to be dominating the polls, having over 100,000 more votes than Lebron James and Dwight Howard, who follow 2nd and 3rd with 600,000 a piece. Im guessing it has something to do with those new green jerseys, cause man do they look sweet.  Other top players are on the polls are Kobe, D-Wade, J. Kidd, Y. Ming, and T-Mac. It will be very exciting to see this years all-star game, as there are so many young and talented players still ballin' it up.