Intensity and the NBA All‑Star Game don't go together, except in the final few minutes of a close game and this year could be different with the East‑West format replaced by Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen, the league will award winning players $100,000 each and losing players $25,000 apiece.
In a game where the winning team may have to score 180 points and defense is optional, LeBron James put together a squad full of "odd couple" pairings that may play up individual motivations.
He drafted former teammate and current rival Kyrie Irving, who requested a trade out of Cleveland less than a year ago. Second, James not only added Warriors superstar Kevin Durant to his team, he also chose Durant's former teammate and current Western Conference adversary Russell Westbrook.
Stephen Curry's team doesn't have dramatic pairings. It just has a collection of some of the greatest shooters in NBA history.
Team Curry has James Harden, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan on the same team burying teams in an avalanche of three‑pointers.
Team LeBron vs Team Curry will be held at 1.30pm Monday at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.
Source: cbssports.com
