Vince Marriott: Fine, I'll admit it the NBA has been awesome this season. My least favorite of the four major sports has finally proven that it can be carried by more than just four or five elite athletes running isolation plays down the court every time. Linsanity, the crushing dominance of the Miami Heat and Khloe Kardashian in Dallas have all given me something to watch for. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers will travel to the aforementioned Dallas to take on the Mavericks in what should be a great duel between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Look for Dirk Nowitzki to continue his streak of average basketball playing it's been a rough season for the German superstar. (Wednesday, 9 p.m., ESPN).
Jonathan Gault: No sport's all-star game displays more talent than basketball's. Baseball is a battle between two players the pitcher and the batter. Hockey's shifts are too short for the best players to truly match up against one another. And no one cares enough about the Pro Bowl for anything that matters on the field to make a difference. But the NBA All-Star Game is different. The 10 best guys in the league are all on the court together during the game's most important moments, and athough the outcome doesn't carry a ton of weight, NBA players are a competitive sort if it's a close game down the stretch, guys are going to do all that they can to get their conference the win. Although no one would ever mistake the All-Star Game with a defensive clinic (the last time a team scored less than 110 points was in 1976), that's also part of the game's appeal I'd much rather watch Blake Griffin rattle the rim than watch Andre Iguodala lock down a shooter on defense. Tune in Sunday night and enjoy the show. (Sunday, 8 p.m., TNT).
Nathan Yeo: With a tense 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings set a new NHL record for the most number of consecutive home wins at 23. The Wings' streak will face a tough test on Thursday when they face the Vancouver Canucks at home in a clash of the top two teams in the Western Conference. Both of these teams are loaded with talent, which should make this an exciting game. Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk is a strong contender for MVP this season, while goaltender Jimmy Howard leads the league in wins with 32. Vancouver, however, has a double threat with twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who combined with Alex Burrows for 10 points in a 6-2 rout of the Toronto Maple Leaves. The game ended in a shootout when these teams met earlier this month, so expect this rematch to go down to the final whistle. (Thursday, 7:30 p.m., NHLN).
