2014 NBA All Star three-point and slam dunk contest – live blog

All Star Saturday night is highlighted by the three-point and slam dunk contests. Follow all the action of the three-point contest live from 1:30pm AEDT.

All Star Saturday is one the most highly anticipated events on the NBA calendar. There will be action all-round when the stars come out to show their skills.

Three-point contest participants:
Representing the Western Conference: Steph Curry (GSW), Kevin Love (MIN), Marco Belinelli (SAS), and Damian Lillard (POR).

Representing the Eastern Conference: Kyrie Irving (CLE), Arron Afflalo (ORL), Bradley Beal (WAS), and Joe Johnson (BKN).

The three-point contest has undergone some rule changes for 2014. There are still five racks behind the three-point line with five balls on each, but there are more money balls (worth 2 points instead of 1). Every player will shoot five money balls from their favoured position on the floor.

The other four racks on the court each contain five balls with only one money ball. This rule change will definitely add some extra excitement with the fact that one rack could change everything.

Kyrie Irving is heading into this event as the reigning champ but he will have to be at his best if he is any chance to defend his title.

His main competitors come from the West; Steph Curry and Kevin Love. Curry is widely regarded as the best shooter in the NBA and can make it rain from beyond the arc when he is on.

Kevin Love won this event in 2012 and you’d be a fool to underestimate his chances in this year’s event.

Following this will be the slam dunk contest, which will begin from 2:00pm AEDT.

The highlight of All Star Saturday night is the slam dunk contest. Every year we hope to see new, innovative dunks and just quietly I have a good feeling about this year’s contest!

Slam Dunk contest participants:
Representing the Western Conference: Damian Lillard (POR), Harrison Barnes (GSW), and Ben McLemore (SAC).

Representing the Eastern Conference: Terrence Ross (TOR), Paul George (IND), and John Wall (WAS).

The slam dunk contest has undergone a major facelift, much like the three-point contest.

This year’s contest has two rounds; the freestyle round, followed by the battle round.

NBA.com explains the freestyle round: “This year’s event will feature the participants competing as a team – three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference – in an above-the-rim two-round format. In a significant first in the event’s history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want.”

At the conclusion of the freestyle round a panel of judges will decide the winning Conference. The Conference crowned winner will have the advantage of choosing if they first or second in the battle round.

The battle round consists of one-on-one battles – an Eastern Conference dunker battles a Western Conference dunker. Pretty simple.

The loser of each battle is eliminated. The first Conference to win three battles is crowned Champion.

The ‘Dunker of the Night’ will be chosen by the fans at the conclusion of the event.

I can’t wait to see what new tricks the players bring out. There are rumours that Kings Rookie Ben McLemore might be planning to do a 720 dunk. That would be special!

Having said that, I think the player to watch will be Paul George. He has a highlight dunk reel to match almost anyone in the league today. His crazy athleticism along with great body control is a recipe for dunking success.

Sit back and relax on Sunday afternoon and join me at approximately 1:30pm AEDT to follow the excitement of the Three-Point and Slam Dunk contests!