This upcoming Sunday marks the 55th Annual NBA All-Star Game. What, you didn’t know? It is not a surprise that many of us have tuned out from the NBA, yet its persistence in removing college players before graduation and taking kids right out of high school keeps us slightly involved. With that said, this weekend’s starters are a veritable list of all the big names in basketball.

The starters for the Eastern Conference are Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade at guard, LeBron James and Jermaine O’Neal at forward and Shaq under center. However, due to Jermaine O’Neal’s recent injury, Stern has a pick at his own discretion to use on the East. Nobody is sure who he will pick, but most signs point to Gilbert Arenas.

The starters for the West are (you guessed it): Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, T-Mac, Duncan and, the Asian Sensation himself, Yao Ming.

Out of both sets of starters, only three are averaging less than 20 points per game: Shaq, Yao and Nash.

This is sure to be a firework display of offense and a below average defensive effort (with the exception of the Pistons, few teams have played effective defense).

I’m assuming that the defensive teams will just act as air traffic controllers in the lanes for some nice jams.

Pedra’s prediction for the game:

Western Conf. 175Eastern Conf. 155

Bryant puts up 45, James has 30, Wade has 34 and dunks on Yao. Shaq gets 15 before spraining his ankle. Enjoy!