Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving made eight 3-pointers and finished with a Rising Stars game high 34 points Friday night helping Team Chuck beat Team Shaq 146-133 in the NBA showcase exhibition between the league’s best rookies and second year players. It’s the Rookies vs. Sophomores game but now with a new brand.
Yes, it’s an All-Star game, where NO ONE plays any defense, but it’s clear the Cavs franchise point guard will soon be playing in the big boy game. The Indiana Pacers Paul George added 23 points hopefully raising Pacers awareness, because Indy seems to have very little of that right now.
Washington Wizards point guard John Wall earned MVP honors last season as a rookie.
Cleveland led the way on the losing side as well. The Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson scored 20 points to lead Team Shaq. However, the news of the night is that New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin only had two points. Yes the media darling himself was kind of a non-factor. And to think there was lots of talk last week about putting him in the actual All-Star game. If you thought that sounded ridiculous, let me remind you this is an all-star game and they’re all kind of ridiculous.
However, the NBA probably has the best one, and this is an underrated event.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too