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NBA All-Star Weekend is here, with the usual gamut of competitions, games, performances and pageantry descending upon the city of Cleveland. The format of several events, namely the All-Star Game itself and the Rising Stars Challenge, have undergone changes over the years, and hopefully that leads to some exciting, entertaining basketball this weekend.

You can check out the full schedule and list of start times for events here, and below we've listed several things to watch during the weekend's festivities.

LeBron's approach to the All-Star Game

Two years ago, LeBron James played 18 minutes in the All-Star Game, scored 23 points and took 20 shots. Last year, he played 13 minutes, scoring just four points on seven shots. It makes sense that the 37-year-old James would take it easy in this Sunday's game, allowing the next generation of stars to take center stage. Orrrrrr ....

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James is having his highest-scoring season since 2010, while maintaining his sparkling efficiency and peripheral numbers. If it weren't for the Los Angeles Lakers' disappointing record, he'd surely be at the forefront of the NBA MVP conversation. Might he take this opportunity to show that he's still among the NBA's top tier of stars by putting on a show during his 18th All-Star Game?

Having suffered some injuries in recent seasons, James has to realize that his days in the league are nearing an end, so why not show off while you still can? LeBron is going to play as much or as little as he wants, so it will be interesting to see what kind of approach he takes on Sunday.

Alpha big men

You have to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time three players standing 6-11 or taller finished in the top three of NBA MVP voting (Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal), but that may finally be the case again this season. The top vote-getters in ESPN's latest MVP straw poll were Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will all be in action during Sunday's All-Star Game in Cleveland.

None of these guys are what we would consider "traditional" big men, but they certainly dominate the paint in addition to their guard skills. It will be fun to watch them going head-to-head and, in the case of Giannis and Jokic, to see how they operate as teammates. The big man is back in the NBA, and these three are the best examples we have right now.

DeMar DeRozan, All-Star starter

No matter which NBA team you root for, you've got to be happy for DeMar DeRozan. He worked himself into an All-Star in Toronto, suffered multiple disappointing playoff appearances, was traded away from the only NBA city he ever called home, then had to watch Kawhi Leonard lead the Raptors to a title while he played for a struggling Spurs team and endured criticism about how his lack of 3-point shooting prevented him from landing in the "superstar" tier.

Well, look at him now.

At 32 years old, DeRozan is having the best season of his career while leading the Chicago Bulls to one of the league's best records. His fifth All-Star appearance will undoubtedly be his sweetest.

NBA 75 ceremony ... and Usher

The NBA's 75th Anniversary Team was named before this season began, with 76 players actually making the cut due to a tie. The members will be honored during a ceremony at halftime of Sunday's All-Star Game, highlighted by celebrities Usher, Spike Lee, Tiffany Haddish and Anthony Anderson. They'll narrate a retrospective of the last 75 years of NBA basketball, concluding with a performance of "Shining Star" by the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire.

It will be interesting to see how many of the legends show up, and how the league chooses to honor them.

Ja and LaMelo

There are seven first-time All-Stars this year (which seems like a lot), but the two that generate the most excitement with fans are dazzling point guards Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball, who will both play for Team Durant on Sunday. Morant has led the Memphis Grizzlies to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference while producing insanity like this on a nightly basis:

The 6-foot-7 Ball has been a human highlight film for the Charlotte Hornets while averaging over 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds on 37 percent 3-point shooting.

Who knows how many minutes the two youngsters will get during the game, but you'd be wise to keep your eyes glued to them whenever they're on the court.

Jalen Green's athletic exploits

Let me set the scene. It's 2018, and I'm fortunate enough to be in Fresno, California, working on a deep-dive feature story on a 16-year-old Jalen Green, one of the world's top amateur basketball prospects. There's a video component to the story, so we follow Green into an old, empty practice gym on his high school campus to get some b-roll of him throwing down some dunks.

"Hey, do what you need to do to warm up and then we'll start filming, cool?" the producer says.

"Nah, I'm good," Green replies.

The wiry, 6-foot-5 high school junior in short shorts and a T-shirt proceeds to -- without even stretching -- throw the ball off the wall behind the basket, catch it off the bounce and throw down a windmill dunk with his head at the rim. It was at that moment we all knew Green's athleticism was, in the parlance of the youth at the time, different.

Anyone who's seen his highlights as a rookie with the Houston Rockets knows that Green's bounce is unparalleled. He has a unique combination of vertical leap, power, dexterity and experience (he's been winning dunk contests practically his entire life) that should allow him to blow our minds in Saturday's dunk contest.

If there's one thing I'm looking forward to above all else on All-Star Saturday Night, it's the Jalen Green show.

New Rising Stars format

Let's be honest, in recent years the Rising Stars game has been borderline unwatchable. Two years ago it flat-out devolved into a dunk contest, in which Zion Williamson and Ja Morant went a combined 0 for 4 on dunk attempts. Absolutely brutal.

The NBA saw the success of its revamped All-Star Game format and mercifully decided to apply a similar approach to Friday's Rising Stars game. This year, there will be four teams of seven players each that will compete in a mini-tournament that features three games to a target score, rather than timed quarters or halves.

The first two teams will play against each other, as will the second two teams, and the winners of those game will play against each other to determine the ultimate victor. Click here to see the rosters and a take closer look at the format, but the changes are sure to give us a glimpse of the game's brightest young stars in a much more competitive environment.

Desmond Bane, 3-point shooting machine

If there's any NBA player that more closely resembles that basketball-shooting robot than Desmond Bane, please let me know.

He might not be quite as accurate as the robot, but Bane is shooting 42 percent from the 3-point line in a breakout second season for the surprising Grizzlies, and he can actually dribble too, which is more than the robot can say. Bane's compact, repeatable mechanics seem tailor-made for a 3-point contest, so it will be fun to watch his assault on the nets in Cleveland.

Keeping up with the AntetokounBros

The trio of Antetokounmpo brothers might be the most entertaining NBA siblings this side of the Lopez twins, and we'll get to see Giannis, Thanasis and Alex compete in the revamped Skills Challenge. The brothers are pitted against Team Cavs (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley) and Team Rooks (Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Josh Giddey), so they may not win, but that shouldn't stop them from producing some wholesome and potentially hilarious moments.

NBA x HBCU Classic

If you're like me, you don't watch much college basketball. I mean, it's just an entirely different game than the NBA which I find difficult to sit through at times. But I'll absolutely tune in for Saturday's matchup between Morgan State and Howard, designated as the first-ever NBA x HBCU Classic as part of All-Star Weekend.

For the last couple of years, the NBA has increased its efforts to provide support and recognition for the Black community, and giving two historically Black universities this kind of exposure during a prominent weekend for the league is another step in the right direction. The NBA and AT&T will also donate $200,000 to each school's athletic department, while both teams will meet with various executives and NBA/WNBA players.