MMB Roundtable: Hello again, NBA All-Star Weekend!

Dirk Nowitzki is an All-Star for the 12th time in his career -- is there anything that hasn't been said about him at this point?

Tim (@tim_cato): He's the absolute best, and I'm glad he made the All-Star team so that everybody remembers that. I'll call it right now -- he's definitely going to drill a trailing three pointer in the game. And possibly even more exciting is the incredibly sarcastic quote he'll give about the awful sleeved jerseys.

Hal (@HalBrownNBA): Technically, no one has ever said that he's remarkably tree-like, but I don't think that's a comparison anyone should be making. I think we've said all that needs to be said about him.

Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace): I don't think so. He's good. He won't play much. Though it WOULD be fun to finally see him score more than the required "let's get Dirk a shot" shot.

Doyle (@TheKobeBeef): I don't think the national media has ever compared him to Larry Bird. Maybe they should construct a long, dead-horse narrative about that.

Andrew (@andytobo): I honestly think we haven't yet found the set of stats that will show just how good he is/was. The Mavs currently have a pretty good team and they'll be lucky to get a 7th seed, but for years we took a top-four seed for granted while Dirk's never really played with anybody as good as the sidekicks to most of the stars of his era. The reason for that, I think, is that Dirk is utterly unique, but we're not quite sure how.

Josh (@Boweman55): It's been said, but I want to reiterate how refreshing it is for us Dirk-believers to see him at pretty much peak form this season. There were some grumblings for the Mavs to trade Dirk and tank from the more dramatic fans out there, assuming Dirk was pretty much finished after his hobbled season last year. Most of us believed with a full-training camp and good health, Dirk would be the ass-kicker he always has been. And he has.

Which event are you most excited for over All-Star Weekend?

Tim: I feel like the dunk competition is going to be really, really fun in person. I'm not sure how much I like the East vs. West addition, but the free-for-all dunk sesh should be fantastic. I'm holding a lot of excitement back right now, because what I really want to say is DUUUUUUNK CONTEEEEEST YEEEEAH.

Kirk: My wife loves Steph Curry so the Shooting Stars with the two father-son combos is going to be excellent (Steph and Del Curry; Tim Hardaway Jr. and Sr). I also usually love the Rising Stars game, too. It's usually terrible, but getting to see which young players are THAT much better than their peers is fun. Anthony Davis is going to pillage.

Doyle: I was looking forward to the Dunk Contest because I held out hope that Tony Mitchell would be in it. Alas, he isn't and for some reason Harrison Barnes is. Luckily, someone was smart enough to put him in the D-League Dunk Contest. I'll watch that. However, I'll probably be trying to find Olympic curling coverage to watch instead of tuning in to any of the All-Star events.

Hal: Dunk Contest, and it's not close. For some reason I have a hard time getting excited about the game itself this year - maybe because the East is hot garbage - and I've always found the Three Point Shootout to be far more boring than it should be. With the host of big-name stars in the Dunk Contest this year, and the cool new freestyle format, I'm pretty hyped.

Andy: I am not. Doesn't do much for me.

Josh: I used to be more into the 3-point shootout and I still think it's probably the most consistent event. Watching guys get on a hot-streak never really gets old and it's hard to have a "bad" shootout. I used to flip shit over the dunk contest, but it was destroyed over the last half-decade or so. To be honest, I feel like this has to be the year it's exciting. It has a new format that makes sense and finally some big-name(ish) dunkers are on board. Also, no little guys. That bit was getting old.

If you were allowed to put another Maverick in one of the All-Star competitions, who and what contest would it be?

Tim: Jose Calderon, but despite #YayForJose, it's not the three-point competition that I want to see him in. Nah, it's the Skills Competition -- partly because he'd definitely be the slowest player to ever compete in it. But also, tell me he wouldn't do well. Dribbling is more important than the pure speed, and the three pointer is what always throws the players off. He'd have no problem with that, and he'd ace the passes, too. I'm telling you, Jose would post a better time than most of the participants (but not Giannis because he's ridiculous and I love that's he's in it).

Hal: Yeah, Calderon is the obvious choice - both for the Three Point Shootout and the Skills Competition - but I'm gonna add in a dark horse and say that I would've really liked Vince to be in the Three Point Shootout. Vince, historically, is actually the best extra-long-range bomber ever (until Steph has played for a few more years, anyway), and I imagine that given totally-wide-open threes in the shootout, he'd do incredibly well.

Kirk: Jae Crowder in the skills competition because all of the LOLs.

Doyle: Jose Calderon should probably be in the 3-point contest. He is currently shooting more than 44 percent and is ranked fifth in 3-point field goal percentage. So yeah, maybe he should have been invited.

I would also like to see Carlisle coach one of the celebrity teams.

Andy: I would like to see Brandan Wright in the dunk contest. I bet he'd do pretty well.

Josh: As the other writers are saying, Calderon is obviously the pick in the shootout. I love Andy's suggestion with Wright in the dunk contest -- I feel like he could pull off some creative alley-oops. But I'm gonna go with Kirk with the LOLs and want to see Crowder shoot in the three-point contest. Those above-the-break racks would be an adventure.