by Scott Agness
February 17, 2013, 1:03 PM
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Paul George will share the floor with some of the best NBA players at the 62nd-annual All-Star game. This year’s game, held at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX, can be seen on TNT beginning at 8 PM EST.
George, 22, was selected by the Eastern Conference coaches to play in the game that has more meaning personally for players than actually participating.
These guys all grew up watching the greats participate in All-Star weekend. Now it’s George’s turn. He is the fourth current Pacers player to make the All-Star team, joining David West, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert.
Last night, the third-year player got his feet wet a bit by competing in the 3-point contest. It didn’t go as well as he had hoped, but George said afterwards that he felt pressure with every shot, as all the eyes and cameras in the building were on him. Alongside some of today’s best, George may be able to relax a little bit and just play his game.
Then again, it is an All-Star game. Fortunately for George, wings and shooters are often taken care of in games like these. Like we saw last year with Roy Hibbert, nights like tonight are all about showmanship and thus centers are taken out of the equation. George will likely have a couple opportunities for spot-up 3-pointers and hopefully a couple highlight plays at the rim. One thing that may be tough for him to do is pull-up on defense, because he’s a 100-percent all-the-time kind of guy.
The East will be guided by Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who has great respect for George and the improvement that he’s made over the course of a year. He praised George for playing hard on both ends of the floor, not just on offense. The Heat’s ‘big three’ – Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Both – will all start for the East, along with Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony.
Rest of the East team: Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler.
Directed by Spurs coach and Indiana native Gregg Popovich, the Western Conference starters are Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard. Also on the squad: Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Zach Randolph, David Lee, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge.
Noteworthy
- This is Houston’s third time hosting All-Star Weekend (1989, 2006, 2013).
- The All-Star game will be broadcast in 215 countries and territories and in 47 languages.
- John Legend will sing the National Anthem.
- 14-time Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys will perform at halftime.
- The Toyota Center’s video board – 25’ high by 58’ wide – rivals the one at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Be sure to come back to Pacers.com tonight as Agness will keep a running commentary on the evening's events.
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Scott Agness are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.