All Star Friday open thread

The NBA's big party is getting started in Houston. Things kick off tonight with the Celebrity Game, followed by the Rising Stars Challenge.

I'm not into watching Celebrity Games -- not unless I'm playing, that is!

The Rising Stars Challenge can be fun though. It does tend to get a bit ridiculous with the playground antics and lack of defense -- like the All Star Game itself turned up to 11. But any format that encourages Ricky Rubio to throw any and every pass he can imagine is bound to be entertaining.

It's strange from the Clips Nation standpoint to be entering an All Star weekend where the Clippers presence is in the starting lineup of the main event, NOT in the Rising Stars (Rookie/Sophomore) game. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe are still quite young of course, but seemingly over night the Clippers are closer to a veteran-laden championship contender than they are to a future-potential laden team.

You have to go back to 2008 for the last time the Clippers didn't have a representative in the Rookie/Sophomore game -- and even then we thought that Al Thornton should have gotten an invite. Now? Who cares? How quaint that the Cavs have four players in the game -- good luck with that Cleveland.

At any rate, if you want to discuss Friday's All Star festivities with other Clipper fans, this is the place to do it.