2018 NBA All-Star Saturday Night guide

• What: All-Star Saturday Night
• When: Saturday, Feb. 17
• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
• Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

Related: 4 storylines to watch for during All-Star weekend

Skills Challenge

Participants

Rules

The eight players have been grouped together in a tournament-style bracket, with guards squaring off with guards and bigs with bigs. The last remaining guard and big from each side of the bracket face off in the championship round. The timed course consists of the following components:

• Crossover dribble - Players maneuver their way in and around five designated pylons.
• Chest pass - Players attempt to complete a chest pass through a circular target. They're eligible to move on after completing a pass, or after all of the balls on the rack have been used.
• Speed dribble - Players pick up a new ball from a different rack and race down the length of the court.
• Layup/Dunk - Players must convert a layup or dunk at the end of that run. Should they miss, they're required to grab their own rebound.
• 3-pointer - Players go back down the floor to attempt a 3-point shot using the ball they had from the layup/dunk. The first player to connect on a 3-pointer from or behind their designated shooting spot wins the race.

2017 Skills Challenge winner: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks

Prediction: Lauri Markkanen over Jamal Murray

The layout of the course seems custom-built for guards to flourish, yet the bigs have emerged victorious since the competition was reformatted to include forwards and centers back in 2016.

Should that trend continue, Markannen could be a surprise winner, as he has just the third-best odds of the group and second-worst overall.

In terms of star power, the Chicago Bulls marksman is certainly not on par with Joel Embiid, Andre Drummond, or Lou Williams in terms of name recognition. Perhaps he'll be more incentivized to leave his mark on All-Star weekend with a win, while others might not take the event as seriously.

Markkanen has connected on 113 shots from behind the arc during his rookie campaign, which should work in his favor on the all-important 3-pointer at the end of the course - a component that can make or break you.

Three-Point Contest

Participants

Rules

• Five shooting racks consisting of five balls each are spread out around the 3-point line.
• Four of the racks contain four NBA regulation balls (worth one point) and one multicolored "money ball" (worth two points).
• The fifth rack consists entirely of "money balls," and the shooter decides ahead of time where that rack will be located.
• Each shooter has 60 seconds to shoot as many of the balls as they can.
• A basket doesn't count if the shooter's foot is on or over the 3-point line.
• The three shooters with the highest scores advance to the championship round.
• In the event of a tie, a 30-second tiebreaker determines who advances.
• The shooter with the highest score at the end of the championship round wins the event.

2017 Three-Point Contest winner: Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets

Prediction: Klay Thompson over Paul George, Devin Booker

Never bet against a Splash Brother.

We've already seen how streaky Thompson can get in this environment. In 2016 at the Air Canada Centre, he drilled his final eight shots to beat Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry in a thrilling finish.

Thompson is also a native of Los Angeles, so he won't want to put up a dud in front of his hometown faithful.

Expect a few "We want Paul!" chants directed at potential future Laker Paul George, maybe another single-digit outing from All-Star guard Kyle Lowry (he had nine points in the opening round last year), and another trophy for Thompson as he cruises to victory.

Slam Dunk contest

Participants

Judges

Rules

• Each competitor is allowed two dunks in the opening round, with three attempts to make each one and no time limit.
• A nearby official has the final say on whether a dunk is made or missed.
• A panel of five celebrity judges will score each dunk from six to 10, with a maximum score of 50 and minimum score of 30.
• The two dunkers with the highest composite scores advance to the championship round.
• Those two competitors perform two more dunks.
• The finalist with the highest composite score from the championship-round dunks wins the event.

Dunk highlights

Dennis Smith Jr.

Donovan Mitchell

Larry Nance Jr.

Victor Oladipo

Prediction: Donovan Mitchell over Dennis Smith Jr.

Everyone is swooning over Mitchell for his contributions out in Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz guard has slammed his way into our hearts, which led to widespread disappointment when he wasn't announced outright as one of the four dunkers.

It's unfortunate that Aaron Gordon won't get an opportunity to make up for his 2016 showing, which was basically ruined by a drone, but getting Mitchell as his replacement is a pretty awesome compromise.

At just 6-foot-3, any dunk Mitchell executes will be more spectacular because of his relatively small stature. The same applies to Smith Jr. (6-foot-3) and Victor Oladipo (6-foot-4), putting more pressure on Larry Nance Jr. (6-foot-9) to bring his best stuff.

It's easy to root for Nance Jr. - he'd be following in the footsteps of his father, Larry Nance, who won the inaugural Slam Dunk contest in 1984 in Denver. It's safe to pencil him in to don his old man's jersey for at least one dunk. Oladipo, meanwhile, has plenty of hops, and doesn't have to deal with the seemingly unbeatable Zach LaVine this time around.

Utah and Dallas aren't big-time basketball markets, so not a lot of people get to see rookies like Mitchell and Smith Jr. on the regular. All eyes will be on them at Staples Center, though, and with fans hoping to rinse away the horrid aftertaste of last year's contest, the finalists should be able to hang their hats on even a halfway memorable performance.

(Odds courtesy: Bovada)