:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/16992401/20130727_kkt_bw1_831.0.jpg)
This game was in many ways supposed to be the first of many All-Star games featuring the Big Three rookies. While Elena Delle Donne and Brittney Griner were voted in as starters, both will sit out today's game due to injury, and instead Erika de Souza and Tina Thompson will be taking their places respectively. Skylar Diggins did not earn the votes needed to start the game and wasn't selected as a coaches' reserve either.
Another major storyline is that many star players are injured for the whole season and can't play this season. Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Becky Hammon, Sophia Young, and Katie Douglas are several stars who would likely be voted in the All-Star game or at least be solid bets are reserves, but none will be playing due to various injuries.
Like most All-Star Games, don't expect too much defense to be played until the very end perhaps if things are close. Expect a lot of quick shots and perhaps an opportunity for some players to dunk the basketball toward the end.
At halftime, Trevor Jackson will sing for the fans and here's a WNBA.com interview with him. Here's his big hit, "Like We Grown", below:
I actually went to an All-Star game back in 2009 and the place was packed. I do like the Mohegan Sun Casino for gaming purposes obviously, and the arena is a cozy venue and in many ways a very good place to have a WNBA game. That said, I wish that the league would spread this game out to other venues as well. Last year's de-facto All-Star games were held at KeyArena in Seattle where Team USA played against Team China in the preseason, and at Verizon Center in DC where Team USA played Team Brazil which also included the men's basketball team, but they were FIBA events, rather than WNBA ones, and this league must have an All-Star game every year, even if it's during the same year as the Olympics or the FIBA World Cup.
So that's all I have. Enjoy today's game!