WASHINGTON, July 13 -- I'm as excited as anyone about Sunday's All-Star Game -- you will never, ever, ever, ever hear me complain about getting paid to watch Deanna Nolan, Lauren Jackson and Diana Taurasi live -- but someone has to break it down scientifically. So in this All-Star edition of The Watch, I'll take a look at each of the significant matchups between East and West. We'll see how they shake out…

GUARDS:

As there should be, there is some serious star power on both sides. Between Nolan, Alana Beard, Katie Douglas and Anna DeForge suiting up for the East and Becky Hammon, Seimone Augustus, Cappie Pondexter and Kara Lawson in the West, we have last year's Finals MVP (Nolan), last year's All-Star MVP (Douglas), last year's Rookie of the Year (Augustus) and one of this season's top MVP candidates (Hammon).

The East may be the more talented side, especially on the defensive end, and Beard is capable of a big game in front of her home crowd, but Hammon's playmaking abilities will be big for the West. She's the kind of player who makes her teammates better. In a game where both squads will be dealing with some familiarity issues, Hammon can bridge that teamwork gab by making that extra pass or motivating a teammate just that much more.

Other questions worth asking:
• Can Douglas repeat as queen of the All-Star Game?
• Will DeForge do her best to show up the people questioning her All-Star start?
• Can Lawson improve on her already stellar week (added to All-Star team, got engaged at a Kenny Chesney concert) with a solid All-Star performance?

FORWARDS:

Did I mention something about star power? Hello, Tamika Catchings. Nice to see you, Lauren Jackson. Oh, Diana, you're here too? Cheryl Ford? You're only the toughest player in the league. Rising stars Candice Dupree, Penny Taylor, Asjha Jones and Rebekkah Brunson? Legends like Tina Thompson and Taj McWilliams-Franklin?

The LJ-Taurasi pairing for the West oozes with excitement, skill and emotion: It's one of the world's best all-around players with one of the world's top scorers. But the Catch-Ford duo in the East is just scary. I'll take their passion, strength and defense over maybe any two other players in the league. I'm also jazzed to see how up-and-comers like Dupree and Brunson fare against the league's elite.

Other questions worth asking:
• Can Taylor parlay her recent scoring splurge into an All-Star explosion?
• How will Ford's recent injury affect her playing time?
• Will Thompson and Taj take out their team troubles so far this season on their fellow All-Stars?

CENTERS:

OK, the centers are less glamorous than the other positions, but they'll still play their parts. Monarchs legend Yolanda Griffith is playing in her seventh All-Star game and will match up against Shock first-timer Kara Braxton and Indiana's Tammy Sutton-Brown, making her second appearance. Of the three, I'm most intrigued by TSB, who all the experts are calling the missing link to the Fever's title plans.

A question worth asking:
• How much of the court will East coach Bill Laimbeer give Braxton after her recent falloff in playing time with the Shock?

COACHES:

With a smile, President Donna Orender mentioned in a meeting yesterday that this game is being billed as "The Beauty vs. The Beast," and as much as Laimbeer thinks he's the former, that's probably not the common perception.

Whatever the case, in a rematch (kinda) of last year's Finals, Laimbeer takes on Jenny Boucek of the Monarchs, who took over for John Whisenant after he moved to the front office. Experience in this one certainly favors the former Bad Boy, but how will players from the Shock's Eastern rivals in Indiana and Connecticut, for example, handle his… ahem… strongly voiced opinions?

Boucek has really shown her stuff so far in 2007, leading the deep Monarchs to the West's second best record after many thought they'd fall off after two straight Western crowns.

A question worth asking:
• Could Laimbeer honestly think he's the beauty in this matchup?

***

So who will it be? East or West? Catch or LJ? Beast or beauty? I wish I could say with even an ounce of confidence.

What I do know is that this is the best of the best in women's basketball. You won't find a better grouping of players anywhere, including the Olympics, the World Championships or the NCAA Tournament. So watch it, cheer the players on and enjoy it. This is as good as it gets.