I'll give credit where it's due, the NBA puts on the best "all star" show beyond a doubt, the Pro Bowl, MLB and NHL all star games pale in comparison, and this Saturday I think we got a real treat.
First off, the Shooting Stars competition. I'll admit to having a geekout moment when I saw David Robinson, who is one of my top 5 favorite players since I've been watching the NBA (29 years). I was also happy to see EJ (Eddie Johnson), and BJ Armstrong, the shooting stars is a cool competition, actually, one I've begun to look forward to each year, and this year was a good one, and I found the commentary HILARIOUS! Reggie's comment about Duncan and Robinson setting back shooters by 100 years by winning made me totally crack up, and Duncan's comment about how they expected their WNBA partner to be the one to carry the team shocked me, as Duncan actually said something humorous! :) Good start to the night
Next, the Skills Challenge. One thing I have noticed about this one over the last couple years, the younger guys are actually starting to show some skills. This year was better quality than in other years, with the exception of Kidd and Wade's shooting woes. This is one competition I think should be more geared to the "coming out" players, but I have no problem with them having established stars competing to increase it's visibility. Williams was SUPERB, and Utah, you got one hell of a point guard there!
Three point Shootout had me laughing out loud with the commentary, I really enjoy Kenny, Charles and Reggie when the lights are on and there is no pressure to call a game. I love seeing Dirk shoot, but I think he's a one round wonder in this competition, he tends to fade in the finals usually, and I think it's because he's so tall, his length hurts him having to shoot that many shots for multiple rounds so quickly. Nonetheless, good opening round (Nash should have said thank but no thanks, sorry Steve), and the finals was good, Kopono is a highly underrated shooter, and it was good to see him repeat.
Now the crown jewel, the Slam Dunk contest. I was SO glad they got rid of the gimmicks and let the players be creative again. This was a throwback to the dunk contests I used to enjoy back in the 80's and early 90's, and I had a total geekout moment with the Dwight Howard "Superman" dunk, that was a moderately normal dunk (with an astonishing leap), coupled by wonderful presentation, that's what the dunk contest is all about, doing the dunks and getting the crowd into it. The "Birthday Cake" dunk suffered from the same problem Howard had last year with his "sticker" dunk, the judges couldn't see what he did so they scored it badly. The finals were just as good as the first round, and I found myself feeling thoroughly entertained by the dunk contest, with a worthy winner in Dwight Howard, I just hope he comes back next year to defend the title!
Only criticism on the dunk contest were the judges. Dawkins should NEVER be a dunk judge, he's too wrapped up in his own legend to be objective, and Dr. J, much as I love the guy, gets a bit too wrapped up in his voice sometimes. 'Nique and Magic looked the most enthusiastic to be judging the event, and Karl Malone had a look that said "I gave up a hunting trip for this?" He just looked completely bored and disgusted, which I thought was more than a bit inappropriate considering.
I have to agree with Kenny's comment regarding the Dwight Howard show - "When Kobe Bryant is up on his feet over a dunk, you KNOW you did a good one!", and this year's contest had Kobe and other stellar dunkers on their feet several times.
GREAT SHOW NBA - Thank you! Now let's just hope the All Star game is this entertaining!
That was the BEST slam dunk contest since Vince Carter won it, and perhaps the best ever. You are DEAD RIGHT about the cake dunk being like Dwight Howard's sticker dunk last year. Good insight.
The 3 point shoot out had Kopono tying the all time record for shots made in a round, not once but twice!
The skills challenge may have helped ease the pain of being snubbed for the all-stars for Deron Williams.
I agree about the dunk contest judges, but I'd also add that the point system is highly flawed as well. Using 1 to 10, the judges try to guess what the others will do so that they can control the 50's, or the perfect scores. If they judged on a scale of 1 to 100, that would be harder for them do to, plus it would give the scoring a bit more wiggle room.
I don't like the idea of the fans picking the final winner of the dunk contest. That is just idiotic. It puts the contest into the realm of the Yao Ming factor, where a gazillion partisan fans can swing the vote from the person who earned it to the person they are predisposed to vote for.
For instance, 5 out of 5 judges thought Dwight Howard won, every broadcaster thought Howard won, yet only 70% of the fans voted for him.
Tim Duncan is always hilarious. Being a Spurs fan, I see a lot of his press conferences. The dude has a great sense of humor.
I totally agree with you on Malone and Dawkins. They had no enthusiasm and seemed to wish that they were anywhere but there.
I loved Howard's dunk in the first round from behind the backboard, but overall, Gerald Green should have won. I don't know why everyone was so blown away by Howard. His last 2 dunks had such a small level of difficulty. And the Superman dunk from the first round wasn't even a dunk. He was nowhere near the rim, and the ball luckily went through the net. It was great showmanship, but nothing else. And considering that Moon was criticized by the announcers for not jumping from his tape mark, it was sad that they totally ignored that Howard did the exact same thing. The contest just had the buzz from the beginning that Howard was going to win and other participants weren't going to stack up no matter what they did. In fact, I thought Moon's first dunk was the most impressive of the night.
Jaysisko --- I totally agree with everything you wrote.
But then again, I think most dunkers' strategies are backwards. They think they have to save their best stuff for last, but what Vince Carter and Dwight Howard have discovered is that if you can create a buzz with your first, you've also created momentum and hype that will carry through to your other dunks.
You are both correct on your insights and I thank you for sharing them!
Gerald Green was doing well in the first round but I really thought the wind was taken out of his sails by the failure of the "cake dunk" to score a 50. The same thing happened last year to Howard with his Sticker dunk, because they couldn't see he put up the sticker, or see that Green had blown out the candle. It's too small a detail to see without a replay, and it hurt his score.
The dunk contest is about the showmanship, however, and we FINALLY got it back after a few dull years! :)
I am a big basketball fan, tho I admit I prefer the NBA to college, mainly because the NCAA has even more stupid rules than the NBA does. I enjoy other sports as well, tho I do admit I prefer the playoffs than the regular season for most sports other than the NBA.
My favorite teams in the NBA ?
1. Phoenix Suns
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Los Angeles Lakers (Tho I can't STAND Kobe)
