All-Star Weekend has come and gone. Let’s sort through all of the stuff that I saw.
I didn’t catch the celebrity game. But, hey, Zach from Talk Hoops Dot Net has a good recap. Check that out.
I watched most of the Rookie/Sophomore game (I had to go out on a Friday night, okay?) and Kevin Durant put on a spectacular display of shooting as he finished with a record 46 points. I think what’s even more spectacular than that is what Dwyane Wade was wearing.
Saturday‘s events were also pretty underwhelming. First off, H-O-R-S-E… or should I say G-E-I-C-O was the first event for Sat. I was disappointed with the lack of creativity… plus they weren’t exactly hitting the basic midrange and three-point shots, either (until Durant got hot). I suppose I expected more from professional basketball players. It just seemed like H-O-R-S-E would be much better played than watched in this case. Plus… since there had to be commercials… the whole event lasted about 45 minutes. Kevin Durant ended up winning after he turned this into a glorified three-point shootout. I just wasn’t feeling this contest. It may be back since I think there was enough positive feedback from it.
I was never a fan of Shooting Stars (I personally liked 2-Ball and I think everybody hated THAT). I don’t exactly want to see halfcourt shots being chucked for a minute or so. Detroit (with Katie Smith, Bill Laimbeer, and Aaron Afflalo… wait, what?) won the event.
I’m not too keen on the Skills Challenge, either. Deron Williams couldn’t defend his title. Nick pointed out that the pylons the players had to dribble around just puts them in a position where they HAD to carry the basketball. It just drives me nuts that they carry the basketball while they make that sharp turn. Anyway, Derrick Rose won the contest and punctuated the last basket with a double-pump reverse jam. What a jackass. I love it. Ha ha.
I AM a big fan of the three-point shootout… but I was considerably let down as no one hit 20 in the contest. Jason Kapono was shockingly average this year… and it came down to an extra round between Rashard Lewis… and Daequan Cook. Lewis only had 7 in the extra session… while Daequan Cook crushed Lewis with 19. I think we were all shocked about this… especially as we all made fun of him a few days prior. But, hey, he came through and I’m going to give him credit for this.
The Slam-Dunk Contest was somewhat underwhelming… but it’s not like this lacked quality dunks. Rudy Fernandez had some solid dunks in the contest. His first one was a behind-the-back toss-off-the-glass to a nice-looking catch-jam… and another one was an off-the-back-of-the-backboard toss into a pump one-handed reverse jam (that was especially difficult as he had to try that dunk about eight times as Pau Gasol kept hitting it on the wrong spot). J.R. Smith had a nice basic windmill jam… and there is no way he should have higher scores than Fernandez, especially if he’s catching lobs from some dude named Sonny Weems (I might write about you in this blog next year!).
At least, Nate Robinson didn’t have to try his dunks 134 times this year. I wasn’t feeling his one dunk where he jumped off Wilson Chandler‘s back. But he truly shined in the final round which I’ll talk about in a bit.
Dwight Howard had a Vince Carter-like 180-windmill dunk from out-of-bounds. And he had an extra basketball court brought out to show everybody he can dunk a 12-foot rim (even brought out the phone booth and Superman for that). It seemed so easy for him!
The Finals had some good stuff but it had an anticlimactic finish. Nate started out with a double pump reverse jam which looks more spectacular because he’s 5’8″ (he is NOT 5’9″, NBA!). D12 countered with a one-handed jam (which he cocked all the way back) off a toss from the side of the backboard. But, hey, it’s hard to argue against a Frederic Weis remix. Nate Robinson (complete with green attire to represent the Kryptonite to “Superman”) jumping over Dwight Howard? That’s insanity. Dwight Howard tried to counter with a freethrow dunk but it didn’t really look pretty. The fans voted Nate Robinson in as the winner. Still, I thought D12 was going to come up with more than that.
The All-Star game was its usual… but it was really filled with Shaq goodness (who liked that pass between Dwight Howard’s legs which started a give-and-go between Shaq and Chris Paul?). I loved his intro with the Jabbawockeez. Thanks, Sportaphile.com.
Kobe Bryant and Shaq finished as co-MVPs as the West killed the East, 146-119. The WWE couldn’t have scripted it any better!
And a couple more tidbits…
LeBron James said that he would compete in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest. That remains to be seen.
Terry Porter is supposedly out of a coaching job in Phoenix with former Clipper coach and current assistant Alvin Gentry replacing him.
Anyway, All-Star weekend overall was okay. And I can’t be completely mad at it if I have friends and food in the mix. But I realize that WingStop is at its best after playing ball for real.
So who wants to play H-O-R-S-E with me?
Rey-Rey
(Blogger of “The No Look Pass“)
