NBA All-Star Weekend

The official mid season break for the NBA is here and let the party begin. Last night we had the celebrity game and the very exciting Rookie/Sophomore game. Kevin Durant really put on a show last night, scoring 46 points while shooting 68%. It was very entertaining to watch.

Tonight we have the Skills Challenge, Shooting Stars Challenge, Three Point Contest, Slam Dunk Contest and the H-O-R-S-E Competition and I'm sure it will all be quiet entertaining as well. I know the Sports "Gal" will be extremely happy with me catching it tonight over some wine, filet's and chocolates, just the ultimate romantic v-day dinner she had planned. In order to prep you guys for tonight, I'll try to handicap and breakdown each competition for you.

Let's start with the Shooting Stars Challenge. The point of this is to hit 6 shots from different locations on the floor between three team members, a current NBA star, a former NBA star and a WNBA star. It looks like this:



The crew from San Antonio (Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon) defend their title against teams from Detroit, LA and Phoenix. I'm going to write off Detroit at 100-1 because any team with Bill Laimbeer on it, I just can't view winning. The team from LA (Derek Fisher, Michael Cooper and Lisa Leslie) probably have a chance, Leslie played last night in the celebrity game so she's warm, and how can you not love Cooper's knee high socks. But Fisher, a member of last years Lakers team, I just can't root for, so that will hurt their chances. I'll give them a 15-1 odds of winning. The team from Phoenix (Leandro Barbosa, Dan Majerle and Tangela Smith) have a great shot. Both Barbosa and Majerle are sharp shooters and we've seen how deep Marjerle can shoot (circa '93 NBA Finals). I'm comfortable with laying down 4-1 odds on them winning. Especially given that have the home court advantage. The champions have a solid squad. Two hall of famers anchor the team and Becky Hammon is a real stud. However one thing is going to prevent them from winning tonight. While Duncan has been able to win numerous championships, he's never been able to win back to back titles, so I don't see them winning tonight either, Duncan will once again fall short of winning back to back. they get 7-1 odds.

Phoenix: 4-1
San Antonio: 7-1
Los Angeles: 15-1
Detroit: 100-1


The Skills Challenge is another fairly new activity added to the all-star festivities. An obstacle course of dribbling, passing and shooting and the fastest time wins. Generally you see point guards dominating the 4 person group, and this year is no different.



Devin Harris, Tony Parker, Derrick Rose and Mo Williams are the four who are entered this year. This group is harder to predict, there is some serious talent here. Rose is my long shot at 10-1. He's a rookie and may be distracted by all the hype and the stars sitting in the front row. But I predict in 3 years he owns this event. Williams, a late edition to the weekend festivities, has a 7-1 shot. He's the best shooter of the group, but I'm not sure he'll be able to compete with the speed dribble and passing of the three other point guards. Harris has been a on fire this year really elevating his game after the trade to New Jersey. He's got career highs in points and assists and I really like how he's developed his game. With his rise in status and stature, I'll give him a 4-1 shot in winning this event. Mr. Tony Longoria is my pick to win this thing. One of the premier point guards in the league, he has the speed, accuracy and shooting touch to blow the competition away. I'm going to give him a 2-1 shot at winning, and I think that is generous. I really like him as a player and would put him as a top 3 pg in the league.

Parker: 2-1
Harris: 4-1
Williams: 7-1
Rose: 10-1


The Three Point Challenge is one of my favorite of all time. How can you forget Larry Bird's epic performance at the 1988 contest, shooting the final round with his jacket on and walking away on his final shot with his finger in the air.



Well much like the slam dunk contest, it is not what it use to be. We don't have the legends that we use to, but there is one guy in this competition who I think can hang with them. Jason Kapono is as pure a shooter this league has right now and the list of competitors isn't that impressive. I think the league just took high percentage shooters and thought they could do the job. The left out guys like Eddie House who are pure shooters, this competition needs those type of guys. So I'm not too high on anyone else entered this year. Kapono is the clear favorite at 2-1. The guy I like next is probably Mike Bibby at 8-1. He's as close to a pure shooter the competition has. After that, it's a crap shoot, you can put Daequan Cook, Danny Granger, Rashard Lewis and Roger Mason all at 25-1. These are all good shooters, but can they shoot accurately at the speed neccesary to get up 25 shots in 60 seconds. They may want to focus more on getting 20 shots up accurately. Needless to say it's not going to be much of competition here.

Kapono: 2-1
Bibby: 8-1
Cook: 25-1
Mason: 25-1
Granger: 25-1
Lewis: 25-1


The Slam Dunk Contest use to be the premier event of Saturday night. We had guys like Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant enter and absolutely made the event appointment television. These guys could actually dunk and be creative, unlike Nate Robinson who took 20+ attempts to win in 2006. However Dwight Howard set the bar last season and I hope to see some big things out of this years class. If there is a way to recreate the 1988 contest that had Jordan and Wilkins in the finals (by far the best contest ever) that would be great.



So lets start with the defending champion Dwight Howard. Last years super man dunk was amazing. Not only did he make all his dunks with authority, he added creativity and electrified the crowd. It appears he's as eager to captivate the crowd this year, and with his sheer physical nature, I expect him to win with some new dunks you'll be talking about at the water cooler this year. Howard gets 3-2 odds to take home the title. The sleeper in this thing is Rudy Fernandez, because honestly, I'm not sure what that white boy can do, and we all know that white men can't jump. However he appears to have some hops and I think he'll surprise some people. He'll come in with some European flair and I think that could help him. Give him a 7-1 chance. JR Smith is a guy I'd expect in the 3 point shootout these days. I know he competed in 2003, but he's changed his game to be more of a shooter, and I've seen the tapes, his '03 performance wasn't that impressive, go 10-1 for him. Which brings us to little Nate, the '06 winner. We all remember the embarrassment of his victory and while he had a nice run last year, I just don't think he's that good. Give me Spud Webb over him any day of the week. However he is a former winner and what else does he have going on in NY aside from practicing for this, so I'll give him 12-1 odds. Needless to say it's not going to be much of a competition, I just hope for good entertainment.

Howard: 3-2
Fernandez: 7-1
Smith: 10-1
Robinson: 12-1


And as you know the long last tradition of HORSE is being played this weekend. It's not something that will be highlighted in prime time, rather during some of the pregame hype. Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo and Joe Johnson will be competing in it, but I think they need to bring in Majerle for this one. Take a look at one of the most amazing two shots I've ever seen. He would be the clear winner.



I haven't played HORSE in years, and I'm not sure how I feel about the NBA using these type of gimmick games to draw more attention. At this rate, we can expect to see games like Knock-Out, King of The Court and 21 headlining the festivities of 2012. What I hope is the NBA can convince enough of its superstars to take part in the dunk and 3-point contest, like in the good old days.

Happy Valentines day to all, and remember, there is nothing more romantic than watching the All-Star weekend snuggled up with your better half.....really!!!!!

Crazy Dunk

So I was playing some ball with some friends over the weekend and one of the guys dropped a crazy alley-oop dunk during the game. After the game ended we were reminiscing about the dunk and someone mentioned that he saw the most incredible alley-oop on YouTube the other day. Based on what he described I had to find it and he was right, it's totally sick!!!!

Take a look for yourself



What do you think, kind of looks like me doesn't it?