The allstar game had a record crowd of 108,713 people. Fuck! Thats like an AFL grand final, but held in a giant dome instead.
I could go on and sound like a news report but instead, i have a list of 10 things i learned from allstar weekend. Here goes...
- Size Matters
In a weekend where the headlines were all about the size of the Cowboy's stadium, and the crowd it would draw, the tagline "size matters" fits nicely. But i'm not talking about the crowd.
In the rookie-sophomore challenge, the two best players in the game were Tyreke Evans (the official MVP) and Dejuan Blair (Evan's accredited joint MVP). In a game dominated mostly by one and done college ballers, and sophomore sensations, it is rare to find a physically mature player (Not everyone comes out of high school looking like taylor lautner or LeBron James) but Tyreke and Dejuan break the mould here. Evans has proven against the best that he can bulldoze his way to the basket on any occasion, and his ability to do so was well said by my favourite blogger, Bill Simmons; "I've personally seen him turn four or five games into layup lines this season.". Evans strength, length, and ultimately, his size, assures that he can overpower nearly any opposing guard, and this was clearly evident going up against the not fully physically developed sophomore guards in this years game.
Another beast of a player, Blair showed his physical dominance (he's only 6'7" but he's 270 pounds!) against the more experienced soph's when he scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds! The sophomore's had more height, but Blair's size(he outweighed Beasley, Love and even seven footers, Gasol and Lopez) brought the victory in the end. - Demar Derozan is the next Gerald Green
Amazing hops? Check. Occasional flashes of brilliance? Check. Wasted Potential? Ummm....
A quick bio on Gerald Green: Drafted 18th in 2005 out of HS. Rookie year averages of 5.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 12 mins.
Demar Derozan: Drafted 9th in 2009 out of USC. Rookie year averages of 8 points and 3 rebounds in 21 mins.
Both are 6'7", both are extremely gifted athletes, but both, i fear, are going to underwhelm. Green, the 2007 dunk contest winner, and Derozan, the should've been winner of the 2010 dunk contest, both are known for their gravity defying antics. But if you ask anyone where Gerald Green is now, i doubt anyone could guess. Green entered the league drawing comparisons to a young Tracy McGrady. Funny how that turned out. He is now floundering in some Russian league, and the annoying thing for Green fans is that he still has so much potential. (He's only just turned 24.)
Derozan has so far been a disappointment i must say. Other guards drafted after him have so far outplayed him. (Lawson, Jennings).
I know its too quick to judge, but i just get that nagging feeling that his future is not as bright as Toronto hoped. Put it this way, if Jennings were playing for the Raptors, i think Chris Bosh would think a lot harder about bailing when free agency comes round later this year. - Nash is awesome
My favourite PG put on a show at the skills challenge, dominating the 3 other guards that are all at least a decade younger than him. The last few years he has really come out of his shell, and i would say he is one of the most entertaining players in the league, along with Superman, LeBron, Boom Dizzle, and Click Clack (Pow-Arenas). As well as acting like a clown the whole weekend, and providing numerous hilarious all access moments he then went out and fed off 13 assists, mostly to hometown hero Nowitzki of whom 99% of the crowd came to see dominate. A class act. What a legend. - The Dunk Contest is lame
Yay, lets watch rookie's and one dimensional bench players do the same dunks that Domonique and MJ did in the 80's. My prediction for next year? Once again Nate Robinson does a 360 or a reverse, the crowd goes "wow that guy is only 5'9" and he wins his 4th crown.
On the real, if the NBA want the dunk contest to keep being fresh, they have to realise its not about the dunks anymore. There is always going to be a plethora of young guys who have 40 inch verticals and who can jump over a person standing in the key. Guys who can windmill or reverse alley oop off the backboard. There is no dunk that hasnt been done or isn't just a minor tweak from a dunk that's already been done. There is so little new and exciting idea's regardless of how original and creative the contestants are. Its not about the dunks anymore.
Its about the personalities. The enterntainment. The reason why the last few years have been so great is we had Superman. Then we had Krypto-Nate. Before all that, we had Dwight doing the infamous sticker dunk, in which he stuck a sticker of his face to the top of the backboard, mid dunk. These were not just a display of the best dunker's in the NBA, it was a presentation of the NBA's great entertainers. Eternally happy, BFG, But incredibly athletic and powerful Dwight, versus trash talking, gangster midget Nate Robinson. It was so appealing to see someone 6'11" having a dunk comp against someone 5'9", and they brought thier personalities to the big stage with them.
The contest also needs starpower. Now that Nate's little man guise has worn off, and Dwight Superman persona is getting old, the comp needs a breath of fresh air.
I think next year's contest should harness all the star power it can.
I propose the contestants be Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard. The 3 previous winner's along with James would bring more buzz to the contest than ever before. And although Kobe and Vince are disadvantaged due to their age, i wouldn't be surprised if the iternally skillful Kobe, as well as the man who once jumped over a 7'2" player in a game still had a few tricks up their sleeve. - The NBA is virtually a sports version of Gossip Girl
The scandals, the rumours, the trials and tribulations. Its just non-stop gossip. And ESPN and NBA.com are just like Gossip Girl herself, reporting on all NBA news, whether or not the average fan would even care.
One thing that might jeeve people is the constant trade rumours. Heading into allstar weekend, i had heard of about a thousand different trade rumours. And of the one solitary trade that went down, i had not heard a single inkling of any of the players mentioned being traded beforehand. Where is ESPN getting its intel?
On the trade that actually happened: I think it's a good move for Dallas. Your getting Caron, who is an upgrade over the traded Josh Howard at small forward. And your getting one of the most underrated center's in the league and defensive workhorse, Brendan Haywood, who is an obvious upgrade over Dampier. And although i hate trash talking Deshawn Stevenson, he does bring some gangster swagger that the Mavs don't have with white white white ass Nowitzki and ageing Jason Kidd.
For Washington though, it is a questionable move. After finally realising that the big 3 will never win a ring together, they realised they needed to get rid of gun toting Arenas or over the hill Antwan Jamison. So i get why they traded Caron Butler... Wait.. No i don't. It makes no sense. But regardless, they were most likely going to completely combust their lineup eventually (think NJ a few years back with Kidd, Carter and Jefferson, another Big 3 in the East that kept grabbing a 5-8 seed each year). Whether it is by the trade deadline, or in the coming offseason, they will get there. But even more clueless is why did they get rid of Haywood? What have they got at center now? Oberto isnt a starter in this league. And Javale McGee is hardly a bench player in this league. What the fuck are you gunna do wizards? Play some extreme small ball? How will Foye, Young, Howard, Gooden and Jamison go against the Lakers front line? Or any team in fact. Jackasses. - Dwyane Wade loves Dallas
Think either Finals 2006 or his MVP performance on the weekend.
You may hate him now Dallas fans, but would you say no in upcoming free agency if you had the chance? Put it down as a long shot. - Dallas Hates Carmelo Anthony
Check this scenario.. West allstars down 2 points with 5 seconds left and inbound ball in their possession. Cowboy stadium is packed with Texans, and especially, Maverick fans. 108,000 people.. Hometown hero, Franchise player of the last 10 years, the greatest Dallas player of all time, Dirk Nowitzki, knows its his destiny to hit the buzzer beater 3. Everyone knows its gunna go in. Its almost destiny. The climax of the largest live basketball game in history, the hero has 22 points and a hot hand. He wants it. The crowd wants it. Heck even the East allstar teams wants it. The ball is inbounded.. time winding down.. Carmelo Anthony has it in deep three point range... all eyes are on Dirk, tussling with his man, ready to break free and hit the game winner.. Dirk makes his move, he gets open, arms outstretched, ready for the catch and release.. 3 seconds left now.. and no pass.. Dirk cuts back.. more open than ever before.. This is the shot he was born to take. If he hits this the heartbreak of the 2006 finals is erased. He smiles to himself briefly. He knows this is his moment and he is gunna own it. The crowd is on their feet. They know the moment is coming. 2 seconds left, and they know its coming. 1 second left.. the crowd knows the moment is coming, the players, coaches, commentators.. everyone knows its Dirk's moment. Everyone except Carmelo. In a flash of non-brilliance Carmelo hoists up a contested 3, and airballs. Game over. Your not welcome in Dallas, Carmelo. Don't come back.
(A little bit of exaggeration) - Tim Duncan should respectfully decline when voted into the allstar game.
Although Timmy is always one of the top votegetters for allstar, and always plays, it is easy to tell he is not a fan. He has never been an excitement machine. Given a wide open basket, he is more likely to fingertip jam it then throw down a Dwight-esque tomahawk backboard-shaker. And although he deserves the recognition (allstar nods are often mentioned when comparing greatness) he should not neccessarily play. This most recent game, he was highly uninterested, and it was easy to tell he would rather be home resting with his family, then participating in a no-defense dunk-fest, two things he has never been associated with in his career. - Weak draft my ass
2009 was meant to be one of the weakest drafts in years. But instead, the rookies towelled the soph's, for the first time since 2002. - And the final thing i learnt from the allstar weekend.... I LOVE THIS GAME!
nuff said
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