All-Star Saturday 2009

[Andrew]

The rundown:

Shooting Stars: Team Detroit
Skills Challenge: Derrick Rose
Three Point Shootout: Daequan Cook
Slam Dunk Contest: Nate Robinson

Detroit was pretty lucking in the Shooting Stars contest, Phoenix looked like they had it in the bag but the halfcourt shot killed them at the end. I think that contest has run its course, I'd like to see them come up with something else featuring an NBA player, WNBA player and former NBA player though.

Obviously I was glad to see Derrick Rose win the Skills Challenge, though for a moment there I thought he was going to blow it when he collected himself for the double-pump reverse. I could see the ball slipping and him blowing the dunk and the four seconds he ultimately won by but instead it was a fine exclamation mark on the victory. Surprisingly it was Devin Harris whose shot let him down in the final round, I actually had Rose pegged to come up short because of his jumper.

The Three Point Shootout wasn't the finest display this year. The scores weren't too bad outside Rashard Lewis' tiebreaker performance but there were some long streaks without makes and some really ugly misses. Great effort by Daequan Cook to force the tiebreaker and then come through after Lewis' miscue.

As I said in the dunk contest thread, I was underwhelmed by the judging in the first round and I'm not a fan of the gimmicks, I think there's still things players can do with only the ball or with a teammate without any gimmicks that is still impressive and there were a couple of dunks in the contest, like Nate jumping over Dwight and Dwight's lob off the side of the board that demonstrated that those are the only theatrics you really need. When it comes down to it, the dunks are what should be judged and it shouldn't matter what you're wearing, what gimmick you've come up with if the dunk itself is something that's been done so many times before. The new spin should be with the dunk itself, not capes and phone booths and outfit changes. But there were some nice dunks in there, it's all in fun, so it's not like an officiating blunder in a pivotal NBA Finals game.

Overall it was a pretty decent All-Star Saturday, the dunk contest was fine as a main event and it wasn't boring to watch but past Saturdays have been better across the board.

[Abctest123]

I don't have a clue where my post in the All-Star Friday thread went (though I do admit my bad on not reading the thread title, thought it said All Star Weekend), but good thing I still have it .

A few notes from the dunk contest:

- I really hope they let the crowd know what the Martin reference on the back of Rudy Fernandez's jersey was, instead of everyone thinking it was for Ricky Martin or something.

- Rudy Fernandez's dunks were better than what I was expecting. They were quite impressive. I wasn't expecting him to have enough hangtime to finish the second dunk, but in the end he got it. Props to him, though his score was affected due to how many attempts it took him.

- Dwight Howard's first dunk was not a 50. Yes it was nice, but he messed up too many lobs and attempts to make it a 50. Probably a 45 was more of an appropriate score.

- Who was the guy who was passing to JR Smith? He tried to do what Fred Jones did when he participated but in the end it just didn't work.

- Not everyone agreed on this, but I thought the dunk on the 12ft (or whatever it was) rim was pretty impressive. I honestly think he can do a windmill on that rim.

- Nate Robinson's first dunk was alright, but the dunk where he jumped off of Wilson Chandler was meh. His finals performance was well done though. First dunk was Spudd Webb-esque, and the dunk over Dwight Howard was amazing.

- Dwight Howard's first dunk in the finals was vicious. His second dunk, I wasn't sure if he dunked from the FT line or not, but it looked REALLY easy for him (pretty damn impressive if it was infact from the FT line, though I'm hearing it was slightly inside).

- LeBron said that he was gonna compete in the 2010 dunk contest. Take it for its worth.

- What the heck was Cheryl Miller doing randomly shooing off the kid giving the results of the fan voting? And why the heck was she bringing up the fact that LeBron said he was gonna compete in next year's contest? It was Nate's moment, why randomly bring LeBron in?

- Kenny Smith was acting like an idiot for a lot of the evening.

[Andrew]

Sorry about that, I accidentally deleted it when I was splitting/merging it with this one. I meant to shoot you a PM but you beat me to it.

I agree for the most part, though the 12 foot dunk was kind of anti-climactic because he jumped up and grabbed the rim before the attempt. It was pretty obvious he was going to make it, which doesn't make it any less impressive but it did eliminate the suspense. I'd like to see him compete again and try it even higher. Get the Guiness Book people there too, whether he wins the contest or not he should be able to get the record.

Kenny Smith is pretty annoying. As soon as Gasol came out to make the pass to Rudy, I knew he'd start on his annual spiel about not bringing the team's point guard out to throw the lob and it continued with Sonny Weems throwing the lob to JR Smith.

[homicide1550]

I sure hope LeBron keeps his word about entering next year's dunk contest. It would add to the excitement next year if he comes, and I wonder who would want to go against him. It would be tough to win against him since the winner is determined by fan votes and we all know how popular LeBron is..

[Abctest123]

Yeah, Kenny Smith managed to insult the whole Spanish population with some comment about Spanish amateurism or something along those lines. Plus his numerous stupid comments.

[The X]

Rudy's dunks were my favourites of the contest (& Howard's one off the backboard, one of Nate's was alright)....they were more graceful than the others & underrated....shame he didn't make the dunk first or second attempt, otherwise he would've been in Finals....

a bit ridiculous that they were making a big deal about Lebron, he's overrated as dunker....Vince Carter could still take the contest even at tailend of his career....Iguodala would've won it too....glad Iggy won't compete again in Dunk Contests after previously being robbed....

I agree with Andrew on a few points, which is less gimmicks & increase contestants to 8 dunkers, or at least 6 (with top 3 going into finals)....a gimmick is alright every now & then, like Gerald Green's blowing out the candle on the cupcake dunk....

overall, after last 2 years of good dunk contests & 3pt contests, this was a bit underwhelming....

[kibaxx7]

- Rudy Fernandez's dunks were better than what I was expecting. They were quite impressive. I wasn't expecting him to have enough hangtime to finish the second dunk, but in the end he got it. Props to him, though his score was affected due to how many attempts it took him.

Yes, it impressed me too. He's good.

- Dwight Howard's first dunk was not a 50. Yes it was nice, but he messed up too many lobs and attempts to make it a 50. Probably a 45 was more of an appropriate score.

Exactly my thoughts when I first saw it,

- Who was the guy who was passing to JR Smith? He tried to do what Fred Jones did when he participated but in the end it just didn't work.

Sonny Weems, Nuggets G-F,

[Andrew]

I think the gimmicks will get old soon enough and then actually doing something without unrelated theatrics will themselves become a novelty, the lack of a gimmick being a gimmick in itself. They could easily expand the field of dunkers - something they should certainly do if a few more people are interested in participating - if they cut out the Shooting Stars event or move it to Friday night.

[Mandich]

They should put hidden talent in the dunk contest. I myself did a little on that Weems dude, he is a way better dunker than JR Smith

[Fcuk Orlando]

- Kenny Smith was acting like an idiot for a lot of the evening.

Yeah, we was saying stuff like Dwight might dunk from the 3 point line and then Reggie replied "This is not EA Sports"

[MarvAlbert]

For me its not really the gimmicks themselves, but the fact that many of the gimmicks were recycled from years past. Nate's dunk off of Dwight was recycled from 2005 and no one has forgotten Dwight's superman routine. Gimmicks are good if used sparingly.

[Doobie]

Nate . I'm going to sleep a happy camper.

[Oznogrd]

Watched the whole thing tonight
-The dunk contest was good honest fun. The participants looked as if they enjoyed themselves and werent taking it all that seriously. Dwight was 1 step too late from a repeat. Nate fucking earned it. The kryptonite shit was pretty original
-the 3 pt scores surprised me thought they'd be higher
-missed most of skills challenge while driving to the bar but saw rose win: i thought the dunk was overkill and cocky as all fuck
-shooting stars-good idea: bad entertainment. Its only good if everyone pops shit.

[Gundy]

the highlight for me was the 3pt contest. Specifically, when Rashard Lewis and Daequan Cook were making clutch shots to tie in the finals and then Cook getting hot to beat him. Also, Derrick Rose looked great in the Skills Challenge.

the Dunk Contest was pretty meh. I couldn't believe that Nate Robinson was allowed to fucking jump off of someone to dunk and still get a good score. that one Rudy Fernandez was pretty nice but other then that it was pretty forgettable. It's turning into a circus to be honest. It's all a bunch of props and flashy outfits with dunks that are just plain boring.

[Lean]

Rudy could have won it. I don't know but his dunks are just original. I miss the Desmond Mason and J-Rich days.

Nate almost slipped on the team-mate dunk. Great that he made it. His 1st dunk on the final round was just nuts. Dwight's "12-foot dunk" was sick, no, not "great" sick, but just sick. Bad idea. He somehow wasted time on all the gimmicks.

The likes of Gerald Green or Jamario Moon or Rudy Gay should be there. (all were in previous dunk contests but meh, we need a real dunk contest minus gimmicks)

It's a shame that Kapono wasn't able to win this year, and props to Daequan for winning it on the tiebreaker round. Rashard was totally owned right there. But overall, all shooters' scores aren't really that great. Like Andrew said, there were streaks of misses which is just bland on the scoreboard.

Derrick Rose, man, his run was great. Funny how TP flopped his run.

Fuck that I'll miss the All-Star game again.

[benji]

Desmond Mason

YES. That one dunk of his was brilliant, one of the greatest of all time, but overshadowed by Jason Richardsons "let me do the same dunk eight times in two years from different locations."

Rudy Gay should be there

To his credit (and yours!), he was supposed to be.

Rudy's would've been great and a 50 for sure if he threw it down on the first or second attempt. Kenny Smith is rarely correct but he was on that Pau was fucking up the lob.

[Martti.]

I was a bit disappointed, that Dwight didn't win. I think he should have put the rim even higher then 12 feet. But Cook and Rose were both my favorites, so happy about those guys.

The skills-challenge was a bit disappointing though, no-one actually did it full-speed like Deron last year..

[benji]

The lack of effort is what kills most of the competitions. HORSE and Shooting Stars sucks because until the end they don't even care enough to try. HORSE was so horrible because they weren't even getting lift under most of the shots so airballs and short bricks everywhere. Shooting Stars always has the same problem from the NBA players. And Skills Challenge always has half of them not even trying and one person who does and they win.

The dunk contest fails because they all try but they generally only invite two and a half people who can compete. And then both the judging and fan vote is a popularity contest.

Three point is only part that can keep the drama up anymore. And it's always been the hidden best part of All-Star Saturday.

Barbosa's standard jumpers from the real half court line was awesome though. And Dan Majerle is always badass. (Bill Laimbeer's halfcourt shots were epic too. And his brutal shooting on his regular threes. Put him and David Robinson on a center starved team still.)

[Oskar]

Anything ? He was so relaxed, didn't even seem to try to win and all, while Harris was running like hell. Rose just did his thing and man, that sweet finish, he's the man !

I'm about to watch Slam Dunk competition and 3pt shootout soon.

[BIG GREEN]

Dwight had better build up than last year buthe didn't deliver. Nate stepped it up by defeated superman with kryptonate. What i'm looking forward to is lebron at next year's dunk contest. That will be one to remember....an actual dunk before the free throw line might be possible.

[shadowgrin]

Not bad of a show from Krypto-Nate. I'm already imagining next year's dunk contest. If LeBron wins I hope he issues a challenge to Kobe and Vince and may be, just may be, we'll have a real sick slam dunk contest. Nothing wrong with the present participants theatrics and props, it's enjoyable, but I want to see something from the old days when participants go for each other's throats just to win the way MJ and Nique did.

I was suprised the way Derrick Rose won the Skills challenge, that finish. it's either that the other participants are not trying enough or Rose's ability is just scary.

Three-point contest not bad, I always enjoy watching it. The league should just scrap that Shooting Stars thing and have the old NBA players compete in the three-point contest if they're going for nostalgia. Thunder Dan and Laimbeer FTW! Heck, I would even bet that Reggie Miller or Larry Bird can win it if they participated in the three point contest. They would put those active players to shame.

[Andrew]

-missed most of skills challenge while driving to the bar but saw rose win: i thought the dunk was overkill and cocky as all fuck

LeBron and Wade did the same thing in the contest a couple of years back. Cocky, sure, but nothing wrong with a little extra showmanship.

[TheBigEasy]

The NBA should scrap the Shooting Stars and the Skills Challenge, both boring as hell ...

The 3pt contest was a bit disappointing this year ... and one of the announcers was right, they should get the best shooters like Allen, Stojakovic and Nowitzki in there again.

I actually enjoyed the dunk contest, especially with all the gimmicks. Sure Howard gave it away a little with touching the rim before the dunk ... but it was still great entertainment. And thats all its supposed to be ... entertainment.

I hope LeBron not just competes next year, but even for next year gets some other big names to compete with him ... and I hope the NBA is expanding the field to 6 or even 8, especially if Kobe, Wade and maybe even Carter come back. That'd be nice.

Btw when Howard was bringing in the new rim, they showed David Stern on the phone ... I thought he looked like "Hey ... why the fuck wasn't that cleared with me" .

[Doobie]

I am convinced Carter can't dunk like he used to. I think you guys are forgetting the guy is now 32 and will be 33 by next year's dunk contest. Sure he can probably still dunk the ball and have some nice showings, but I highly doubt that he can do what he did in 2000.

[Jing]

Rudy was a pleasant surprise in the dunk contest, too bad they couldn't connect until after time ran out, otherwise he'd gotten a much higher score and might have squeaked by Nate. Also that Nate dunk with Chandler, would have been better if he did something after stepping off Chandler's back. Not only was it dangerous in that it could have messed up Chandler's back (like when Nate slipped that first time, must hurt), it was like a stepping stool to the rim which made it easier. JR Smith could have probably found a better passer though cause that dunk just took forever. Felt also Howard gave the title to Nate, without Howard Nate doesn't win cause he doesn't have Superman to jump over. Maybe that's why Howard didn't pull a more spectacular dunk in the end because he know Nate had it sealed with the Krypotnite thing

HORSE... I mean GEICO, was boring until OJ Mayo started doing shots from the stands, and then Durant got hot and won it simply by shooting 3's. Would have been nice if they didn't take so long to warm up and there was more of a dramatic finish other than Durant tossing up 3's (impress that he couldn't miss nonetheless)

Shooting Stars Bill Laimbeer's half-court shooting style was... interesting. Though like ben I was impressed with Barbosa shooting his half-court shots normally, really wasn't expecting Detroit to win especially after Phoenix made their first 5 shots, but they couldn't sink the 3 though Marjele had some in-and-outs.

The Skills Challenge honestly didn't expect Rose to win. He just took everything so relaxed, dribbling around. The FT's killed Harris because he wasted a bunch of seconds missing shots, and Rose made it in 2 or 3 attempts.

Three Point Shooting, they need some shooters, not scorers. The Lewis-Cook getting hot in the last rack and sending it to OT was nice touch to an otherwise boring shootout, really didn't expect Kapono to win, and Lewis didn't show up in the OT and Cook had won it by the middle rack.