The official All-Star weekend thread!

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[roywonder07]

From OLive

I spot lamarcus

Lillard had a top 3 dunk tonight. The format was weak.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

He showed well. He and Trey Burke were good teammates. Loved seeing the two together.

But overall very proud of him. He needs to get some rest.

 

[MARIS61]

Worst all-star weekend ever. I'd have been bored to tears but that would have required an emotional commitment that I was not willing to waste.

Taking a series of individual competitions and trying to pretend they are team competitions resulted in finals between random individuals regardless of their efforts or scores. They have managed to erase the competitive spirit, and with it any reason to watch, from all the events.

Next year pick the contestants out of a hat and everyone gets a certificate of participation.

 

[Sinobas]

I wish they'd bring back the "legends" game. It'd be fun to see what those old timers can do. Or maybe a "grudge match" where you get two former championship teams to complete. Like a rematch between the Blazers/Pistons.

 

[jlprk]

Their purpose in creating East vs. West gangs is to dumb it down even more, which they think will increase ratings. Same reason for the long "song," if that term is still used in today's music.

This graphic understates Lillard's dunk, which commentators said was the best one, at least till the finalists gor repeat opportunities while Lillard got no more chances.

 

[HailBlazers]

Lillards first round dunk was SIIIICK, dudes got surprising hops. It was so funny that Reggie said he couldn't make it after missing the first. And then Waaap.

 

[jlprk]

Many guys, after missing the first dunk attempt, decrease the risk on the second attempt by decreasing the Drexler/Connie Hawkins swoop of their shooting arm, and just barely crimp the elbow. It happens fast, but is obvious if you are watching the arms, not the height of the leap.

Lillard and others did that tonight. The judges probably saw it and it slightly hurt his score.

(I'm pretending the scoring was objective.)

 

[Natebishop3]

The dunk contest was massively weighted towards the east team.

Wall/Ross/George vs Barnes/Dame/McLeMore? That's a fucking joke. They put the three "worst" dunkers on the same team, but they didn't predict that Dame would do so well.

I think the whole night was set up so that the east AND west could donate $250k. I'm also extremely skeptical that Wall won the fan vote. He was the LAST dunker, and Dame had realistically done the two best dunks to that point. So Wall suddenly got enough votes to win in a matter of ten minutes? I doubt it.

 

[Sinobas]

I thought Lillard's dunk was good too! And the crowd didn't even make a peep.

 

[Sinobas]

Apparanty the formula for winning the dunk contest is to jump over something.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Apparanty the formula for winning the dunk contest is to jump over something.

Bonus points if it's a sponsor's product.

 

[Natebishop3]

Apparanty the formula for winning the dunk contest is to jump over something.

They need to remove the ability to use props. It's just stupid. No cars. No chairs. No pallets of sprite.

The fact is this, the NBA is using the All-Star events as a way to sell products. It has nothing to do with dunks or shooting. It has nothing to do with the players and it damn sure doesn't have anything to do with the fans. It's about Sprite and Kia and the other bullshit companies that sponsor the event.

When they allowed Kia to turn the dunk contest into a live action commercial, that was the official end of the contest. Last night was just the continuation of that with Drake and Sprite. Fuck the NBA.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

They need to remove the ability to use props. It's just stupid. No cars. No chairs. No pallets of sprite.

The fact is this, the NBA is using the All-Star events as a way to sell products. It has nothing to do with dunks or shooting. It has nothing to do with the players and it damn sure doesn't have anything to do with the fans. It's about Sprite and Kia and the other bullshit companies that sponsor the event.

When they allowed Kia to turn the dunk contest into a live action commercial, that was the official end of the contest. Last night was just the continuation of that with Drake and Sprite. Fuck the NBA.

I bet guys like Lillard might agree; he seems to be a bit of a basketball backpacker.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Lillard should have done a tribute to Katniss from Hunger Games and wore a dress that lights on fire.

 

[PapaG]

The dunk contest is being universally panned. It was crap.

 

[jlprk]

Lillard is 4th-youngest All-Star this year.
http://bkref.com/tiny/amQ4N

Rookie-Sophomore box score
http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_2014_rookie.html

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

The dunk contest is being universally panned. It was crap.

I didn't even DVR it. It gets worse every year.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I actually caught Dame's dunk live before the Drake dunk thing. Then I saw how they had the judging and just laughed at the absurdity. It seems having a no talent douche celebrity helps even more than biased 2 out of 3 Eastern conference homers.

 

[julius]

Not sure this was posted, or discussed, but the d-league dunk contest was better.



[video=youtube;ay0xE1tCZeA]

 

[BBert]

No surprise that so many players don't even want to be in it.

 

[PapaG]

No surprise that so many players don't even want to be in it.

It was the dumbest 'contest' I've ever seen. All that was missing were dogs catching Frisbees during the "Freestyle" portion.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[illmatic99]

#likeaboss

Damian Lillard ‏@Dame_Lillard

Red for #RipCity @NBAAllStar

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[PapaG]

Is it me, or does Barkley seemingly lose his voice by Sunday of every All-Star Weekend? Following Chuck around Bourbon Street last night would have been epic.

 

[PapaG]

LOL at Chris Paul standing on this toes to look taller. Or, is he suddenly 6'5"?

At second glance, it looks like Parker and Paul are standing closer to the camera than other in the back row.

 

[MARIS61]

Are these guys really the best dunkers in the league? Are any of them even in the top ten? No. Players turn the league down when asked, except new guys seeking fame.

Dunk contestants actually would be better selected by a fan vote. And then maybe they'd participate.

 

[julius]

Is anyone watching the "concert" before the game, on TNT?

The guy who says "you can tell everybody" appears to be either tone deaf, or unable to carry a note on his own. It's brutal.