To kick off a somewhat less than average NBA All-Star Saturday, Kevin Durant won the G-E-I-C-O competition. He came back despite trailing with four letters, but he nailed consistent three’s and knocked off O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson. Kevin Durant won the coveted plastic Geico horse doll. Please David Stern, discontinue this competition.
Next, we had the defending champs, Team San Antonio, try and retain the Haier Shooting Stars Challenge against Team Detroit, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Ironically the older guys were the ones coming up with the big shots in the end, especially Detroit’s Laimbeer, who made the challenging half-court shot. However, it was Phoenix’s struggles that sealed the deal for Detroit.
Then, we had a somewhat good Skills Challenge between Tony Parker, Derrick Rose, Mo Williams, and Devin Harris. Parker embarrassed himself with some bad passes that killed him in the end. Mo Williams couldn’t get the shots off either. However, it was Derrick Rose who capped off the night with a thunderous dunk to send Devin Harris home without the Skills Challenge trophy.
After that, we finally had an “interesting” competition. The Three-Point Competition was probably the most horrible competition we’ve seen in years. They could have made a new arena with all the bricks. In the end, Daequan Cook of the Miami Heat came up with the big shots to send Rashard Lewis home without a trophy.
But then, we had the most anticipated event of the night: the slam-dunk contest. Rudy Fernandez deserved better scores. J.R. Smith choked more than the Oklahoma Sooners in BCS Bowls. However, Nate Robinson won the crowd with his reverse jams and electric celebration dances. Dwight Howard brought out the 12-foot goal, but Nate changed his jersey to prove a point. He went green, for Superman’s kryptonite. Nate’s plan worked. Nate won the Dunk Contest for the second time.
Overall this was a horrible All-Star Saturday. It started with a bad note, but it ended with a somewhat good note. Please, David Stern, thrill us with some better players next year. There are reasons why NBA ratings are going down other than the Spurs being in the Finals almost every year.
