All Star Weekend Round-Up

I know no Pacers were involved in this year’s All-Star Weekend in Dallas, but it just wouldn’t seem right not to blog about it.

From all accounts, and from what I’ve seen, the whole thing was a bit ‘meh’.  Probably because no Pacers involved.

Yes, record crowds thanks to the new Cowboy Stadium, but injuries to major stars (eg Kobe, AI) and the absence of Shaq, who is always entertaining, made it a more subdued affair.

Rookie Challenge

For once, the Rookies won, 140-128, in the usual all-flair and no defense exhibition.  But remember, Derrick Rose didn’t play.  I think if he did it would have made a huge difference.  Still, having said that, I thought the sophmores would have had enough to take the Rookies, but I guess I was wrong!

Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans won MVP honors with 26 points, but I don’t quite understand why the award didn’t go to DeJuan Blair, the 2nd round pick for the Spurs, who had 22 points and 23 rebounds for the first 20-20 in Rookie Challenge history.

Russell Westbrook (Thunder) top scored with 40 for the losing Sophomores.

They should have had Hibbert and Rush for the Sophomores.  That would have turned the result around (NOT!).

Shooting Stars

No one cares about this.  But for the record, Team Texas (with Becky Hammon and Kenny Smith!) won.

H-O-R-S-E

This should really be a lot more fun than it currently is.  Kevin Durant (beating Rajon Rondo and Omri Casspi) repeated his win from last year by nailing threes.  Big deal.  We want to see some damn trick shots!  Something crazy!  Come on!

Personally, I think if all they are doing is shooting jumpers, Danny Granger could give himself a shot in this.

Skills Challenge

Steve Nash proved that he’s still the PG with the most skills in the NBA by taking out the Skills Challenge, completing his final round in 29.9 seconds, outgunning Deron Williams, who got stuck with the last pass.

AJ Price to compete in this next year?

3-Point Contest

Paul Pierce certainly surprised me with his win – 20 in the final round, including all 5 money balls.  I thought he didn’t have the right stroke to win the contest, but he somehow managed to beat Chauncey Billups (14) and Stephen Curry (17) in the final.

Doesn’t it seem strange to you that Reggie Miller has never won the 3-point contest but Paul Pierce has?  What as the world come to?

Dunk Comp

I thought some of the dunks were pretty good, but because we’re all so used to seeing stuff that is out of this world, nothing seems to surprise us.  I thought DeMar DeRozan’s off the side of the backboard, throwdown on the other side dunk was the best of the night, but somehow, Nate Robinson won it for the third time.

Seriously.  I like the little champ as much as the next guy, but is Nate Robinson the best dunker in the league?  The same guy that missed about 100 dunks once and STILL won it?

The Dunk Comp needs to be revamped somehow, and it needs to happen soon.  Getting bigger name stars to participate would be a start.

All-Star Game

MVP Dwayne Wade.  Lebron James.  East over West, 141-139.

Lots of turnovers.  Some nice moves.  Same old stuff.  I enjoyed how Tim Duncan didn’t give a crap though.  That was fun to watch.

Verdict

I give this year’s All-Star Weekend in Dallas a B-.  Not horrible but nothing special.  If only they threw some Pacers in it, then that could have made a difference.