harrison barnes slam dunk contest preview (Photo: still shot of TNT broadcast via BeyondTheBuzzer.com)
2014 Sprite Slam Dunk Contestt Preview:
When: Saturday, February 15th, 8 PM
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
TV: TNT
Odds:
Odds to win 2014 NBA Dunker of the Night
Paul George (IND) — 23/20
Terrence Ross (TOR) — 7/2
John Wall (WAS) — 9/2
Ben McLemore (SAC) — 5/1
Damian Lillard (POR) — 5/1
Harrison Barnes (GS) — 17/2
Official Press Release from (http://www.nba.com/2014/news/as.dunk.contest/02/06/2014-sprite-slam-dunk-participants-official-release/index.html)
NEW YORK — NBA All-Stars Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and John Wall of the Washington Wizards headline the list of dunkers in the 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk (#SpriteSlam), taking place during State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night (#StateFarmSaturday) at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 15. Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors and Ben McLemore of the Sacramento Kings fill out the Western Conference teams, while reigning Sprite Slam Dunk champion Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors completes the East roster.
.
This year’s event will feature the participants competing as a team — three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference — in an above-the-rim two-round format. In a significant first in the event’s history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting “East” or “West.” The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round.
.
The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk champions.
This will be the best dunk contest, as far as the lineup of competitors go, that we have seen in a long time.
Ross will look to defend his crown and take home his second straight #SpriteSlam Dunk Championship.
Barnes will look to please #DubNation and bring home the trophy for the West along with bringing it home for the Warriors. He told us yesterday that he “might bring out a jersey or two” to pay homage to previous dunkers.
We’re speculating he could only mean either his University of North Carolina idol Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, or both.
[NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish contributed to this report.]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
