I used to love the NBA's All Star Weekend. Oh, it still is a good show and a better party, but it just doesn't pop like it once did. I really don't know why.
Yes I do. Star power. The lack of star power.
Oh, there are stars sprinkled out there in a few events. We did have Dwight Howard defending his slam dunk championship (more on that later) and Tony Parker was in the Skills competition. And soon-to-be-superstars Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant were extremely impressive in everything they did this weekend. But it lacks that magic of having guys that transcend the sport participating in these events.
The Skills Competition is a neat idea, but it looks too much like practice drills. That, or a dog's obstacle course. However, it is the truest event that is held during the day.
The three point contest used to be that ... but it favors rhythm shooters who have outstanding mechanics and not those catch and shoot cats. You also need a hot hand to win that thing, which is why Jason Kapono's off night killed his chances.
As for the dunk contest, I will say that this was one of the more entertaining events in a while. I pretty much liked all the dunks. I also think Dwight Howard was robbed. He won that thing, but since he was born with height, he couldn't win.
And let me weigh in about LeBron James. He mentioned DURING THE DUNK CONTEST that he is thinking about getting back in next year. How big of you, Mr. King. One, can't you keep that under your hat until after the dunk contest is long over? You just overshadowed the guys who actually showed up to the event. Not just that, you underminded the winner's victory by basically saying, "yeah, well that's because I wasn't there."
Don't get me wrong; I hope LBJ comes through on his little idea. We need more dunk contests with the NBA's top dunkers. Maybe a guy like Vince Carter could come back? Or Andre Iguodala?
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