The things you see and hear, Vol. 4

Fresh from coffee and beignets at Café du Monde while a thunderstorm passed by, we’ll take a look back. I know a lot of dudes did live blog things last night, just pretend this is one of them.

JK goes off like only he can, that was some finish with a flourish, wasn’t it? I also want to point out that he was on the court for two full minutes and did not once foul a ball rack.

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Okay, did Jamario get jobbed? I don’t think so. Maybe if he did a bit more prep, especially with the Kapono dunk, he could have made the final but no one was beating Howard. M Grange ™ called the Superman thing the greatest, most difficult layup ever made and maybe it was. But for depth of talent, the right guy got the prize.

All I wanted to see, though, was him to dunk a nerf ball and a basketball on that final dunk. That woulda been cool.

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Anthony Parker, Candace Parker and Sam Mitchell woulda killed Robinson, Duncan and Becky Hammon in the shooting thing. No question.

And, please, can we do something next year so we don’t have to see Bill Laimbeer in a basketball uniform? Make ‘em wear sweats and a shooting shirt or something.

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For a change, let’s do a mailbag thing

Q: Hey Doug. Two questions for you (well, four really, but who's counting?)

In your humble opinion, where is Bargnani on the Darko-to-Dirk-Meter?  I've got him just left of middle with my only concern being that his rebounding seems to be about as effective as yours (no offense to you of course, but I'm sure he would be). And where do you see him in two years?

How about the Raptors? Where are they in the Knicks-to-Celtics-Meter?  I've got them just right of middle but without the defensive intensity and collective effort on the boards to move a lot further? And how about in two years?

Thanks for the guessing (um, wisdom) …

Troy K, Toronto

A: I got ‘em both slightly to the right of centre, actually. With Bargnani, rebounding is a concern, of course, and so is mental toughness but I think both can come with age. I’m not sure he ever gets to Dirk level (you see Bargs as the MVP?) but I’m thinking he can get to 90 per cent.

As for the team, they have to get bigger and tougher at the two and three and deeper at the four and five. Two years? Two years they should be playing for the Eastern Conference championship, in my humble opinion.

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So, Juan Dixon wants out. No big shocker, he’s got to be frustrated not playing, not really having a position and heading into the final two months of his contract.

I can see BC trying to package him with somebody (Martin? Graham? Hump if he gets a big man back?) this week. I don’t imagine it’ll be an earth-shattering but I do expect Toronto to do something.

And, no, I have no idea of specific players right now.

One thing I will say is that I know Colangelo is aware of Pietrus’s desire to get out of Golden State and had some interest in him in the summer.

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Bibby to Atlanta? For that collection of cast-offs and questionable talent?

Helluva trade for the Hawks. Probably gets ‘em in the playoffs this year (it’s not exactly the ’72 Lakers they’re in a fight with) and probably enough to save Billy Knight’s job for a year.

Can the Hawks win a playoff series? Not a chance.

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Here’s a mailbag comment rather than a question, but I giggled when I read it so you should, too.

Q: Seriously, why is Damon Jones always at the all-star game? Does he buy a ticket to be there? Is he the only NBA'er there that really has no reason to be attending the festivities?

Rob M, Calgary.

Comments

[Jason David]

Just watching Raptors TV showing the Nba legends brunch and all of the NBA Cares promos etc., wow does any other league do even half as much as the nba does for their community.

[Dinosty]

Damon Jones actually sneaks in using P.Diddy's ticket.

[GM]

Yeah, as impressive as Howard's Superman "dunk" was, it wasn't a dunk. I can't believe all the commentators were saying it was the greatest dunk they'd ever seen.

And can you imagine how good Bargnani would be if he had one-eighth the confidence that Damon Jones has?

[loe]

The Moon's 2nd dunk wasn't his choice. He didn't know he had to use an assit in the 1st round. He was told as he was about to do his 2nd. So in that sense he did get the shaft. So he was prep. He has to get go back next year.

[Dan]

I was just going to write the same thing about the superman dunk not being a dunk. He took off from the same place as Jamario Moon did. Jamario made the dunk. Dwight was short but got lucky and managed to throw it in. Yet the announcers turned it around and made it seem he was so high up he threw it down. Watch it again Doug. He was short and got lucky. He basicly got a 50 for wearing a cape. If that was worth 50 then so was Jamario's and that would have put him in the second round. I still think every other dunk howard did was amazing and creative he still would have won. The superman dunk was nothing more then a powerful layup.

[yertu damkule]

doug - DJones is the best shooter in the game. just ask him.

i'm starting to think that the best part about watching the game live (i.e. in person) is that you wouldn't be subjected to the utter inanity of the commentators. i was ready to shove knives in my ears...all the guffawing & screaming/laughing, and pandering to howard almost made me lose my lunch. i was a huge magic fan growing up (he's probably the reason i got hooked on bball in the first place), but man, he's gotta be the most irritating 'personality' on that TNT crew (which is saying something).

[Mary]

Hey Doug,

Does the points/percentages created at the All-Star Game/ Rookie Sophomore Challenge count towards a players regular season stats?

Blogger's note: Nope, they are separate and different from anything else this year.

[Eric]

Enjoyed the festivities all weekend. The players didn't look bothered like the NHLers commonly do, and it looked like some of the people (fans and media alike) actually enjoyed being there. I always like seeing that.

The Raptors were represented well. Bargnani played decent in the R/S, Moon had a good showing at the dunk, Kapono dominated and Bosh had a strong game. (Anyone notice how bad the Pistons' +/- was? I know, Doug, you don't like that stat, but man... I was glad to see that in the boxscore since the Pistons are my least favourite team!).

Good weekend overall. Dwight's missed dunk is getting too much press, I think. It was a creative idea and while, yes, Dwight was getting his points for his costume, it's never been entirely about the dunks anyway. He shouldn't have taken off from so far away, I guess. He would've won with a layup (well he sorta did).

[MW]

Damon Jones gets in because sponsors want him to show off the "great-looking" red and cream coloured suits. This year, he paid to get in.

[Zack]

Moon took off furthur than Howard Dan, check it out on YouTube. But I agree, Howard's Superman dunk, while entertaining, was just a glorified lay-up. Moon got robbed, not by Dwight, but by that lame windmill from McCants on the ladder to Gerald Green. More impressive for the guy sitting on the ladder if you ask me. Even though Jamario took off late, his near free-throw dunk should've been good enough to get him into the final. Let's hope, like D-Howard this year, Jamario will be invited back.

[bballer]

i said it last month but i wouldn't be surprised to see juan dixon and joey going to golden state for pietrus. dixon fills in nicely as a back up pg who shoots without a conscience. joey g can fill in as a small pf that nellie also likes. i thought the trade would happen by jan. 15th, but i didn't anticipate tj going down. now, who will pietrus usurp in the starting lineup - moon or parker. this will be a tryout until the summer where colangelo can look at better upgrades at the 2/3 and pietrus can try to catch on with the san international spurs.

[Travis]

Yeah watching the game with a couple friends I had a good laugh when I seen Damon Jones at the game sitting by all the superstars. It makes absolutely no sense as to why he is there hanging out with all those great players, and even worse the camera kept showing him and that awful mohawk he has on his head. Really though I think they should have let him in the 3pt contest just so he could have shown Kapono how great he is. I mean he is there anyways why not let him shoot and show up the winner?