It's all about the dunks ... or is it?

Some night, no?

Good? Or bad?

The debate rages.

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Okay, the NBA dunk contest is a prop-filled, entertainment-oriented, WWE-style event that has little to do with, you know, athleticism.

And if that’s what it is, that’s what it is but some of us old grumpy codgers aren’t all that thrilled with it.

Yes, jumping over the hood of a small car is no mean feat and the choir was cool and the building was excited for one of the few times of the night.

But I’m going to say this with all due respect to Blake Griffin, who is an ascendant star and an exciting player and the flavour of the month.

I would surmise there are 20, maybe 25 guys in the NBA who can jump over the hood of small car and dunk; I don’t imagine there are five who can take off from the free throw line and dunk like Serge Ibaka did.

And I know DeMar missed a few attempts at the first dunk but taking the ball off the side/back of the board, going between the legs and dunking is hugely impressive and I think he was probably ripped off on his scores for his second dunk and should have made the final.

To me, the four most impressive dunks of the night were:

The two DeRozan did.

Ibaka’s flight from the free throw line.

Griffin hanging on the rim by the elbow after tossing himself a pass.

The other stuff was entertaining, no doubt about it, but was it really good? I wonder.

There is no doubt Griffin and McGee energized the night and created a buzz around the dunk contest that hasn’t been there for years with their use of a car, and a second basket and the little kid’s stuffed animal that Ibaka used was kind of cute.

But is it good long-term? What’s next? They joked about planes and trucks and some prop not thought of yet but, really, what could be next?

Yes, Saturday was in some ways a high-water mark in dunk contest history.

To some, it was a low-water mark just as much.

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So, according to one of those tweety thingies, Reggie Evans is a dad again.

Guess the little fella finally got too bored.

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I have a pretty good seat for the festivities at the Staples Center, first row on the baseline, and it affords a good view of the various big shots hanging around.

Saw lots of things Saturday like Spike Lee in a conversation with Kevin Love, Shaq wandering around talking to anyone he’d see, more unidentifiable hip hop and rap stars than I could possibly count and a whole bunch of Hollywood types I’d probably care about if I knew who they were.

But nothing was quite as interesting as a five-minute conversation that unfolded about 10 feet away.

That’d be the one between David Robinson and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former pro in Australia who played in Friday’s celebrity game.

Robinson built a school in San Antonio and kids’ education is one of his biggest causes and I can imagine, while a whole bunch of other people were hugging and shaking hands and making plans for the night, those two might have been getting some stuff done.

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Know what I’d like to see?

Them turn the Punt, Pass and Kick contest – wait, the Skills Contest – into a race between big men and not point guards.

I’d love to see Shaq, or Duncan, or Dwight Howard or Tim Duncan or someone like that make layups, dribble around pylons and make passes.

That’d be cool.

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Okay, say what you will about the car and the props and the rest of the dunk contest shenanigans but I will make this point:

Everything is better when there’s a gospel choir involved.

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Well, the wireless worked just fine courtside on Saturday night so we’ll try an In-Game Blog Thingy tonight if you like.

Game’s at 8 – well, the show’s at 8, the game will start after 8:30 I understand – and it’s going to be a long one but if you want, we’ll be in our usual place.

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One more thing on the dunk contest:

If they keep the same scoring system, and I’m not sure they should, they need to penalize guys who miss dunks. Or reward guys who get their stuff done on the first try.

After all, it’s supposed to be about making them, right?

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Amir Johnson, walking out of the arena at the end of the night:

“We should have brought a giraffe or something.”

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What to make of the labour stuff?

Well, I guess the good thing is that David Stern didn’t throw a stinkbomb into the issue when he met with us for 45 minutes or so before Saturday’s stuff.

He wasn’t exactly conciliatory but he wasn’t threatening or bombastic or defiant, which is good.

The feeling I get from people I talk to is that things actually will start now, nothing at all has been accomplished in the year or so they’ve been chattering and making doom and gloom pronouncements.

Stern didn’t exactly draw back from his contention that the teams lost a collective $300 million last year but he did say it’s not about the numbers now, it’s about the process of reaching an agreement.

Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher were really good talking about it Friday, giving rise to hopes that maybe saner heads will eventually prevail.

But know this: They are nowhere close to a deal and what I think happens is there might be a lockout in July, which is no big deal since nothing really goes on at that time of year, but they won’t lose any games next fall.

I have no idea what a new deal will look like – the big topic of the moment is having some kind of “franchise” tag applied to a player to assure he can’t leave – but it will be quite different from the system that’s currently in place.

If there was one interesting quote from Stern, it’s one that shows they actually do know the damage they might cause to innocent employees around the league if there is a work stoppage.

“What we have learned, and what the union has learned, is that we both have the capacity to shut down the league; that there’s no magic that’s going to keep this league operating if we don’t make a deal. That’s a very instructive lesson."

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Carmelo traded?

Just heard a guy on TV say he thought the deal would get done if the Knicks throw in Justin Bieber.

Makes as much sense as anything, I guess.

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And, finally, take the East tonight if you’re looking for the winner.

While you're watching, send me mail. Please. Here.

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Comments

[Edward Jones]

The dunk contest was a joke. Demar missed a few attempts on his first dunk and his score of 44 reflected that. But when Javale and Blake missed at least 4 or 5 attempts and still scored a 49 or 50, that's just ridiculous.

[jc]

Good to see that the hopefully unbiased world (in this case, ESPN), seems to agree with you...Demar was robbed. Not totally robbed because he did get the max 50 for an incrdedible dunk but no doubt the 44 he received on the first one was to allow for higher scores in case some one one upped him. But why did DeMar go first? He is the incumbent, arguably should have been the champ last year. Can't blame the alphabet (McGee would go last). Uh oh...another blame Canada conspiracy!

[Rob.V]

Yeah, the dunk contest is dead. In fact, they could probably do away with the whole weekend festivities in favor of a 3 day Stern's "state of the league weekend"... his question and answer period is the highlight for me.
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Javales dunks may have been interesting to watch... but so are chickens on trampolines I suppose. Yawn!!
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Oh, and really... Blake Griffin did not have ONE difficult or interesting dunk at all. I'll go to church if I want a choir (guess if you're in the building its different) and the jumping over the table, car, your buddy, my buddy, spud web thing has been done too many times... everyone knows the car is irrelivant. it's like a magician showing you "how" he does the trick... before he does the trick. Silly!
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We all knew who the NBA was trying to annoint, so they can do what they want however when it's all said and done DeMars one handed "show stopper" will be looked back on as one of the top 5 (maybe top 3) dunks of all time!
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Go back and look at that one again in slow motion. There's only a couple of other dunks that I can think of that are as nice as that one. VC's 360 from the baseline maybe, J-Rich between his legs reverse (or whatever that was)... but not much more.
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I do think DeMar has finally adopted a proper nick name though: I like "Show Stopper"

[Rick]

Doug

I thought it was a dunk contest, not a gimmick contest? That was embarrassing for the NBA, clearly fixed to get Blake into the finals. Demars first dunk was clearly much harder than Blakes second dunk, the both missed a bunch and Blake gets 46 to DeMars 44? A little bit interesting that Blake happens to get a 46 to get a 95 to DeMars 94, clearly all 5 judges were idiots giving that dunk four 9's and a 10, that was an 8. Also, you are giving Blake way too much credit, I think 60% of the guys in the NBA could have done that over the car dunk

[AT]

Doug, you were right on about the dunk contest. It's not about the dunks anymore. What a waste of time for Demar. I really felt bad for him. What a complete waste of timefor everyone .. back in the 80's, 8 guys totally about the dunks and creativity with the dunks... and they were penalized for not gettting it right the first time... they even used to talk about that point. Was it not kind of fixed that Griffen would advance to the finals with the "props" all ready to go for the finals? Reggie Miller said that the 3 point shooting contest is the best now, and will look forward to that next year, and for good dunks I will look for them on YouTube.....

[David]

i agree completely with your take on the dunk contest. your telling me that griffin's 2nd dunk (which was basically just a windmill dunk) was better then derozens first? give me a break. the judges clearly wanted to ensure griffin was in the final. i go with ibaka's free throw line dunk as the best of the night

[doug]

I tend to agree with your viewpoint...but that being said it was one of the more entertaining dunk contests in awhile...the whole night needs a overhaul, I enjoyed the 3 person shoot-out thing to start the evening I think there needs to be more seamless integration between old and new, in the 3 point shooting contest they need to have someone pass the shooters the ball, this whole leaning over into a ball rack and grabbing a ball is counter-productive, and throws off their rhythms....I don't mind the guard obstacle course thingie they should do like in hockey though and have them racing against each other as head to head races are far more interesting then a race against a clock....the dunk contest needs rules as you mentioned you should lose points for missed dunks, a automatic point deduction, so a max 50 turns into a max 49, second miss, max 48 and so on...prop dunks are fine to me just let them only be allowed one....but most of all the judging has to get more serious and to have 5 ex-dunk champs doing it is wrong, have one, a writer, a tv personality etc...and make them be serious and grade accordingly...way to many 10's plus they weren't taking into account the degree of difficulty on some of those dunks i thought DD's second dunk was the best one of the evening, and McGee's behind the backboard ducking his head one was pretty spectacular from just purely a skill level...but all in all a entertaining evening...

[sam]

The dunk contest was rather loud, predictable and somewhat dull I thought. I watched only to see DeMar, but had the feeling going in that Blake Griffin was going to come out the winner. Charles Barkley nailed it when he said that Griffin's last dunk over the hood of a car with the choir singing wasn't even the best of the night - yet he got a perfect score.

Perhaps Amir was right when he mentioned they should have brought a giraffe.

Barkley also said some pretty nice things about the job that BC was doing and centred out DeMar and Andrea as building blocks for the HOTH -

[Stavros]

I wonder if the next CBA the owners will push to have a no dunk contest clause for their players. Can't imagine Donald Sterling was too happy to see his shinny new marketing cash cow jumping over a car.

[Joe T.]

Doug, I completely agree with your list of best 4 dunks. I am not a fan of all the props and gimmicks. To me, it should be one guy, one ball, one net. And in that respect, I think DeMar's dunks were the best. It used to be about athleticism and creativity rather than the, as you say, "WWE-style" show it has become. So I ask you: should they can it or is there anything that can be done to make it interesting again? I'm afraid there's no going back now. If only DeMar had jumped over a vehicle when he did his "Showstopper" -- my favourite of the night...

[Ian Murray]

I'm not sure what to think about the dunk contest this year. It was definetly more interesting than last year's, but I wonder if it has gone too far. One thing really annoyed me and that was Kenny Smith running his mouth about how they were going to showcase Blake Superior's dunking ability and not let the props get in the way, then for the final dunk using A CAR to make a mediocre dunk look better than it was.
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Poor DeMar. That's likely his last chance and he brought his A game this time. I was really hoping to see what his other 2 dunks were going to be.
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Did anyone else think that Dwight Howard looked really uncomfortable sitting at the TNT panel during the contest?!

[DMcCalgary]

I see everyone is jumping on the sham of a dunk "contest", and rightly so. The mention of "WWE-style" by Joe T is appropriate, and ironic considering the recent comment about the pucks' WWE like planned fighting garbage. In defense of the pucks, at least they were real fights (not that I defend that as part of the game). The marketing of stars, via special rules in actual games, never mind these all star weekend shams, is far more WWE like. I love the game of basketball, but this ongoing focus on star marketing over honesty, fairness and integrity is a black mark on the NBA's version. Real wrestling, good. Pro wrestling, garbage. Real basketball, good. NBA basketball, becoming more difficult to take seriously. Geez, they even have the nerve to showcase the biased marketing of the darlings of the day during all star weekend.

[Kent]

I knew someone would bring up Barkley's comments about Toronto and somehow take comfort in them; I love Chuck and I love watching him on the TNT broadcasts but I am 99.9999% sure that he has not seen a single Raptors game all year.

[Rob.V]

Was it not kind of fixed that Griffen would advance to the finals with the "props" all ready to go for the finals?
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Great point!! Not that it matters however it would be interesting to know if DeRozan had any props he was going to unveil in the 2nd round.

[doug]

@ kent you constantly make generalized statements and ones not based on any fact...look do you not think Barkley isn't a fan of the game first and foremost? of course he has seen Raptors games for instance they just played the Heat on a national stage (which all the Heat games are) and Barg's,DD and Davis played extremely well...we all know your feelings on Barg's, etc...it's a tiring tune...you just don't seem to get it, people can have opinions and just because their opinions don't mesh with yours doesn't mean they are wrong...nor should it mean you have to attack them, Barkley can have his views, opinions but why do you constantly attack those that do??...let it go or try please to find a new argument or a new drum to beat...

[soapnuts]

The athleticism is tremendous. But getting there? What a bore fest! The judges gave everything a 10! Ridiculous. No wonder no one wants to participate.

[Jaime]

Simply put... is it about talent and skill? or is it about image and props? if its about talent and skill. Any NBA fan In North america would have voted Demar's 2 dunks way ahead of his competitors. The judging is totally flawed, and why did demar go 1st. I would've asked why me 1st. griffin did NOTHING special. of course it has nothing to do that he plays in Canada. nothing at all... yeaa okaaaay~! fans open your eyes, the NBA dont give to hoots about the raptors. this is why we have NBA CANADA TV! we are an after thought.

[jc]

btw...no, carmelo hasn't been traded yet but do you think it might enter his mind that if he goes to the Nets, he'll have to start packing for England in a couple of weeks? Hopefully no one will ask him if he knows anything about the British income tax system :)

[Joe]

Hi Doug,

Excellent points about Demar and the dunk contest. He should have been in the finals.

If the possibility of a lockout becomes more likely as we move into the spring, do you think that it will dissuade some college players from declaring for the draft, particularly if some sort of salary control/cap mechanism is put into effect to contain rookie contracts?

Thanks

Blogger's note: I'm sure it'll factor into some decisions

[joeu]

Re: the suggestion that Oakley hasn't seen the Raptors play: the team that he coaches plays the Raptors in two days. It would be quite reasonable to think that there has been both advanced and video scouting, and that Oakley would be involved in that.

Blogger's note: It was actually Charles Barkley who was referred to

[doug]

@ Joeu and Doug shouldn't that be referred to as a Rosanna , Rosanna Danna moment as in never mind??...that kid Milos on the tennis circuit is the real deal, he took Roddick to the limit today, the kid can play...and he has the good old Canadian spirit he was down 4-1 in the 3rd set could of rolled over after Roddick pulled a head umpire mind act (and won)...but he never, that kid is the real deal...

[John]

Funny, everyone knew who was winning the dunk contest last week, but we are all stil complaining that it was fixed. WHY?

Barkley did say some nice things about the Raptors, I didnt hear him mention AB, I heard him say the Raps had some really nice pieces. He also said, "Vince Carter was the best in-game dunker he has seen, its just that he got shot once a game" which is pretty much spot on... However he also said that the 3 point shooting contest was the easiest contest on Saturday night, so what are you really going to believe?

[chris]

NBA is - once again - a sham. Lets put it this way -- Derozan scores 2 pts higher and Blake doesn't get to the next round. Kia doesn't get its commercial.

How pre-determined was this thing?

btw, Doug --- YOU could jump over the hood of a car. I bet there's 2 guys on each team that can do that.

[New Buffalo MI fishing]

Griffin's dunk was not impressive at all. Its not like he jumped from free throw line and went over the hood of the car. He is a great athlete but the dunk was just so and that's why they had the choir and everything else before he did it. Now the video of the guy dunking over the top of the car was way more impressive.

[Atlanta Roofing]

Hats off to Blake Griffin! He just lost his best friend to cancer but went out there and put on a hell of a show for Los Angeles. Hes brought life back to the Clippers and boy did they need it! Why does everyone have to be negative, its all entertainment and he certainly delivered.