All Star Saturday Night discussion

Shooting Stars: I thought The Rockets wouldve won. But congrats to Tony Parker and his team mates

Skills Challenge: I KNEW Wade would take it. Hes incredible. His 2nd run was VERY impressive.

3pt Contest: I was rooting for Arenas, but I thought Billups would win. Very dissapointing 3pt Contest. No one hit 20s. No one had a good run at all. Ray did once thats it. I was surprised Dirk one. I thought it would be between Ray and Billups. Congrats to Dirk.

Dunk Contest: Andres second dunk were AI threw it off the glass in the back was INCREDIBLE!!! That was BY FAR the best dunk Ive (personally) seen. Nates first dunk were he did a 360 was INSANE. That was great. Its so sick seeing a tiny guy elavate. You could easily tell that the judges forced an OT. 8-8-10-9-9 I think??? Well they forced it. AI2 got robbed. His dunk wasnt great, but it beat Nates 14 attemps. Although the dunk was great. I think Nate shouldve gotten a 43 and AI2 shouldve gotten a 46. Anyways congrats to Nate.

Nash, QRich, and Smith were REALLY dissapointing. Nash sucked bigtime. QRich sucked balls. And Smiths dunks werent impressive at all.

I don't care one bit about who wins. The All-Star comps are supposed to be entertaining. I was entertained. Victory for Iggy, Nate, Hakim, and Josh.

good spirit

thats crap... winning isnt the only thing
its everything

but i guess it doesnt matter what the score is at the end...


... as long as you won

I believe the tape that Josh had put down was to know where to take his first step before he hit the freethrow line for his takeoff.

omg if i only someone else had said that... 2 or 3 pages before... we would all be saved

Well thats kind of stupid. He got all the people in the Toyota Center, and at home jacked up for a 17 foot takeoff. Instead he did a wimpy ass dunk.

Also you no who else got robbed......

HAKIM WARRICK. He had 2 very solid dunks that would have gotten a 10 if the person dunking was Josh Smith or Iguodala. Did you see his 1st Dunk!! IT WAS AMAZING! And only a 44. His second where he jumped over Dahntay Jones was nice too and he shouldve gotten a lot better of scores and maybe wouldve moved on. But overall I liked the contest even though it wasnt better than last years.

I missed that second one cuz I had to go outside and pick up the groceries. Maybe if I am lucky I can catch a highlight.

I believe the tape that Josh had put down was to know where to take his first step before he hit the freethrow line for his takeoff.

omg if i only someone else had said that... 2 or 3 pages before... we would all be saved

Well thats kind of stupid. He got all the people in the Toyota Center, and at home jacked up for a 17 foot takeoff. Instead he did a wimpy ass dunk.

he still did it double hands from the line... thats pretty dam good
last year he got a better score for a worse dunk...

probably thought he was the man and thought he would be able to jump from the tape was but couldn't because IGGY WAS THE MAN EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ROBBED FROM NATE..!

''

Toxic, you took my sig....... WTF your supporting Iggy not Nate...

well, i wanted iggy to win that dunk off..and i did think that he got robbed and all..but i still appriciate nates work! especially the part when he dunked over spudd!

These days the judges dont vote purely on what they personally think, Its BS. They shouldnt have to ask and look at what the others are voting. Both AI2 and Nate were amazing! Could a tied champion been possible? lol! I was really dissapointed with Smith. I was really looking forward to seeing him do more this year. Although that free throw 2 hander was amazing. I didnt think many people could do it, i remember VC doing it years ago. Warricks first dunk was sick! I guess all and all it was entertaining! Look forward to tomorrow.

thats crap... winning isnt the only thing
its everything

but i guess it doesnt matter what the score is at the end...


... as long as you won

In anything but the all-star game, yes.

spud is looking quite chubby

Since I decided to watch the whole thing live then come on here and comment, I'll start from the beginning.

Radioshack Shooting Stars

You know, I have to admit I do find this entertaining even if I'd sacrifice it for a longer dunk contest. It's cool to see the old players out there and it's fun. I just prefer the creativity of the dunk contest. Like most people I figured it was over once the Spurs posted 25 seconds. And two half court shots made on the first attempt. Having some stars in it helps keep things interesting as well.

Skills Challenge

Wade! I wanted him to win but I have to admit I picked Nash; seemed like the safe pick, right? A lot of us got proven wrong on that one. This one was my favourite Skills Challenge so far, even without record setting times and a lot of missed jumpers Wade and LeBron added some flair. Flair mixed with fundamentals...exactly the thing I find entertaining about basketball.

Three Point Shootout

Anyone else remember the days when scores in the 20s were more commonplace? I thought Allen was going to get there in the second round but he quickly fizzled. I was reminded of Steve Smith competing back in 2002 when he came in as the league's most accurate three point marksmen...and scoring 8 points.

Nowitzki's victory is well-earned, though I wonder how many people will want to asterisk it with that shot in the first round that clearly came after the buzzer. Still, you play with the calls that are made and he delivered. Arenas would have been a good story of course, the last minute replacement coming in and taking the contest. But congratulations to Dirk.

Slam Dunk Contest

Or should that be Sham Dunk Contest? I'd sum this one up as a contest showcasing some very entertaining dunks but one marred by the judging. Since it's my favourite event, I feel compelled to go through the dunks one by one.

Warrick's first dunk...I thought that was scored too low, but the first dunk in a contest usually is unless it's absolutely mind blowing. As usual, the crowd's not fully into it yet and I don't think that dunk was truly appreciated. Difficult even for an athlete like Warrick and a nice variation on dunks we've seen before.

Iggy's windmill off the lob...also underscored. Michael Finley did something similar in 1996 and again in 1997, but Iggy jumped higher and finished with more authority. I thought this should have been up in the higher 40s, perhaps a 47 or maybe even a 48.

Nate's first dunk...you know, I'd have given it a 50. I know it got a 49 but I was thinking 50. A bounce pass and a 360 and at his height...lesser dunks have gotten 50 and it was Kenny Smith who gave out the 9...weird since he's a stickler for holding dunks to previous standards instead of judging within the context of the current contest.

Josh Smith...I know, I know. He screwed himself with the tape. Even if he was just giving himself an early marker to know when to finish up his stride, it looked like he wanted to take off from way behind the line. BUT...he still got great elevation and a double-pump two handed throwdown jumping with his heel very close to the line, if not right on it. Vince Carter did a lesser dunk in 2000 that got a higher score. 41 just isn't right, even if you want to penalise him for the fakeout.

Now here's where I have to comment on the rules. I'm not a huge fan of the mandatory "using another player" dunk. I guess it makes up for any lack of creativity but it also ensures a restriction, too. That's an attempt a player could have used on something totally different and fresh. How many times can a player jump over a teammate without it getting stale?

I think that's what happened with Warrick's second dunk. I thought it was impressive, he put it down cleanly and with authority. I hope he has another chance to compete, since he got the short end of the stick both times.

Iggy off-and-under the backboard...wow. If that hadn't of gotten a 10 from everyone, those folks should have immediately been replaced on the judges' table. Everything about that dunk was great: the difficulty, the hangtime, the finish, the fact he didn't smack his head on the board.

Nate's second dunk...fair enough scoring except for Moses giving an 8. I wouldn't put it any higher than Moses giving a 9 and scoring it as 45 though.

Had he made the dunk he was trying out first, Smith might have garnered a 50. Had he not been robbed on the first attempt, that would've taken him through to the Finals. As it was, I can't blame him for putting down a half hearted 40 after the failed attempts. This just wasn't his night.

The finals...Chris Andersen's record is shattered on Nate's first series of attempts, but at least he did something more impressive. Again, Moses Malone gives an 8. On a 5'9" guy going between the legs. When players aren't supposed to be penalised for missed dunks. By this point I'm not surprised.

Iggy goes behind the back on the lob and makes it on the third go. I'm really worried they're going to give him a 43 or something, but they do the right thing and give him a 50. JR Smith should have gotten a 50 last year when he went behind the back for the first time. Something impressive that's never been done before or an even more spectacular variation of a previous dunk deserves a 50, no questions asked.

Nate over Spud...great showmanship when he brought out the jersey, I figured he was just going to emulate one of Spud's dunks wearing the jersey as Smith did with Nique and the windmill last year. Well-earned 50, no sympathy 10s there. Not necessarily original but hardly easy or unimpressive.

If Iggy had nailed the 360 behind the back, he would have won it right there. That would have to have been a 50 had he got it. Could've been a 45 but at the very least I was glad it went to a dunk off, the first time it's happened in the Finals. They did have a tiebreaker back in 1985.

The contest clinching dunk by Nate...a bit anti-climactic because of all the tosses, even though it's not supposed to go against a player. Nice dunk when it went down though. Iggy's dunk should've forced the tie for another dunk off. Kenny Smith changing his score was completely ridiculous. As he's done in the past, he managed to taint the contest with his judging from start to finish.

I thought this contest was very much like last year's...very entertaining, some original stuff and it felt too short because of the smaller field and less dunks compared to the old days. But it was also marred by some bad judging. Kenny Smith should not be allowed to judge a contest ever again. Ever. He's tainted contests in the past with his bizarre criteria riddled with double standards and changing his final score like that was just poor. It's a shame there were boos when Nate was announced as the champion but you can't blame the crowd. Smith screwed Iguodala. Moses Malone wasn't too great either. With the exception of maybe Clyde Drexler, none of those guys should judge again. All due respect to them for what they've done in the past. But they shouldn't judge dunk contests, plain and simple.

But as Colin said, it was entertaining and at the end of the day we as fans win. But I would have liked to have seen better judging. Once again: Kenny Smith; judging; never again.

I was there guys... omfg... like 3rd row seats... I'll post pics tomorrow... So many frickin celebrities... I was also at the Jam Session and saw tons of famous people too

i only got to watch highlights on NBA.com cause i was playing tennis all day I havn't seen the skills challenge before, so that was cool Dunk contest was good and the Rookie Challenge wasn't really a challenge
Great Day though

Iggy got robbed. The crowd went silent when Nate was announced champ. 14 attempts @ a dunk, ridiculous.

thats crap... winning isnt the only thing
its everything

but i guess it doesnt matter what the score is at the end...


... as long as you won

In anything but the all-star game, yes.

youre still playing to win, even if its just for bragging rights

Y'all are just a bunch of haters. Just cause he's from the Knicks huh...

Did Iggy deserve the dunk title? No, he did 1 crazy, revolutionairy dunk, but the rest was all shit, he tried the behind the back dunk twice (also in the tie-breaker), but ended up with a nowadays very standard between-the-legs.

Don't hate on Kenny Smith, he just picked up the wrong paper. Was that dunk worth a 10? Hell no, he just grabbed the wrong thing...

All bow down to Nate Robinson, the 4 dunks he made were better than the 4 dunks Iggy made, period.
And compare, Iggy got a lob from AI, Nate got it from friggin Q-Rich. He should've gotten a 52 for throwing down a lob from him...



HATERS

Nate is an overrated midget, who won only because of his midgetness. And I loved the Barkley's Knicks joke. And the one by someone I don't know: about why Knicks don't rebuild - because you can't afford losing in New York .

Robinsons dunks weren't that good. Sure they are impressive if you factor in his size, but the dunks weren't that great. 14 attempts, please, they shouldn't allow him to win if he has 14 attempts at it.

LMAO, CK, you're really seems like one of those Lakers fans now, but for the Knicks. You bash Iguodala because he tried twice the behind the back, but what about the 14 attmpts of Nate?

Anyway, I'm gonna see the full contest soon, Iggy's dunk was crazy, and so was Nate's bounce 360. It was funny when he kicked Spudd

The only dunk I liked was the behind the backboard one by Iggy. That was very creative.

Everything else was mediocre. You could tell that Josh Smith didn't put the same amount of effort into this dunk contest like he did last year.

I thought the segment about Kobe and the little kid who lost his home from Hurricane Katrina was really touching. One of those things that could turn Kobe-haters into fans. It really was something special.

After watching the dunk contest, all I could say is..
WHAT THE FUCK?
Kenny Smith is one biased moron.

Not to hate on Nate or anything but that thing he did of bringing out a legend, Spud Webb, to help on the dunk was plain cheap. It was to give homage to Spud but he played on the audience's and mostly the judges' sentimentality, even if Nate did it intentionally or not. After that dunk with Spud Webb I think the judges felt a sense of guilt or pity if they let the little guy lose.

I loved it when the broadcast showed Iverson saying AI2 was robbed when Nate was announced the winner.

LMAO, CK, you're really seems like one of those Lakers fans now, but for the Knicks.

Don't EVER call me that again, not kidding.

One more thing I'd like to say before I'll let you haters take over the thread again:
Iguodala's dunk from behind the backboard was probably better (I'm biased; trying to admit) than Nate over Spud, but he did it in the first round.
No matter how many tries Nate needed, AI2 did two of the same dunks in the finals, you can't win doing that, you just can't. If he would've saved the AI-to-AI2 one for the finals, he would've won.
Thing is he couldn't, in the 1st round every contestant had to use another player. If he would've saved it, he wouldn't even have made the finals IMO.

If anyone got robbed, it was Hakim Warrick.

edit: hipn, I know but it's virtually the same dunk and it didn't even look good.

Last edited by cklitsie on Mon Feb 20, 2006 6:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

He did one between the legs (normal) and one between the legs (but reversed).

nate robinson talks like a little bitch.

having said that, he could probably still kick my ass.

It's true that if it was someone like Iggy or Nate doing the dunks Hakim did, they would've recieved higher scores. Nobody thought Warrick had a chance entering the contest, so thats the main reason why they probably didn't really give him no respect. I think if Warrick would've jumped over Dahntay while he was standing instead of sitting down, he would've been able to advance himself to the championship.