Sunday Daily Dose: Dose: All-Star Saturday Night
Sunday, February 15, 2015
There won’t be a recap of the fashion show or the Shooting Stars competition. We’re interested in the Skills Competition, 3-Point Contest & Slam Dunk Showdown. But you probably knew that already.
I consider myself a fashionable guy, but I’m not a fashionista. With all due respect to JR Smith’s ferocious fur, the sole mention of the fashion show will be in the form of its unquestioned highlight: Again involving JR, this time, in his element, attempting to be as cool as the other side of the pillow on Valentine’s Day. Smith’s swag game knows no boundaries from New York to Cleveland, and the heat only gets turned up for Cupid. Fittingly, Smith took home the win.
Since the fashion show got one highlight, it’s only right we give a mention to the Shooting Stars competition, as well. And while Scottie Pippen’s headband lit up Twitter, it was Penny Hardaway’s two straight swishes which rightfully stole the show. Looking like he could still contribute 10 minutes off the bench in his full-blown Orlando Magic uniform, Penny threw it back to when he & Lil’ Penny had the commercial game on lock. However, for the third straight season, it was Chris Bosh’s crew that took home the title. I’d insert a failed-Heat 3-peat joke here, but I don’t want to pay Pat Riley.
Skills Competition
The Contestants: Patrick Beverley*, Trey Burke, Isaiah Thomas, Jeff Teague, Elfrid Payton, Brandon Knight, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Lowry
Who says the Houston Rockets need a point guard? Besides me, I mean.
In the Taco Bell Skills Competition, (because it takes skills to know how and when to order at Taco Bell—that could be a competition, right?) Rockets starting point guard Patrick Beverley started and ended the evening, being crowned eventual champion in a dual over All-Star snub Brandon Knight.
Starting with a matchup against Isaiah Thomas, Beverley narrowly escaped with a victory. From there, it was a second-round date with Jeff Teague, who advanced in the first round beyond rookie Elfrid Payton, but Beverley came from behind to take Teague by surprise and pull the upset victory. The Finals featured an inspired competition between Knight and Beverley, but only after Knight was able to get by Kyle Lowry, who was my personal pick to take home the title in this one.
Beverley turned his swag up, saw red and took home the trophy. Perhaps he was sending a message to all those like myself who think his team needs another point guard.
3-Point Showdown
The Contestants: Stephen Curry*, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Korver, Marco Belinelli, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick, James Harden
When Wesley Matthews racks up a score of 22 points in the first round and can’t advance to the second, you know the field is stacked with competition.
Matthews, pegged as a popular sleeper before the competition, would have advanced in almost any other season…except this one. Joining him on the sidelines early were Mr. 50-50-90 Kyle Korver (18), Marco Belinelli (18), J.J. Redick (17) and the Swag Champ himself, James Harden, with just 15 points. Redick should have had more, but his foot was on the line for a few makes, and apparently the 3-point contest involves replay review. Who knew? No word on if they sent it back to Secaucus for the official look.
The Splash Bros. stole the first round with a combined 47 points with Klay Thompson (24) surprisingly holding the edge over teammate Stephen Curry (23), and Kyrie Irving (23) joined the two in the final round. If you think this is setting up for a rather predictable ending…that’s because it is. There were no unexpected plot twists or unexpected left-handed turns in this one. Which means…
Of course Curry took home the gold, and he did it in spectacular fashion. The final round saw Curry go off for a whopping 27 (of a possible 34) points, and there was no turning back after that for the baby-faced assassin. Irving (17) and Thompson (14) didn’t even register on the radar Curry put on his sizzling performance, and it’s no wonder why Fat Joe’s ‘Make It Rain’ has become Curry’s unofficial theme song. And if it hasn’t, here’s the first motion to do exactly that. Who’s with me?
Slam Dunk Bonanza
The Contestants: Zach LaVine*, Mason Plumlee, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo
Many predicted that the four-man slam dunk field would turn into a three-man battle ground with Mason Plumlee on the outside looking in, and those people would be somewhat right. Unfortunately for Plumlee’s biggest fans in the stands during his hometown event, it wasn’t because ½ of the Plumlee Brothers made a surprise surge up the ranks, but rather because the dunk contest was absolutely stolen and replaced by the Zach LaVine show, soon coming to an NBA city near you.
Born in 1995 (!!!), LaVine is going to dominate the dunk contest for the next 7-10 years with relative ease so long as his interest in participating every season remains intact. This event seemed to scream to what LaVine loves to do most between dunking and putting on a show, and his dunks were a perfect reflection of that.
After Victor Oladipo nearly brought the house down with a 540 dunk that vibrated through the audience, LaVine went full Space Jam, even busting out the Michael Jordan Toon Squad Jersey, before delivering his first-jaw dropping moment. And if you’re going to bust out an MJ jersey of any kind, you better bring the heat. LaVine brought the Aroldis Chapman fastball and didn’t let his foot up from the gas pedal all night long. LaVine’s first dunk? A perfect 50. Watch the between-the-legs rim-rattler right here. The second? Another perfect 50 for the 19-year-old high-flying point guard (see it here), and it gave him a clean 100 in Round 1. Although I’m partial to his first effort, his second, which also came on the first attempt and featured a behind-the-back offering before slamming it through with one hand, also left a very solid impression on both Twitter—where the rookie was the No. 1 trending topic—as well as the crowd in attendance.
LaVine scored 194 out of a possible 200 points, and while Oladipo’s offering may have been more memorable against another competitor, it was all about LaVine in this one. And since he single-handedly brought the dunk contest back to respectability, it’s only right that it was.
With LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and a top-flight draft pick on deck, the young Timberwolves are on pace to turn heads sooner rather than later. Start paying attention if you’re not already as the show is worth the price of admission.
There won’t be a recap of the fashion show or the Shooting Stars competition. We’re interested in the Skills Competition, 3-Point Contest & Slam Dunk Showdown. But you probably knew that already.
I consider myself a fashionable guy, but I’m not a fashionista. With all due respect to JR Smith’s ferocious fur, the sole mention of the fashion show will be in the form of its unquestioned highlight: Again involving JR, this time, in his element, attempting to be as cool as the other side of the pillow on Valentine’s Day. Smith’s swag game knows no boundaries from New York to Cleveland, and the heat only gets turned up for Cupid. Fittingly, Smith took home the win.
Since the fashion show got one highlight, it’s only right we give a mention to the Shooting Stars competition, as well. And while Scottie Pippen’s headband lit up Twitter, it was Penny Hardaway’s two straight swishes which rightfully stole the show. Looking like he could still contribute 10 minutes off the bench in his full-blown Orlando Magic uniform, Penny threw it back to when he & Lil’ Penny had the commercial game on lock. However, for the third straight season, it was Chris Bosh’s crew that took home the title. I’d insert a failed-Heat 3-peat joke here, but I don’t want to pay Pat Riley.
Skills Competition
The Contestants: Patrick Beverley*, Trey Burke, Isaiah Thomas, Jeff Teague, Elfrid Payton, Brandon Knight, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Lowry
Who says the Houston Rockets need a point guard? Besides me, I mean.
In the Taco Bell Skills Competition, (because it takes skills to know how and when to order at Taco Bell—that could be a competition, right?) Rockets starting point guard Patrick Beverley started and ended the evening, being crowned eventual champion in a dual over All-Star snub Brandon Knight.
Starting with a matchup against Isaiah Thomas, Beverley narrowly escaped with a victory. From there, it was a second-round date with Jeff Teague, who advanced in the first round beyond rookie Elfrid Payton, but Beverley came from behind to take Teague by surprise and pull the upset victory. The Finals featured an inspired competition between Knight and Beverley, but only after Knight was able to get by Kyle Lowry, who was my personal pick to take home the title in this one.
Beverley turned his swag up, saw red and took home the trophy. Perhaps he was sending a message to all those like myself who think his team needs another point guard.
3-Point Showdown
The Contestants: Stephen Curry*, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Korver, Marco Belinelli, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick, James Harden
When Wesley Matthews racks up a score of 22 points in the first round and can’t advance to the second, you know the field is stacked with competition.
Matthews, pegged as a popular sleeper before the competition, would have advanced in almost any other season…except this one. Joining him on the sidelines early were Mr. 50-50-90 Kyle Korver (18), Marco Belinelli (18), J.J. Redick (17) and the Swag Champ himself, James Harden, with just 15 points. Redick should have had more, but his foot was on the line for a few makes, and apparently the 3-point contest involves replay review. Who knew? No word on if they sent it back to Secaucus for the official look.
The Splash Bros. stole the first round with a combined 47 points with Klay Thompson (24) surprisingly holding the edge over teammate Stephen Curry (23), and Kyrie Irving (23) joined the two in the final round. If you think this is setting up for a rather predictable ending…that’s because it is. There were no unexpected plot twists or unexpected left-handed turns in this one. Which means…
Of course Curry took home the gold, and he did it in spectacular fashion. The final round saw Curry go off for a whopping 27 (of a possible 34) points, and there was no turning back after that for the baby-faced assassin. Irving (17) and Thompson (14) didn’t even register on the radar Curry put on his sizzling performance, and it’s no wonder why Fat Joe’s ‘Make It Rain’ has become Curry’s unofficial theme song. And if it hasn’t, here’s the first motion to do exactly that. Who’s with me?
Slam Dunk Bonanza
The Contestants: Zach LaVine*, Mason Plumlee, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo
Many predicted that the four-man slam dunk field would turn into a three-man battle ground with Mason Plumlee on the outside looking in, and those people would be somewhat right. Unfortunately for Plumlee’s biggest fans in the stands during his hometown event, it wasn’t because ½ of the Plumlee Brothers made a surprise surge up the ranks, but rather because the dunk contest was absolutely stolen and replaced by the Zach LaVine show, soon coming to an NBA city near you.
Born in 1995 (!!!), LaVine is going to dominate the dunk contest for the next 7-10 years with relative ease so long as his interest in participating every season remains intact. This event seemed to scream to what LaVine loves to do most between dunking and putting on a show, and his dunks were a perfect reflection of that.
After Victor Oladipo nearly brought the house down with a 540 dunk that vibrated through the audience, LaVine went full Space Jam, even busting out the Michael Jordan Toon Squad Jersey, before delivering his first-jaw dropping moment. And if you’re going to bust out an MJ jersey of any kind, you better bring the heat. LaVine brought the Aroldis Chapman fastball and didn’t let his foot up from the gas pedal all night long. LaVine’s first dunk? A perfect 50. Watch the between-the-legs rim-rattler right here. The second? Another perfect 50 for the 19-year-old high-flying point guard (see it here), and it gave him a clean 100 in Round 1. Although I’m partial to his first effort, his second, which also came on the first attempt and featured a behind-the-back offering before slamming it through with one hand, also left a very solid impression on both Twitter—where the rookie was the No. 1 trending topic—as well as the crowd in attendance.
LaVine scored 194 out of a possible 200 points, and while Oladipo’s offering may have been more memorable against another competitor, it was all about LaVine in this one. And since he single-handedly brought the dunk contest back to respectability, it’s only right that it was.
With LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio and a top-flight draft pick on deck, the young Timberwolves are on pace to turn heads sooner rather than later. Start paying attention if you’re not already as the show is worth the price of admission.
Recommended article: Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.
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