More than 10 years of irrelevancy forgotten as Zach LaVine revives the dunk contest
TYREE: Finally, after a decade of dunk wheels, unlimited attempts (looking at you, Nate Robinson and Chris Anderson) conference team-ups and overbearing gimmicks, the NBA decided to cut the crap and give us a format that makes some damn sense. And Zach LaVine put on an iconic performance that made me forget I was spending my Valentine’s Day glued to a leather couch eating wings and Twix with the homies. Nothing says “true love” like NBA All-Star Saturday when you’re in a long-distance relationship.
THOMAS: You kidding? My ultimate Cupid moment will be when some honey invites me over for NBA All-Star Date Night. Valentine’s Day bullshit meant I was driving up I-5 during the three-point contest and Zach LaVine’s unreal performance, so like an asshole I was watching the Vines of LaVine’s dunks on Twitter as social media blew up. Really pissed I didn’t get to see it live, but watching the reruns on SportsCenter right now is still jaw-dropping. After years of gimmicks and rubbish dunks the Dunk Contest had a little Vinsanity flair tonight, right? That behind-the-back dunk was superlative.
TYREE: I don’t wanna say the dunk contest is back … But the DUNK CONTEST IS BACK. Big shoutout to my man Victor Oladipo for the 450-degreeish dunk in the first round. But son looked mad shook after LaVine got 100 in the first round, hahaha. If these guys return next year with Andrew Wiggins, we can get two straight years of great dunk contests. That would fully reestablish All-Star Saturday’s most anticipated event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDcm17QHiK0
THOMAS: Ehh. I’m going to hedge a little bit. High-Flyin’ LaVine is legit, but he needs a foil. Oladipo swatting away the ball after a fairly pedestrian dunk in the later rounds proved that even he knew the gig was up. Sweet dunks, no contest. This one was decided on LaVine’s second jam. Think back to when Vince went nuts all over the rim (still the greatest dunk maestro of all time, by the way). He was competing against a young Tracy McGrady. Maybe Wiggins will be the answer to continued Dunk Contest excellence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImAMVqA6mug
TYREE: Yeah, the thing about that Vince Carter Dunk Contest that a lot of us forget is how competitive it was. Pretty sure T-Mac would’ve won in almost any other year with his performance that year. You know what reminded me of that dunk contest? This year’s three-point shootout.
Chef Curry with the shot serves up a red-hot 27 to win the most competitive three-point shootout ever.
THOMAS: This was my kinda event. Labeled the best three-point contest ever almost as soon as the participants were announced, it lived up to the hype. I was convinced Kyle Korver was going to walk away the champ, but Spicy Steph would not be denied in his fourth straight appearance. Some training helped. Crazy to think this is his first win, considering just how bananas he’s been from behind the arc so far in his young career.
TYREE: It was so tough, you needed a 22 to get out of the first round. Ridiculous.
I’ve been saying it all year, but Steph Curry could be the best in-game three-point shooter of all time. It’s impressive how Kyle Korver is knocking down 50 percent of his threes this year, but it’s not quite as crazy as how Curry is creating his own and still shooting the lights out.
THOMAS: Curry and Korver are the best pure shooters in the game right now, but they get their buckets in different ways. Korver gets most of his threes on catch-and-shoot dimes from teammates. As the primary ball handler, Curry shakes and bakes his way around entire defenses before he gets to cash in. Don’t get me wrong, Korver is amazing. He’s a known entity, and many of those threes are heavily contested because guys know if they don’t close out on him they’re cooked. But you’re right, Curry’s just on another level when it comes to in-game antics.
We were going to post about how we’d fix All-Star weekend. But you know what? We liked it this year.
TYREE: Man, I’ve gotta say, New York is the perfect place for the All-Star game. It’s the basketball Mecca. It’s got a rich history and immediately recognizable imagery. The jerseys are dope. The stage is just unbeatable. I’m all in favor of eliminating stale locations like Phoenix, Orlando and Utah from contention. It’s just not a cultural experience like NY. Until this year, I didn’t realize how much the location could add to the festivities on the court.
THOMAS: Hey, at least the Knicks have SOMETHING going for them. Maybe in the future Phil can weave a little of that rich history into the triangle offense and actually win a couple games. But I’m definitely going home happy after this year’s All-Star Game. Waaaaay less forced than last year’s, and a rejuvenated Dunk Contest without gimmicks was beyond refreshing.
Now I just need to go find footage of the weekend’s brightest display of shocking athleticism, cohesive teamwork, ball skills and general basketball wizardry: the Celebrity All-Star Game.
TYREE: Ugh. I wish Skylar Diggins would’ve played hard and dropped 75. I’m sick of Kevin Hart‘s reign of Napoleonesque dominance.
On the Glass with Thomas and Tyree 