Best Week in the NBA

We are currently in the midst of the most action packed week in the NBA's regular season. This past weekend was All-Star weekend, which in my opinion is the best All-Star event of any sport. Tonight marks the unofficial start of the second half of the season. And when Thursday afternoon rolls around, so too does the Trade Deadline. Like I said, this is a fully packed week.

I will write more about the Trade Deadline once it actually occurs. With all the rumors swirling around, it's tough to figure out which have any merit to them, which are just high hopes of fans, which will fall through when the two teams can't quite make the deal work even if they both want it to happen, and which trades will actually occur. But we can look at what has already happened in the NBA

First off, my favorite weekend in the NBA, the All-Star Break. Part of that is the Slam Dunk contest is my favorite non-playoff event of the sporting year. Over the past few years, it has only gotten better. The creativity on the dunks, not to mention the showmanship before and after the dunks is just incredible.

This year was no exception. Here, take a look at a quick video that has every dunk from this year in it:



The battle between Superman and KryptoNate was truly incredible. The depth of the showmanship was jaw dropping. Not only did Dwight bring out a 12 foot hoop, but he ran into the phone booth to transform into Superman. Then, Nate had the faith in his abilities that he would make it to the finals to hold of on transforming into KryptoNate. That transformation was enough to catapult him into the finals, but in holding off on it, he won the trophy.

Well, that transformation and Dwight's final dunk of the final round. Yes, dunking from the free throw line is impressive, but not when you are 6'11" and have just dunked on a 12 foot rim in a fairly easy manner. Maybe a windmill, a 180, a between the legs, something, and Superman goes back to back.

But the thing I am most looking forward to now is next years slam dunk contest. With LeBron preliminarily added to this new Superman/KryptoNate slam dunk rivalry, the sky is the limit. Imagine if they can convince Gerald Green or Andre Iguodala (a previous winner and someone who should have won) to be the fourth competitor next year? I can't wait.

LeBron is all but certain to incorporate some sort of King James act into one of his dunks. Imagine him coming out like this to make a dunk?
http://www.thisisandrewwright.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/burger_king_lebron.jpg

Or maybe he will grab a crown off of the top of the backboard (since according to the commentary on my NBA Live 2K5, LeBron can grab a quarter off the top of the backboard) and puts it on his head as he dunks. Or maybe he dunks over Kevin Garnett as the originator of the chalk toss shoots a cloud up in the air. Or how about repeating the 12-foot rim dunk the Dwight did, only throwing it off the glass to himself, or putting it between his legs, or a 360?

What if Dwight gets Nate to return the favor of letting him dunk over him, only Dwight jumps over Nate while Nate is standing on Wilson Chandler's back? Or how about raising the rim up another foot? Or how about dunking over Shaq, the original Superman?

I don't know what Nate can do to top this years performance, but here's the fun thing. Nate, LeBron, and Dwight all have a year to think of their dunks. I just came up with those ideas as quick as I could write them down. With a year, some video games to test things out, and friends and team mates talking into their ear, giving them ideas. Count me in.

But anyways, back to this year's contest. Dwight gave it away, both by allowing KryptoNate to dunk over him and in the order of his dunks. Had he led off with the free throw line dunk, he would have probably gotten something in the mid-40s, more then enough to advance once he threw down a 12-foot dunk.

Then, had Dwight done his first dunk, the one from behind the backboard, the 180-windmill, followed by the one where he bounced it off the side of the backboard to himself, he would've won. That side of the backboard dunk was one of the best I have seen in recent memory in the contest. That order would have likely given Dwight back-to-back titles. Oh well, it shows he just wants to have a good time, which I can respect.

The 3-point shootout was also a lot of fun. A first time champion winning in overtime, what's not to like? I was a little surprised however that Jason Kapono didn't dominate this year the way he has the past two years given a somewhat weaker group of opponents. Still, congratulations to Daequan Cook for winning the shootout, because no matter how weak the rest of the field may have been, he still beat the two-time defending champion.

Derrick Rose also deserves kudos for winning the Skills Competition. The group he went against was very weak, but still, he won, and he won in a very convincing way with a nice reverse dunk. Last year Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, and Dwyane Wade were in the competition. I would love to see them expand the field to 6 players and have D-Rose, CP3, D-Wade (unless he is in the Slam Dunk Competition, which I'd be ok with), Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Steve Nash in it. That'd be pretty fun.

The game itself was fun, as always. The NBA and the NHL have such superior All-Star games then do the NFL and MLB. In baseball, you see pretty much a normal game, just with more stars and more subbing. The game itself usually unfolds like any of the other 162 games you watch your favorite team play. The NBA and NHL are all about offense.

Also, don't get me started on the Pro Bowl. Who cares about a game after the season ends in a sport where you have to have the most cohesion with your team to be successful? Not me. Also, switching the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl in the city where the Super Bowl is to be played is a terrible idea. Not only will no one in the Super Bowl play in the game, but I wouldn't be surprised to see people who lost their conference championship game be less then interested in suiting up again for the Pro Bowl the next week. And what happens when the Super Bowl is in Indianapolis in a few years? Who wants to go to Indy in the middle of the summer, much less the end of January? Count me in!

But in the NBA and NHL all we get is offense, which is definitely very fun to watch. Sure, defense wins championships, but offense is way more fun to watch. That's why the NBA and NHL All-Star games are so much fun to watch. No defense, no hitting, nothing to stop the scoring. I love it. But the NBA gets a slight edge because it is broadcast on TNT while the NHL is shown on Versus. When things are close, the game that gets to be seen wins.

So there it is, but first, a quick look at the winners of all the major awards through the first half of the season.

MVP - LeBron James, Cavaliers. LeBron has been the best player on a team that may end up with the best record in the league. No one comes close to being as important to their team as LeBron has been to the Cavs. And unlike Kobe, he didn't take out one of his players for the season.

ROY - Derrick Rose, Bulls. Mayo will probably make a late push for the award, especially since the award is largely decided in the last month or two of the season, but as of now, it's Rose's award. Rose has ranged from a solid starter to dominant this season, and that should give him a ROY trophy so far.

Coach of the Year - Jerry Sloan, Jazz. Last year Kobe won the MVP trophy due to a lack of good candidates, winning a "lifetime" MVP award. Since CoY really depends a lot on final standings, and a late push or fall could decide the race, I will give Sloan the lifetime award. The Jazz are currently in the playoffs in the West despite Deron Williams not playing at the beginning of the season and Carlos Boozer having barely played at all.

6th Man - Lamar Odom, Lakers. Odom will likely lose his eligibility for this award now that he is starting in place of Bynum, but as of now, it's Odom's award. He has made the Lakers second unit one of the best, if not THE best second unit in the league. This is because of Odom's presence. But still, we'll see who is here at the end of the year eligibility wise.

Most Improved - Rajon Rondo, Celtics. Last season some experts were saying his inexperience would be the reason the Celtics would fail to win the title. This year, he has been the MVP of the Celtics. Not too shabby.

Well folks, get ready for a fun second half that will probably be capped off by us all becoming Witnesses as LeBron wins his first title. But then, let's see how Thursday affects all of that.