Just as we were all starting to get a little tingle running up our spines about the All Star Saturday Slam Dunk Contest, the NBA Gods have decided to throw a spanner in the works..... And I LOVE it.
Brandon Jennings has pulled blaming a battle with a long term foot injury to be the reason. Taking his place is the high flying Toronto Raptor, DeMar DeRozan.
Now I would never accuse Brandon Jennings of pulling out because the pressure got to him, and if a player of his caliber isn't 100% healthy going into the contest then I'm sure the fans (and especially the Bucks), would rather see Jennings play a whole season fit and healthy then see him on the sideline for a few weeks due to a silly injury that didn't need to happen. But was I the only one not totally hyped by the video of Jennings best dunks, or thought that Jennings didn't really look all the psyched up about being in the event. If he can't put on a show or isn't tingling about throwing down that first dunk then I'm glad he's not in the competition, and with no disrespect or animosity towards the guy.
What it does do is give us the fans the chance to see if the 2010 dunk contest's runner up can go one better, and take the 2011 crown.
Last years contest was a bore. After all the showmanship, power and skill that Dwight Howard, Gerald Green and Nate Robinson had given us in previous years, the 2010 dunk contest was hyped up to be one hell of a show. Nate going for a 3rd title, “let Shannon dunk” being plastered all over the web and 100,000 fans in attendance, this was going to be big. But the show was bland. Shannon couldn't dunk, Wallace lacked power, and all the dunkers lacked creativity. The only part that could be called a show was when Robinson brought out some Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to shake their pompoms while he dunked. DeRozan showed some spark but seemed to lack that edge that separates the good dunkers from the great ones, and Rozan was beaten out in the final as Robinson took a record 3rd slam dunk championship.
But now Rozan isn't an unknown and is familiar with the slam dunk spotlight. He seems this year in his dunks to have more power, and if he gets a good assistant to help him get creative then this guy could put on something special. There will be no “little man” in this years contest. But there will be a some young talent with the ability to take the roof off the Staples Centre. Can DeRozan beat Blake Griffin? Maybe not, but I have no doubt that all 4 of these dunkers can make Kenny Smith scream scream “The Dunk Contest is BACK”.
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