Why the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest Didn't Quite Steal the Show.
Its been a few weeks now since the NBA All-Star weekend, and there is something still tickling me about what took place on the Saturday night.
The NBA Slam Dunk contest is the feature event of the Saturday and one which I personally look forward to right from the start of the new NBA season. Watching highlights of Vince Carter in 2000, Mason vs Richardson in 2003 and the pure creativity of Josh Smith and Amare in 2005 can really get your spine tingling and blood pumping on the right evening.
2011 was built up to be the contest that would challenge to be the best of all time with each dunker having a personal “dunk trainer” to help spark their creativity and nail a routine that would take them to glory. But instead the show came across as average despite JaVale McGee and and Serge Ibaka making two of the toughest dunks of all time.
Here is a list of some of the problems and solutions to the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest.
1. The robbery of Serge Ibaka – The Congolese giant jumped from behind the free throw line, further then Dr J or Jordan and didn't receive a perfect score. If you make history, you should get a 50.
2. The first round killed the show – 2000 Carter makes every dunk first time bar one. 2008 Howard retried two but took less then 4 attempts each time and in 2003 Richardson used just 6 total attempts to nail 4 dunk while Mason used just 5 total attempts to hit his 4 . Yet too many of the first round dunks took 5 or 6 attempts. If you've seen the dunk attempted that many times theres no supprise and no pop when they make it. It took the crowd out of the show and the atmosphere and feel of the contest suffered for it.
3. Blake Griffin promised too much – Only one of Griffins dunks went through the way he wanted. His first was initially a 360 two-handed windmill, that eventually turned into a 360 while holding the ball way behind his head. Impressive but not the dunk that got the crowd on their feet initially. His second was initially a off the side of the glass 180 or 360 dunk that eventually turned into a off the side of the glass windmill. We saw Gerald Green do it on 2007 and he did it better back then. His final dunk of the night was over hyped. Not only did Griffin jump over the shortest part of the car making more of an annoyance then a challenge, but he added nothing too it. He had to make the dunk first time because of choir the hype and the show he was putting on. It turned the dunk into a mediocre finish to what could and should have been an explosive night for the young rookie.
4. The over hype of the whole show – We may have seen some things we had never seen before but for the first time the dunk contest became too much of a show. You don't need props every dunk. Toy monkeys, choirs, cars, signs with the name of your dunk, flag girls, hype men. You need to just show that you, with your skill height and power, are better then anyone else that night. The props are just gimmicks that draw attention away from the feats that are taking place. The superman cape of Howard was a subtle touch that helped highlight his dominance height and power, but it wasn't either a gimmick to create attention or a prop that either got in the way or what the dunk was based around. Leave the equipment and create with the ball.
5. Have Kenny Smith commentate. Kenny was a great hype man for Griffin, but you don't want a dunker to win based on the hype created by someone else's mouth. It means Griffin didn't do it on his own. It take the shine of his win. TNT didn't have a commentator to hype up the viewing audience at home, instead they had the Reggie Miller,who's “are you kidding me” line gets tedious after the 20th time in 10 minutes, Charles Barkley ,who although funny and entertaining, doesn't get out of his chair or crazy about the dunks on show, Kevin Harlan, who is like a diet Kenny Smith, and Dwight Howard, who on the court is a charismatic funny personality but on the mic seemed quiet and almost nervous. Kenny, Quit the coaching and come back to the announcers table.
So what should change?
1. No coaches – If a dunker wants help let him get the help but don't advertise it or have the coaches there on the mic building it up. One man and his moment is what it should be.
2. Remove the 2 minute time limit – Instead have on do-over each round. If they haven't prepared enough to be able to throw down first time, they don't deserve to win.
3. Less props – The car, the choir, the toy, the flags, the signs, all wasted. Show me difficulty and skill with the ball, and if your going to use a prop use it to highlight the dunk, not define it.
4. Don't have a fan voted final round – The judges are usually some of the best dunkers in NBA history, they know what makes a dunk great. It also provides a little controversy to the night which keeps it entertaining. I know the fan vote may make money for the NBA and creates audience participation but if one player goes into the contest as a fan favorite already it makes the final potentially biased in his favour. Instead........
5. Let the fans have a say in who should compete – Four dunkers, 2 selected by the NBA, two by the fans selected from a list of players who want to compete in the contest. Fans want to see a show and they know the players that should be able to put one on, that way the fans still feel involved in the contest but they cant dictate the outcome.
The 2011 contest was head and shoulders above the 2010 effort in Dallas, but with some changes and a demand for perfection/consistency 2012 could finally bring, in the words of Magic, “the dunk contest back”.
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