All-Star Saturday: James Jones and Blake Griffin, Really?

Posted by Mike Salvucci on Feb 20, 2011 1665511 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2011%2F02%2F20%2Fall-star-saturday-james-jones-and-blake-griffin-really%2FAll-Star+Saturday%3A+James+Jones+and+Blake+Griffin%2C+Really%3F2011-02-20+20%3A54%3A20Mike+Salvuccihttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D16655

3-point Shootout

Actually I’m not gonna hate on James Jones. He won fair and square, so congratulations to him. At least the Miami Heat found a way to beat the Celtics in something this year. You can’t really blame Ray Allen or Paul Pierce here. They made it to the finals, but then the shots just wouldn’t fall. It happens.

As for Pierce, though. Do you think he really wonders why the L.A. crowd was booing him and not Ray? Because that’s what he said when Sheryl Miller asked him about it. Come on, Paul. Is it remotely possible that the L.A. fans were booing you because you have a big mouth and sometimes have a tendency to be a little dramatic? And maybe Ray got some love because he just so happens to be one of the classiest players in the history of the NBA. I mean seriously Paul, you’re my favorite player of all-time, but let’s not kid ourselves.

Dunk Contest

Best three dunks of the night:

1. Javale McGee – It took him several tries, but that two-ball dunk was extremely impressive. Probably required the most skill of any dunk we saw.

2. Demar Derozan - The lob pass to himself, followed by a one-handed, over-the-shoulder, reverse dunk where he wasn’t even really looking at the basket. And he got it on the first try.

3. Serge Ibaka – Dunk from the free-throw line. What score did he get for that? Like a 45? A huge disservice to him on that. At least Charles Barkley came to his defense, because the judges didn’t seem to be paying attention.

But the NBA and all its text-loving fans decided 3 weeks ago that Blake Griffin was going to win, so in the end, nothing really mattered anyway. In Blake’s defense, McGee laid an egg during the final round, but his overall body of work should have won him the title. But Griffin’s two final dunks (the elbow-in-the-rim one and the jumping-over-the-car one) didn’t really do it for me. Too much show, not enough substance.

Either way, a great dunk contest, even if it left me a little disappointed with the results.