Arguably the most anticipated contest of all of All-Star weekend, this game is featuring the biggest names in decades to conclude the Saturday events. All-Stars Damian Lillard, John Wall, and Paul George have made this such an anticipated event this year. Returning champion Terrence Ross has had a great season of late too and it will be very difficult for any of the other contestants to beat his acrobatic high flying dunks that he hasn't been shy to show off in games. Just how long has it been since there were so many stars in the contest? Via NBA.com:
Eastern Conference: Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Terrence Ross (Toronto Raptors), John Wall (Washington Wizards)
Western Conference: Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Ben McLemore (Sacramento Kings)
The format for this game has changed this year into a team competition too, and here's the details of the controversial change from NBA.com:
Personally I don't like the change and think they should have stayed with the classic format. It just feels like they're trying to make this a kids game, where there aren't as many "losers". The "winner" is the team so the individual best dunker won't actually be recognized as the sole champ, an idea I don't like and others have questioned as well. Expectations/Predictions:
For the West team to win this they're going to have to be extremely creative as they haven't showcased the athletic throw downs during games that the East constantly has. Ross and George seem like the 2 best dunkers in the group from what they've shown before, but the West's dunkers aren't too shabby either. Lillard has competed in 2 previous events so his athleticism(while already questioned) will be put to the test while facing all these elite dunkers tonight. Hopefully cheesy props will be avoided and this year can help bring back the dunk contest and set up the contest for strong contestants for years to come. We'll just have to see tonight, tune into TNT or TNT Overtime to see how this all goes down.
Thanks,
Phillip
This marks the first time in 26 years that three All-Stars are competing in the Sprite Slam Dunk. In the 1988 competition in Chicago, All-Stars Clyde Drexler, Michael Jordan, and Dominique Wilkins squared off, with Jordan claiming the crown in front of the hometown fans.Here are the teams:
Eastern Conference: Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Terrence Ross (Toronto Raptors), John Wall (Washington Wizards)
Western Conference: Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Ben McLemore (Sacramento Kings)
The format for this game has changed this year into a team competition too, and here's the details of the controversial change from NBA.com:
This year's event will feature the participants competing as a team -- three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference -- in an above-the-rim two-round format. In a significant first in the event's history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting "East" or "West." The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round.
The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk champions. Complete rules for the 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night can be found on mediacentral.nba.com.
After the competition, fans will also have the opportunity to vote for the player of their choice as "Dunker of the Night" through SMS, Twitter, NBA.com and the NBA GameTime app.
Personally I don't like the change and think they should have stayed with the classic format. It just feels like they're trying to make this a kids game, where there aren't as many "losers". The "winner" is the team so the individual best dunker won't actually be recognized as the sole champ, an idea I don't like and others have questioned as well. Expectations/Predictions:
For the West team to win this they're going to have to be extremely creative as they haven't showcased the athletic throw downs during games that the East constantly has. Ross and George seem like the 2 best dunkers in the group from what they've shown before, but the West's dunkers aren't too shabby either. Lillard has competed in 2 previous events so his athleticism(while already questioned) will be put to the test while facing all these elite dunkers tonight. Hopefully cheesy props will be avoided and this year can help bring back the dunk contest and set up the contest for strong contestants for years to come. We'll just have to see tonight, tune into TNT or TNT Overtime to see how this all goes down.
Thanks,
Phillip
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