Relive All-Star Saturday`s best moments which included the D-League All Star game, skills competition, the shooting stars competition, the three point contest, and the slam dunk competition.
Watch rookie Terrence Ross throw down some serious dunks to win the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Houston.
James White also threw down the monster dunk after taking off from the free throw line during the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star in Houston. Which angle do you prefer?
Finally, check out Gerald Green's reverse dunk through the lens of the Phantom Camera at the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Which angle do you think caught this BIG moment better?
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
Check out all the action from the opening night of the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend in Houston as we bring you the highlights from both the Celebrity Game and BBVA Rising Stars Challenge Game in a night loaded with amazing plays and icons from all the corners of the sports and entertainment world including the fastest man on the planet, Jamaican Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt!
Take an All-Access look at the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge as Kenneth Faried leads Team Chuck to 163-135 victory over Team Shaq.
Check out super slow-motion highlights of some of the NBA's most talented youngsters as they were showcased in the BBVA Rising Stars game as part of All-Star Weekend in Houston.
And finally, take a look at the MVP performance of Kenneth Faried during the BBVA Rising Stars Game during All Star Weekend in Houston. Faried scored 40 points to lead his team to the victory.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
Last night, the names of the reserve players of the Western Conference All Stars were named and there were not many surprises at it featured all of the usual suspect along with two players who many predicted would earn All Star nods due to their stellar performances during the regular season. The only real surprise came with the selection of the Golden State WarriorsDavid Lee over his much more heralded teammate, Stephen Curry; however, looking at who the coaches selected, it certainly will give justification on why he was snubbed this year.
For starters, the coaches were only allowed to pick just two guards and of the two, they picked Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook who is having the best season of his career. Although his scoring dropped significantly from last season, his overall play improved as he has become more of a facilitator to his teammates and dropping his turnover rate to nearly five per game last season to just three this season. Check out some of the highlights from three-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook who is once again enjoying a spectacular season playing alongside Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging over 22 points and 8 assists per game!
The other guard spot was taken by the Spurs' Tony Parker, who has been having another phenomenal season leading San Antonio in scoring and assists while at the same time leading the team to the top of the Western Conference. Watch some of the highlights from Tony Parker's sensational first half of the season, averaging just under 20 points per game to go along with 7.4 assists, good enough to earn him his fifth All-Star selection!
And finally Curry had no chance of earning a spot as the "Wild Card" spot, usually meant versatile players capable of playing more than one position went to the Houston Rockets' James Harden. Harden will be joining his former teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as he enjoys his first selection to the All Star team. Check out some of the highlights from James Harden's monster first half of the season, averaging over 25 points per game! This will be Harden's first All-Star appearance and the game will be played in Houston, the city he now calls home!
As for the man that was chosen above Curry, it is no reason why David Lee should not have been considered as he has been one of the top producing power forwards in the league averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while connecting on more than .500 of his field goal attempts. See why Lee deserves such an honor with this small recap of his play in the first half in the season showing how underrated he truly is.
Lee will be joined by another success story in the Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph who went from being portrayed as a pariah to become the Grizzlies' greatest contributor. Check out some of the highlights from Grizzlies double-double machine Zach Randolph, who will be making his second All-Star appearance this year in Houston! On the season, Randolph is averaging over 16 PPG and 11 RPG for Memphis!
Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge will make his second straight All Star appearance as he has silently and unnoticed put up big numbers and leading a surprisingly over achieving Portland team to the shock of many who believed that only direction that the Blazers were headed was down. Check out the highlights of LaMarcus Aldridge's stellar season so far for the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging over 20 PPG to go along with 8.8 RPG, good enough to earn him his second All-Star selection!
And what All Star game would be complete without the "Big Fundamental" himself, the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan. Check out some of the highlights from Duncan's 2012-13 campaign so far as he continues to enjoy a vintage season, averaging 17.5 PPG to go along with 10 RPG, good enough to make him the 8th player in NBA history to make 14 All-Star appearances!
And there you have it--the best players of the Western Conference as decided by the Fans and coaches. Although it is disappointing to not see Stephen Curry's name among these great players, it is still justifiable as he really does not hold a candle to those who were selected over him despite his stellar play. Due to the subject matter and the adjoining media relation, this post is unusually long than the regular length. Hopefully it will not be considered a turnoff of viewing this pice. As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
Last night, the names of the reserve players of the Eastern Conference All Stars were named and they came with a few raised eyebrows. For starters, despite having another splendid season, theAtlanta Hawks' Josh Smithstill got snubbed yet again becoming theSusan Lucciof the NBA--always a nominee, but never an award winner. Two of the usual suspects have also returned to the All Star team, although many can question whether one of them deserves it or not along with five new faces. Lets take a look at who made it along with some video highlights that convinced coaches to select these guys starting with the two incumbents: the Miami Heat's Chris Bosh and the Chicago Bulls' Loul Deng.
Although Chris Bosh has played in his usual exceptional manner, can he really be considered as worthy of yet another All Star nod--especially since there were players that probably performed better than he did? The Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez comes to mind as he has come back from injuries to lead his team in scoring and has become a dominant force in the paint in the NBA. Check out some of the season highlights from Heat forward Chris Bosh who was selected to his 8th All-Star team this year and you be the judge!
Loul Deng can be considered another dubious name because many consider him quite overrated as he plays the most minutes in the league, yet is not nearly as efficient as he should be. Granted his play has improved from last season and he leads the Bulls in scoring; however, considering the fact there could have been more deserving players selected such as, again, Josh Smith, make Deng's selection less notable. Check out some of the highlights from the first half of Luol Deng's season with the Chicago Bulls, averaging more than 17 PPG, playing well enough to earn the second All-Star selection of his career!
One of the new faces that will appear in the All Star game will be Deng's teammate, Joakim Noah who has had a splendid season posting career highs in scoring (12.2ppg), averaging a double double in points and rebounds while leading his team in blocked shots and steals per game; however can he really be considered deserving an All Star nod? Noah is more of a over-glorified role player who really does not separate himself apart from other centers in the league pointing out once again how the Nets' Lopez was snubbed by a lesser player. Check out some highlights from Bulls center Joakim Noah's season who earned the first All-Star selection of this career, bringing exceptional defensive play to the court along with 12 points & 11 rebounds per game!
Another big man, Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks also earned his first selection to the All Star team; however, his selection can be considered rather dubious as well. Despite showing that he is a good rebounder and post defender, he has been completely absent on the offensive end. Sure he averages about 12ppg and leads the league in field goal percentage, but most of that is due to having a point guard that can find him for lobs in Jason Kidd. In his more than 10 years playing in the league, Chandler has never developed a post game and for the bulk of his career has been a non-factor on the offensive end. Again, he is certainly not more deserving than the Nets' Brook Lopez, who was actually a dominant presence on both sides of the floor. Check out some of the season highlights from the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler, who earned his first All-Star selection of this career with the Knicks this season, averaging a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds per game!
Indiana's Paul George also earned his first selection to the Eastern All Star team, but can he really be considered worthy of such an honor? Sure he has led the Indiana Pacers in scoring and to the top of the Central Division; however considering that fact that the Central Division is not that strong and the Pacers have been less than stellar during the season with their poor shooting, George's star is not as shiny as it is portrayed to be--especially considering a much better player was snubbed over him in Atlanta's Josh Smith. Check out some of the highlights from Paul George's season so far with the Indiana Pacers as the up and coming superstar averaged 17 PPG and just under 8 RPG to go along with sensational defensive play, earning him his first All-Star selection!
Fortunately, there are two selections who are players truly deserving of the honor even though their teams are currently under .500, but still have stepped up their games nonetheless giving them the notoriety that they deserved. Philly's Jrue Holiday went from a role player hiding in the shadow to become the leader in scoring, assists and first and last option on offense while the Cavs' Kyrie Irving has picked up where he left off from last season's Rookie of the Year campaign as he leads all point guards in scoring while providing Cleveland with the leadership that was so cruelly taken from their fans two years ago. See for yourself why these guys are possibly the most deserving candidates to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2013 NBA All Star Games starting with Holiday who has had a spectacular season thus far averaging 19 PPG and over 9 APG, earning him his first All-Star selection!
And last but certainly not the least, Check out some highlights from the Cleveland Cavaliers' second-year point guard Kyrie Irving who will be making his first All-Star appearance and is enjoying a breakout season this year, averaging almost 24 PPG and over 5 APG!
So there you have it: all of the supposed Eastern Conference's best as chosen by the fans and coaches. One can certainly see by these selection that they more had to do with bias than the actually performances of the players, themselves. Anyways, what can you do? Due to the subject matter and the adjoining media relation, this post is unusually long than the regular length. Hopefully it will not be considered a turnoff of viewing this pice. As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
The votes have been counted and the starters of the 2013 NBA All Star Game have been named. Here is a quick rundown of who fans voted to represent the Western Conference along with some video highlights that earned them the notoriety for fans to vote for them. Let's start with the point guard position where the selection of Chris Paul was a relief as many feared that the huge block of Chinese voters would lead to a lesser deserving player getting the starting nod.
At the other guard spot, it comes as no surprise as it will be once again Kobe Bryant who not only will start in his 16th straight All Star game, but was the leading vote getter as well.
In the front court, the first forward will be the scoring machine from the OKC, Kevin Durant making it his fourth consecutive All Star appearance.
The other forward spot will be filled by the high flying recipient of most of Chris Paul's lobs, Blake Griffin who will be playing in his third straight All Star game.
And finally the Center spots goes to a player that has spent most of his career representing the Eastern Conference All Stars, the Lakers' Dwight Howard and although he and his team have struggled, he has still shown why he remains one of the best big men to play the game.
So there you have it, the best of the West as determined by the millions of NBA fans around the world. You can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
The votes have been counted and the starters of the 2013 NBA All Star Game have been name. Here is a quick rundown of who fans voted to represent the Eastern Conference along with some video highlights that earned them the notoriety for fans to vote for them. Let's start at the point guard position where the fans voted a player that missed last's season's All Star game--the Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo.
His partner in the backcourt comes as no surprise as it will be Dwayne Wade's ninth career All Star appearance.
In the front court, Wade's teammate, Lebron James starts at forward making it his ninth appearance as well as a starter.
The other forward spot, which should have been reserve for a true power forward, was taken by another small forward in the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony.
Finally, the center spot is rather underwhelming as it has been taken by an old and over the hill Kevin Garnett. Garnett's choice should come as no surprise as the pickings were very slim in terms of talented centers in the East.
So there you have it, the best of the East as determined by the millions of NBA fans around the world. You can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
Last night, TNT announced the starters for the All-Star game for the Eastern and Western Conferences. As usual, there were no real surprises as the usual suspects were selected to represent their respective conference. Check out who will represent the East.
Of course, let's not forget about the good folk on the West who boasts the top vote getter and is dominated by the city of angels.
You can view full game by game recaps, highlights and postgame interviews on www.nba.com/videoand be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for the month of December in SDH's Worst to First for December.
