NBA All-Star Saturday Night ~ Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, and Slam Dunk

Thanks to my friend, Teri, I scored a ticket to NBA All-Star Saturday night.  This is not an easy ticket.  When I stopped at VIP Tickets to see what they had in terms of inventory on my way back to the hotel, and they only had upper-level tickets left. They were selling them at face value.  I think that face value was $300-$315, I'm not really sure.  I don't sit in the upper-level so I never saw the ticket price.

I got a text that my ticket was waiting for me at Will Call and walked to the Staples Center.  I arrived just in time for the Skills Challenge.  Perfect timing.  Stephon Curry won the Skills Challenge, but here's a good one of Derrick Rose competing.

Cee Lo Green rocked green, performed his hit, and then found his seat for the 3-Point Contest. 

Cee Lo Green talking to Spike Lee on the way to his seat

After Cee Lo's performance, it was time for the 3-Point Contest.  Paul Pierce was the two-time champion and is from California, but since he's a Celtic the crowd booed him.  Ray Allen, who surpassed Reggie Miller as the 3-point king, also competed in the contest.  Surprisingly, out of the pack, the Miami Heat's James Jones ended up winning.  While Kevin Garnett and rooted on his teammates, Dwyane Wade (i.e. and his son) cheered Jones on from the front row.



Far East Movement performed after the 3-Point Contest.

Last but not least, was the highly-anticipated Slam Dunk Contest.  The favorite to win was Blake Griffin, but JaVale McGee and DeMar DeRozan weren't about to lie down and die.  Javale McGee dunked 3 balls at once.  He also brought out another hoop to dunk two balls at the "same" time.  Ultimately, Blake Griffin won and his final dunk was the one where he jumped over the front of a car with a gospel choir singing, "I Believe I can Fly".  Wild Stuff!

If you want to see the highlights, I'm sure you can Google for them.  I may try to upload the video I have later.  Until then, enjoy the pictures included.

THE WIRK

NBA All-Star Saturday ~ Practice

If you can’t go to the actual NBA All-Star game, definitely go to NBA All-Star practice. Practice was held Saturday morning at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  ****  This was the first time since the NBA All-Star festivities were held in Cleveland, OH that I went to watch practice.  I have been missing out!

The LA Convention Center hosted the NBA Jam Session.  If you’ve never been to NBA Jam Session, check it out. There are numerous opportunities to interact with players, complete various basketball drills, and celebrate the game of basketball etc. More on that in a later post.

Practice is a ticketed event. I suggest you get there early if you want to take pictures since the tickets designate a section only. It’s general admission within the sections.

The guys are pretty loose during practice and you can see the smiles on their faces. NBA All-Star weekend is a fun time for the fans and the athletes. Unlike in football, where it’s a challenge to get the athletes to play in the Pro Bowl, the NBA shows up and enjoys itself during the All-Star break. 

 Don’t believe me? Check out the smiles on the guys’ faces.

One funny moment during practice occurred when Doc Rivers, coach for the Eastern All-Stars, told Carmelo Anthony to stand in the middle of the court since he didn’t know whether he was playing for the West or the East. ****  Obviously this was before Monday’s trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks and in the middle of the Melo-drama.

At any rate, practice was a good time and the teams performed various shooting drills. Towards the end of the practice Paul Pierce and Ray Allen established a record for 3-pointers by a tandem for the Guinness Book of World Records. Unfortunately for the Celtics duo, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant promptly broke the record to claim it as their own.

After practice there was media availability. The media had a chance to go onto the court to talk to the players. Picture it. I liken it to the media version of “storming the court”.

THE WIRK

Celtics fans score with Kobe Bryant Nope T-shirts, but Lakers win Game 3

Game 3 is in the books.  The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 91-84, and Derek Fisher cried at the end of the game...  Yeah, I don't know either.  I saw that he scored 16 points, but seriously, what did I miss?!?!

Regardless, I could lie and tell you that I watched the entire game ~ but I didn't.  I was rooting for the Celtics and the 1st quarter looked promising.  I also saw the Celtics come back in the 4th.  What did I do in between that time?  I ate and jazzed up this blog...  Don't judge me!  We all make choices...

I also went through my email and looked for a picture that my friend, Ning, sent me from Boston.  Now that the Celtics are playing the Lakers, vendors in Boston are now selling Kobe Nope T-shirts.  Check it out.

Kobe Bryant Nope T-shirt

Boston might need more than T-shirts to reign Kobe in.  Bryant ended the game with 29 points after shooting only, 10-29...  Definitely not a typical performance, but it was enough for the Lakers to eek out a road win.  Kevin Garnett came up strong with 25 points, but it didn't take a look at the box score to see how rough a game Ray Allen had. 

Ray Allen only had 2 points tonight.  He went 0-13.  Don't believe me?  Check the box score.  Very tough night for the shooter.  Here's hoping he finds his groover and returns to form.  Shooters are by nature "streaky".  They're either on fire or ice cold. I wonder if Ray Allen could see his own breath tonight...

Anyway Lakers are up 2-1 now, and Game 4 is on Thursday. 


THE WIRK

Calgon take me away (to Cleveland): Game 5: Celtics v Cavs tonight

Remember those commercials where the girl would be in a tub and say, "Calgon take me away."?  Well, I'm not foolish enough to believe that works.  I've clicked my heels three times and said, "There's no place like home."  However, my black flats don't even look like ruby slippers and let's face it ~ my name's not Dorothy so that won't work either.  If I had a private plane and could go anywhere tonight, I'd take that plane straight to Cleveland, Ohio.  Yes, I said it.  I'd even invite Joakim Noah to come with me, because we know he can't be busy.  That's just how nice a person I am!  Game 5 is tonight, and the Cleveland Cavaliers should be ready to exploit homecourt advantage and defeat the Boston Celtics.

I was watching TNT earlier this week and I heard Ernie Johnson use the term "LeBrondo".  That made me laugh.  Rajon Rondo was the story of Game 4, and LeBron James was the story for Game 3.  Both teams split games on their home floor (i.e. basically trading wins and losses).  I think I recall LeBron saying that he wanted to guard Rondo tonight.  Well, let's just hope that that doesn't open up the floor too much for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.  Can you tell that I'm a Cavs fan?!?!

I hope Cleveland is bringing more of its offense and defense to the table tonight and is ready to dominate.  I got into a discussion last night about the merit of Mike Brown.  My friend was saying that he couldn't coach.  I admit, I am a member of a "Fire Mike Brown" group.  We both remarked that the only play that Coach seems to call in the huddle (i.e. after a time-out, etc.) is the "Give the ball to LeBron" play.  Trust me ~ he and I are smart and have high basketball IQs, but I assure you that even the dimmest bulb on the shortest bus could figure that out! 

**** Coaches are in a very unenviable position. We love them when the team wins, and we second guess and join "Fire XYZ" forums when the team loses. I like Mike Brown, when the Cavs win and when he's not snubbing Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Regardless, I will still ultimately blame Danny Ferry if the Cavs don't win a NBA Championship this year.

Come on Cleveland, it's GO time at Quicken Loans Arena!!!


THE WIRK

It's tough to be a Celtics or Hornets fan right now ~ Go Cavs, Go Caps, Go Colts!!!

Basketball

1. Wouldn't be surprised if Paul Pierce sits out a few games.  Might as well rest the foot/ankle, until after All-Star break.

Paul Pierce walking off the court after hitting the deck

2. Ray Allen to be traded?  I think it's a mistake. I like Ray Allen as a Celtic and his 3 point prowess...  He's the Celtics version of John Starks...  I like his 3P%age (about 33 percent) and his 15 PPG.  Admittedly, I'm not a GM so I have no idea what he's making.

What uniform do you see Ray Allen wearing?

3. Would hate to be a Celtics fan right now, with all these headaches and KG back in the game.
4. Celtics don't scare Cavs fans!
5. Boobie Gibson is getting it done in Cleveland!  Cavs won 9 is a row last night as they beat Memphis.  I'm going to have to look for my "Got Boobie" T-shirt...
6. Incidentally I was playing on Twitter and saw NBATVChris (aka Chris Webber) ask if anyone thought Memphis was going to beat the Cavs last night... I tweeted back that there would be no upset in Cleveland and that the Cavs would win.  Chris, I was right!
7.  Chris Paul to have surgery.  That's really unfortunate for him and the NO Hornets, who currently are in the 9th spot in the West.  Sorry Hornets fans...  There's room for you on the Cavs bandwagon...  We'll welcome you with open arms.  Hornets don't scare Cavs fans either!
8.  NBA-All Star next weekend in Dallas ~ I need to start planning my trip!!!

Hockey
1. Capitals have won 11 in a row, but I won't be able to check them out until March.  They're away A LOT this month and I'm headed to the Super Bowl this weekend.
2. The Caps should beat the Rangers easily on Thursday night ~ just a hunch...
3. Whoever is in charge of setting NHL hockey schedule needs to get fired.  Why would you have the Capitals play the Penguins on Super Bowl Sunday?!?!  It makes no sense and at a minimum completely inconveniences ME, since I would've liked to have been there in-person to see the match-up at the Verizon Center!  Seriously, the first time these 2 teams met this year (last month), they were up against the Lakers v the Cavs in Cleveland.  I remember that, because I was in Cleveland watching LeBron et al ball...  I have no idea what cave the NHL schedulers are hanging out in ~ but I hope they get their acts together and position the marquee matchups better next year.

NHL Playoffs, Penguins v Caps, May 2009

Football
1. Dwight Freeney will play.  He has to...  It's the Super Bowl.  GO COLTS!!!

Other
1.  Still looking at logos for TheWirk.com.  I've seen so many mock-ups, that I've got a headache...

Alright, I'm done ~ I need to head to the airport "soon"...  Miami here I come...

THE WIRK

"If the Celtics are healthy..." ~ Preview of Celtics v Wizards on Monday night...

I fell asleep early tonight and now I'm wide awake...  When I woke up I checked my text messages (habit), and I was happy to see a text from my friend, Pat.  For those of you that read this blog, he's the same Pat that went to Dallas with me.  Turns out Pat has an extra ticket for the Celtics v Wizards game and wanted to know if I wanted to go.  My only dilemma was that Monday is trivia night, but I easily got over my guilt as I texted my trivia team at 10 til 1 this morning to tell them I wasn't coming.  Seriously, WWMTTD (aka What Would My Trivia Teammates Do)?!!?  They would skip trivia also and go to the game ~ I know because they have skipped to go skiing, because they were tired, had a date, etc.  I'm sure they'll understand why I'm not going and that someone else is going to have answer any questions related to 80s music.

Sooooo, the Celtics....  I just checked and according to NBA.com the Celtics' record is 29-16 and they're coming into DC after losing 3 straight.  Incidentally, my Cavs are leading the East with a record of 38-11 and have won 8 straight.  I also checked and it looks like the line for the game is Boston -5. 

THE WIRK RECOMMENDS YOU BET THE HOUSE ON THE CELTICS.  Notice, I said "recommends".  I do NOT guarantee.  If I were energetic enough to go to Vegas tomorrow I'd bet the money line without question on the Celtics.  I seriously doubt they're going to lose 4 in a row.  I may have to eat these words tomorrow night, but I doubt it.

Back to the Celtics and the East.  Everyone I speak to either loves or hates Lebron and the Cavs.  However, the answer always seems to be the same, when I ask Cavs critics who they think can win the East.  The haters all reply the same way ~ "I think a healthy Celtics team can beat the Cavs".  This statement always amuses me.  I'm not sure what movie/show it's from, but it reminds me of the line, "If Grandma had balls, she'd be Grandpa".  The logic is completely flawed.  "If" is the premise and who really knows.  Injuries happen in sports and they're a huge determining factor when it comes to the success or failure of a team, but last I checked Kevin Garnett is back.

Kevin Garnett is back, but he's not BACK from his knee injury.  How could he be?!?!  The man just took to the practice court on Jan 19.  I just checked the box score from tonight's Lakers v Celtics matchup and KG played about 31 mins and went 5-9... He had 10 points, shot ZERO free throws, and was one short of a double double with only 9 boards.  Hmmmm ~ let me tell it to you straight.  I'm going to need KG to pull down a double double CONSISTENTLY in order for me to believe he's BACK from his injury.  AND, if the man isn't shooting any free throws, then it tells me that he's not driving the lane and is probably afraid to make contact ~ which also tells me he knows he's not "back" and that the knee is probably still ouchy.

WOW ~  I just looked at Rondo's numbers, and he exploded tonight!  On the contrary, Ray Allen only shot 2-10 in 34 mins of action and left with 7 points.  Hmmmm ~ I can be a very quantitative person at times, and these numbers do not scare me as a Cavs fan.

Then again, I wasn't scared of the Orlando Magic last year and we all know how that turned out.  YUCK!!!  Basketball is a team sport ~ regardless of what the numbers look lke and what the folks at Nike want the general population to believe.  We also know that some guys don't play "all out" every night, much less for the entire 48 minutes of game time.  "Just watch the last 2 minutes," is what all the NBA haters say when it comes to watching games.

Well - I'll be there tomorrow to see the Celts live and in person.  I'm going to see for myself how this team is playing.  I'm going to scout KG and the rest of the Celtics to satisfy my own curiosity, and then I'll decide whether or not, as a Cavs fan, I need to be scurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred...  :-P

THE WIRK