The NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone without turning too many heads. And before fans received the pleasure of witnessing the West thump the East 135-120 in Sunday evening's game, they got a taste of things to come in an array of pre-game events.
The much heralded Slam-Dunk finals exhibited rookies Gerald Wallace of the Sacramento Kings and Jason Richardson of the Golden State Warriors, both of whom were still crawling during MJ's rookie season. This year's contest featured a new twist, however, as competitors had to imitate a classic dunk from All-Star lore. While the change was supposed to provide more excitement to the event, it was more like a nostalgic cry for the days of Spud, Dominique, and Michael. Richardson, for example, struggled in both of his attempts to duplicate Dr. J's signature dunk - take-off from the free-throw line and one-hand jam. But the 6'6" guard/forward ultimately won the competition with an impressive reverse two-handed slam.
The weekend also featured the Rookie-Sophomore challenge, a game whose participants made most college students feel old; the 3-point shootout, in which Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic out-dueled the Cleveland Cavaliers' Wesley Person for the long range shooting crown; and the 4-on-4 Celebrity Hoop-It-Up, in which the star of NBC's "Ed" relived his childhood dreams as the International team defeated the hometown Philadelphia squad.
Then the main event: the All-Star game itself. The game was largely a dud that featured a combined 59 wide-open 3-point shot attempts, lazy defenses, a missed dunk by Michael Jordan, and only a couple highlight reel-worthy dunks. Although Los Angeles Lakers' star and Philadelphia native Kobe Bryant scored a convincing 31 points and received the MVP award, he was continuously booed throughout the game by the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers' fans who were still upset about last June's thrashing in the Finals. As entertaining as today's players were, it was still disheartening to see that Shaq would rather nurse his big toe on the bench than make a single appearance in the game, and that Steve Nash has not yet found a capable barber.
Looking back, looking forward
The monotony and lackluster nature of this past weekend's All-Star contest did not accurately represent the first half of the 2001-2002 NBA season, as new teams and players in new uniforms have altered the face of the standings. In the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Nets have emerged as the surprise team as well as the team to beat in the stretch run. Jason Kidd's move from the West has united a team that has visited the playoffs just once since 1994. With a playoff-experienced Byron Scott at the coaching helm, Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Keith Van Horn have raced off to a 32-15 start, and will likely continue their dominance in the second-half.
Trailing the Nets by five games in the Atlantic Conference are the Boston Celtics, who only needed to rid themselves of Rick Pitino to become a playoff contender once again. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker have repeatedly proved themselves worthy of their All-Star status, and hope to guide the Celtics to their best record since the 1992 season. But if Boston is to make any noise in the playoffs, it needs Walker to visit a weight room and/or improve its consistency in the second-half.
To the surprise of some basketball fans, Michael Jordan has actually revitalized a Washington Wizards team that has traditionally been unable to perform magic against anybody. Even with second-leading scorer Richard "Rip" Hamilton missing 15 games due to injury, the Wizards have jumped out to a 26-21 record and have seven more wins than all of last season. This week's contests with the Lakers and the Kings should be a gauge of just how far Jordan and coach Doug Collins have brought this franchise in the past year.
Although most of the teams in the Eastern Conference are comfortably hovering around a level of mediocrity, the West holds a number of clubs that have proved their preeminence in the first half. The Kings hold the best record in the league at 37-12, including an awe-inspiring 25-1 mark at home. Their keys to success thus far have been depth, with seven players averaging double-digits in points, as well as the solid performance of newcomer Mike Bibby, who escaped the shame of being a Grizzlie in Memphis. The biggest test in the second half for the Kings will be improving their .500 record on the road.
Unlike the Kings, the Dallas Mavericks have been able to win both at home and on the road, and own a rather surprising 35-14 record. Led by the shooting of Dirk Nowitzki and the passing of Nash, the Mavs have climbed to the upper ranks of the West. If owner Mark Cuban can keep his clownish antics to a minimum and not distract this up-and-coming team, the Mavericks should be a veritable force come May. The Kings and Mavericks have taken the place of the Jazz and Trailblazers atop the Western leader-board, but they've been unable to uproot the two-time defending champion Lakers. Shaq and Kobe have complemented each other beautifully so far and have avoided the tension that troubled their previous years together. Losses to Golden State, Chicago and other developmental-league teams are no indication that LA's time at the top is over. As long as Shaq's vulnerable toe completes a full-recovery, watch for the Lakers to reign supreme in the second-half.
