The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (Where Nothing Happens) And Weekly NBA Power Rankings

I’m not going to speak on All-Star weekend very much here. Despite it being a glorified pickup/exhibition game with little intensity or defense (until the last 2 or 3 minutes), it’s still probably the most fun to watch of all the major sports’ all-star games. Can we agree that the dunk contest is officially lame though? It’s basically devolved into a 30 minute circus act of guys jumping over people and objects of various heights while changing jerseys several times in between. Just about everything that could be done seems to have been done, and aside from the occasional year where a Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, or Blake Griffin participates there’s little to no star power either. You can make the argument that the best dunkers in the league are not necessarily the best players if you want, and there are guys like this year’s winner, Utah benchwarmer Jeremy Evans, who are probably up there with other more household names who have in-game throwdowns regularly, but I’m not really buying it. These guys are the outliers, the exception to the rule in my opinion. Evans’ 2 ball, jumping over teammate Gordon Hayward, alleyoop was pretty cool. It took tremendous athleticism and skill, and I had never seen anything like it to be honest, but it didn’t exactly get me hyped. It was a parlor trick. It reminded me more of the weird guys you see at halftime shows who can spin 5 basketballs at once on their head, hands, and feet (or whatever) than a dunk contest clinching jam. And yes, maybe everything that is possible has already been done (thus the seemingly never ending parade of props), but I’m pretty sure I saw 4 or 5 dunks in the actual All-Star game that were better than anything I saw on Saturday night. You don’t think a dunk contest featuring LeBron, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, and either Durant or Russell Westbrook (let the teammates play H-O-R-S-E or rock-paper-scissors or something to decide who goes) would be electric? The NBA and its sponsors need to figure out a way to make this happen next year at all costs. On that note, on to this week’s power rankings…the All-Star break made for a lack of games and changes, but maybe that will be cause for some brevity on my part…maybe.

Come on, man (and by "man" I mean the NBA).

1. Miami Heat (PR=1, 28-7)…Eviscerated Jeremy Lin and the Knicks prior to the All-Star break, and rattled off their 9th straight in Portland last night, where LeBron showed he is the ultimate Swiss army knife.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (PR=2, 29-7)…Like Miami, the Thunder don’t appear to be going anywhere unless KD or Westbrook suffers some type of catastrophic injury. Have won 7 straight themselves, and started off a tough East coast road trip right by beating Philly and Orlando.

3. Chicago Bulls (PR=3, 29-8)…Gutted out a tough win in San Antonio on Wednesday, and it’s hard to be critical of a team that has the 3rd best record in the league and has won 4 straight, but they just seem to be missing something on the offensive end (much like last year). Rip Hamilton doesn’t appear to be the answer.

4. San Antonio Spurs (PR=4, 24-11)…The Spurs stay here almost by default, as the top 3 in the power rankings seem to be a class ahead of everyone else (as shown by the Bulls coming into their house and beating them).

5. Indiana Pacers (PR=Not Ranked, 22-12)…Much like the Spurs in their loss to Chicago, the Magic kind of showed why there’s a top 3 and then there’s everybody else in their home loss to the Thunder last night. Even though the Pacers lost 5 straight prior to their current 5 game winning streak (in which the schedule has been kind), they are owners of the 5th best record in the league right now. They might need 1 more year of experience to really challenge Miami and Chicago in the East, but I like what I see.

26. New Jersey Nets (PR=28, 11-25)…I’m telling you, man…the Nets are by no means “good,” but they are not terrible either. They’ve won 3 of their last 5, and those 3 wins all came against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. If Brook Lopez never got hurt, this would be a borderline playoff team (for what that’s worth in the East).

27. Toronto Raptors (PR=26, 11-24)…Have won 2 of 3, beating fellow bottom-feeders Detroit and New Orleans, but the Raptors may be perpetually stuck in the rankings anywhere from 26-29 for the rest of time.

28. New Orleans Hornets (PR=27, 8-27)…Eric Gordon is still technically their leading scorer on a points per game basis for the season. What could be sadder than that?

29. Washington Wizards (PR=29, 7-28)…Can I just say I’m all for Randy Wittman’s recent benching of JaVale McGee and Nick Young? And it’s not like Wittman’s going to be back next year anyway, so it’s no skin off his back, but it’s a big fat (and deserved) “f*** you” to GM Ernie Grunfeld for doing his job in an exceptionally stupid manner…bravo.

30. Charlotte Bobcats (PR=30, 4-29)…The Bobcats might not ever be moving from this spot. Maybe next week I will think of some commentary for their entry, but for this week I’ve got nothing!

Rising: we’ll give the Lakers a mention here, as they’ve steadily climbed to only a game out of 1st place in the Pacific Division

Falling: Philadelphia and Dallas (both losers of 3 in a row)