The Slam Dunk Contest 2011

All-star weekend was in full effect in Los Angeles this past weekend.  The NBA did a good job this year and put on an entertaining show.  The slam dunk contest was not a let down as it has been a few times in the past decade.  We came into it already knowing the winner because Blake Griffin has not been comparable to anyone on the court when it comes to in-air antics.  The combination of ease and force he uses to jam hasn't been seen since Shawn Kemp (any arguments?).  Everybody basically just wanted to see how he was going to win it.

The first round of the SDC was the best first round in my opinion since the 2000 contest.  The contest went downhill from there though.  DeRozan got robbed of his opportunity to compete in the final round and Ibaka had a decent presentation with a creative dunk too.  I guess somebody had to lose because you can't discredit McGee's two balls, two rims dunk (which I think was the best dunk of the night), and Griffin's emphatic reverse 360 maneuver.  Griffin and McGee were the finalist and in the end Griffin was the one who held up the trophy thanks to his theatrics of bringing out a car and a choir for his final dunk.  Griffin's final dunk was not in the least bit impressive.  He does better stuff during actual games.  Him jumping over the the hood of a sedan is not pushing his physical limits.  I understand there is a safety issue but c'mon, the dunk was so standard.  I have several friends that can do similar.  But between McGee and Griffin, Griffin was clearly the better choice.  Hence why I say DeRozan was robbed.

Best dunk of the night -- DeVale McGee

With all that said, Griffin's missed dunks were the best things of the night.  That boy has something special and I hope he decides to come back for next year's competition.  I think the greatest thing about the contest was, the players presented us with a couple of dunks that have never been seen.  We thought the bounds had been reached but clearly there are still moves that have yet to be tapped.  Good weekend, NBA.  Now let's not have a lockout.