TIMELINESS
It could make a serious embarrassment . The first number of the competitive program on Friday added bitterness to the "all-star" medoc. Invited to participate in the celebrity match, the running back of Reggie Bush, the New Orleans Saints superstar, sprained his ankle in the very first seconds of the match. Fans of the “saints” only frowned slightly: fortunately, the season in American football ended just the other day.
DISPUTE
Almost the most fun weekend issue was given even more plunged by Charles Barkley and the oldest NBA referee Dick Bavetta. One of the greatest basketball players in league history on TNT suggested that he was running around in great shape, even with the current heavy belly. 44-year-old Chuck enchantingly joked, assuring that not a single 67-year-old man in the world would overtake him, exponentially “trained” during the broadcasts, devouring donuts under the friendly laughter of co-hosts Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson and knocked Bavetta to the run. Three and a half lengths of the court, Sir Charles nevertheless overcame faster than the gray-haired referee, although he did not have enough breath in an interview with the winner ...
Turmoil
Matches newcomers harmful to watch basketball purists. They won’t see the game as such: everything is limited to running around, lightning attacks and a parade of slam dunks. And yet, even completely forgetting about protection, you need to manage to miss 155 points in 40 minutes. That is exactly what the guys from the 2006 class did, once again proving that last year’s recruitment into the league was one of the weakest in recent years. Representatives of the 2005 class realized 74.7 percent of the field shots! The viewers who looked at the statistics strictly were perplexed: why did the serious guy David Lee get the MVP prize, picking 30 points and 11 rebounds under the ring, and not virtuoso Chris Paul, adding 17 assists and 9 (!) Interceptions to 16 points? Everything is natural: Lee became a real symbol of his team - dropped 14 times and hit 14 times.
INSPIRATION
Applause to the organizers of the weekend: the idea of inviting 6000 children for a newcomers match for free and instructing them to conduct ceremonies and announcing the names of the players fully paid off. There were no habitual yawns in the stands. The children screamed, screeched and waved. It turned out unexpectedly fun.
VERY SHARP EYE
Jason Kapono, the leader in the league in the implementation of three-pointer (56% - the best indicator for the participants of the competition "truckers" in history), received the prize quite rightly. There was nothing else to expect from such a specialist - in the final round he repeated the achievement of Mark Price with 24 points, and did not reach the total score of the competition record set by Craig Hodgis.
“The diesel added energy to him. It was necessary to remove Shaka from the front line, ”Gilbert Arenas jokingly resented.
SHOWMEN
Shaq and Gil are the people without whom All - Star Weekend would lose half its charm. Who will say that Shaquille O'Neill, who missed most of the season, was not worthy of appearing in Las Vegas? Especially after winning a hilarious dance competition offhand at a Saturday training session? His break dance on the stalls, Hawaiian pelvic movements and “swallowing the heart”, immediately scattered on the Internet, will remain hits on the World Wide Web for a long time.
Arenas did not fail either. He issued several hilarious quotes on his own NBA blog. com , threw three-pointer one right at the last “station” of the “truckers” contest, and during the break the All-Star Game participated in a performance by acrobats: Gil put in a beautiful slam dunk by jumping from a “frog”.
COMFORT
For all the troubles that overtook Boston in the regular season, he desperately needed comfort. Therefore, the delight of the Celtics captain Paul Pierce, who came to Vegas almost intentionally, to give Gerald Green the only pass from the side of the shield at the slam dunk contest, is understandable. The young striker did not disappoint, he won the competition: in the most curious attempt, he scored a “tomahawk”, jumping from two legs over the referee's table “dotted”.
FOCUS
From year to year we have to admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to invent something new at the Slam Dunk Contest . This year the guys were pleased with the spectacular numbers, but the “sticker dunk” of the lanky Dwight Howard was especially remembered. At first, no one even understood what he had done with the center Orlando.
Only when both “wizards” began to poke their fingers at the cameramen, did the public realize that Dwight had stuck a sticker on his shield with his own physiognomy. In words : “ All with the help of Christ ” ... Howard’s modesty and piety were not appreciated ...
SCANDAL
It’s hard to remember that during Saturday competitions, judges had to use video viewing. Nevertheless, during the Casting Stars competition, the execution of the rules was monitored so strictly that they even disqualified the winners. It turned out that Ben Gordon from “Chicago” for a moment ahead of Candice Dupree, disrupting the throw, and getting Scottie Pippen from the center of the site was useless. The victory was given to Detroit.
RETURN
One of the main topics of the weekend was the statement of Pippen. The great striker in the past, who completed his career in 2002, suddenly told the public that he missed the game and intends to return to the NBA at the age of 41. To try as part of a strong team to get the seventh championship ring. Scotty's words caused a malicious snicker from his comrade Barkley, who rightly noted that if you 5 years ago thought you could not perform at a high level, then nothing has changed for the better during this period. And that the feeling that you can play does not mean that this will happen in reality.
Scotty said he would like to break into the composition of, say, Miami or San Antonio, which caused Dwyane Wade to be delighted: “I always dreamed of playing next to the legends. Now I have Shack, Zo, and Gary Payton in my team, and to get Scotty would be the embodiment of the computer games that I had fun in my childhood. ”
Rebirth
Talking about All - Star Game is pointless. We only note the return of the shaken authority of a couple of stars from the Western Conference. The gorgeous Kobe Bryant, who had listened for a long time to the disapproving buzz from the stands because of the rape charge, on Sunday heard the cries of “ M - V - P !” By no means from loyal Los Angeles fans. His efforts were appreciated by the mentioned prize, which Kobe got the second time in his career.
Defender “Lakers” should thank coach Mike D'Antoni, who did not “drag” his ward “Phoenix” Amar Staudemair with deft shuffles of the roster. But Amar, who missed almost the entire previous season due to injury, is also worthy of a reward.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH