Real Deal

Pierce is not an "A" defender. He's nowhere near Artest, Battier, Afflalo, Smith, Howard, Oden, Hinrich, Wallace, Kobe, or Roy. His leadership skills got him nowhere just last season, when Garnett was out. He had Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins...yet he nearly lost to the Bulls and ended up dropping the series to Orlando. His skill set consists of the three-point shot (improved this season) and his elbow jumper. It seems that's where he scores most of his points with these days. An "elitist" offensive skillset is contained by the likes of Kobe and Duncan. Wade comes close. Nash is almost there. Durant is almost there. Paul Pierce doesn't fit. Pierce's ring on his finger doesn't make him the best (or second best) small forward in the NBA, just as Billups' 2004 ring doesn't make him better than Deron, CP3 or Nash.

If guys like LeBron and Howard aren't going to enter next season, they need to go look for some dunkers that will go big. Michael Beasley Blake Griffin James White (if he can ever stay on a roster) JR Giddens Chase Budinger Terrence Williams Gerald Henderson DeJuan Blair Those guys don't need to be all-stars to be in the competition and pull off some nasty dunks. I think almost every one of them can beat all four that entered tonight, and yes, that includes Nate Robinson.

No idea, but if the Lakers make a move, you can be sure the Cavaliers will...and vice-versa.

Sorry for not making a topic about this. I don't think many saw it to begin with, so here are the highlights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB5rUD_luEM Much better than the NBA's.

His participation in the dunk contest tonight was anything but a slam dunk, also.

That's the problem -- he is like Stephon. Both are done. Neither can play in a set offense, Francis' legs are like rusty pogo sticks, and he's not even a legit backup point or two-guard in the league anymore. Most of that is due to Cuttino Mobley's retirement, though. Steve probably averages 15/10/10 if Mobley is sharing a locker room with him.

Fish7718 - 1 Rondo - 2 iBoldin - 3 Confidence - 5 Dee - 6 Yugo - 7 Legacy - 8 Smitty - 10 Riot - 12

I'm assuming you didn't get to watch the D-League dunk contest? The winner there would've cruised to a victory tonight, and their runner-up was better than all four in this contest as well. No showmanship, no creativity, not a single new dunk performed, and no enthusiasm whatsoever from the contestants or the crowd. The celebrity game was more entertaining.

I wasn't even excited about this contest, either. No player hit over 20 points. It's too bad we have no monster three-point shooters in the league right now. Bird would've wrecked everyone in this competition..and I wouldn't be surprised if he could still do it.

Dwight had some NASTY dunks, though. The tap off the glass was one of the best dunks I've seen in the contest, and he also had one where he bounced it off the back of the backboard. This was officially the worst dunk contest I've ever seen, and I've watched every single one of them since the early 80's.

He also thought that Shannon Brown would win the dunk contest.

Welllll, to make up for the pathetic Saturday night events... West 180, East 179, 4OT Kevin Durant MVP, with 40 points, 10 rebounds, game-winning halfcourt three.

Because everyone would think the contest was over, and they'd get up and head home.

I'm sure Mbenga would just stand there and eat a taco as Brown did a simple reverse.

Sonny Weems would've been a better participant, actually. If Shannon had tried that Statue of Liberty dunk one more time, he probably would've gotten a 45-46 and ended up in the second round, but he was too stupid to do it. Still would've been a bust, though. I'm just sad I didn't get to see what DJ Mbenga was going to do.

NONE of the dunks done in the contest were better than a 45. None of them. They were all weak. Shannon didn't do a damn thing creative, Wallace was just as bad, Nate won because he's small, and DeRozan was one of the most unmotivated dunkers I've ever seen (probably right there with Larry Hughes). The only dunk worth talking about was DeMar's catch off the side of the glass...and that was a 45. Howard has done it, I believe Mason or Richardson did it, Iguodala has done it, and most every decent dunker in the history of the contest could probably pull it off. Now I appreciate Howard and Iguodala much, much more.

Wow, how pathetic. Shannon needs to stick to in-game dunking, and all of these contestants are boring as hell, even DeRozan, to an extent. I hope DeRozan takes out Nate, at least. He probably will, with a two-handed reverse, or something. Who will Nate jump over? This sucks.

Because Pierce isn't the better shooter?

LOL, Pierce just said he's one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. Kenny and Reggie are just laughing.

Alright, here's incoming/outgoing... Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas Huge trade for the Mavericks.

Deal is done...don't know the details yet.

Right, but even then, the star power (or, celeb power) wasn't even as big as it was in recent years. I just think the Globetrotters took too much from the game. Imagine if you stuck celebs in there that actually knew how to play? You'd see fun basketball then...and maybe even a few celeb "rivalries" building up on court.

DAMN, I wanted to see Rose in this again.

I don't know about everyone else, but the Globetrotters were really annoying out there. The only celebrities that should've been playing were Common (who did very well, actually) and Owens. I'd rather see Justin Timberlake back out there over guys like Doctor Oz, Chris Tucker and Mark Cuban, guys that have no business even touching a basketball.

Evans played a very good game that didn't show in the statsheet, and he was a big reason for the rookies' success. With that said, Blair still should've gotten the MVP. He was amazing, and a lot of that happened after he got his stitches. He came back and was a monster.