By Chris Bernucca SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
HOUSTON (Ticker) NBA Slam Dunk champion Josh Smith is well aware that his biggest challenge is going to come from the smallest player.
Smith will be at a one-foot disadvantage when he faces mighty mite Nate Robinson in the Slam Dunk Contest, part of All-Star Saturday at the Toyota Center.
Quentin Richardson will try to defend his Shootout title and Steve Nash will do the same in the Skills Challenge. But the player catching everyone’s eye will be Robinson, who at 5-9 is the smallest competitor at All-Star Weekend.
But in the Slam Dunk Contest, small can conquer all. Just ask Dominique Wilkins, a 6-6 springer who was outdone by Atlanta Hawks teammate Spud Webb in the event 20 years ago. The 5-7 Webb immediately won over an unsuspecting crowd with a series of lob dunks that endeared him to the judges.
“He was doing all this stuff and I was like, ‘Where did you get that?’” Wilkins remembered. “He was fantastic.”
Last year, Smith honored Wilkins by wearing his No. 21 Hawks jersey and outclassing three other relatively tall players. On one of his dunks, the 6-9 forward soared over Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin seated in a chair in the lane.
However, Smith is aware of the challenge presented by Robinson, the rookie guard of the New York Knicks who has had a handful of flying dunks in games this season.
“I know that Nate is going to be really strong because he’s so short and has athletic ability,” said Smith, who first dunked in the summer between seventh and eighth grade. “It’s going to be hard for me to win it again.”
In order to unseat Smith as the NBA’s highest flier, Robinson sought out Webb and asked him how he prepared for his moment in the spotlight.
“I have talked to him about his whole preparation about when he was going into the Slam Dunk Contest,” Robinson said. “He just said he practiced a couple of days before the event and then every day leading up to it and that is what I did. I have been practicing for two weeks just to get my routine down. I am just going to go in there and not shy away from it.”
Robinson knows that winning over the All-Star crowd which normally is not well-versed in players and their abilities is the first step to winning the contest.
“I have charisma and a lot of energy and I hope that the crowd can see that,” Robinson said. “All I can do is hope so (that the crowd will get behind me). If not, then I will have to steal the crowd away from someone else. If that happens, that is what I am going to have to do.”
“If I was in the crowd and I saw someone that short get up like that, I’d be thinking the same thing,” Smith admitted. “He’d be getting my attention, and I’d be cheering for him, too. But if I can finish my dunks and do what I want to do, I don’t think I’m going to have any problems.”
The other competitors are Philadelphia 76ers 6-6 swingman Andre Iguodala and Memphis Grizzlies 6-9 forward Hakim Warrick. However, Wilkins believes everyone besides Smith is vying for second place.
“Nate Robinson has a lot of jumping ability, but I don’t see Josh losing,” Wilkins said.
However, Knicks forward Channing Frye said everyone is in for a surprise.
“You’re just going to have to watch him,” Frye said. “You will be on the edge of your seat the whole time. He’s got some crazy stuff prepared. The guy is a freak.###He will definitely wow this crowd no matter who is here. I guarantee he will.”
Richardson won last year’s Shootout as a member of the Phoenix Suns. In the offseason, he was traded to the Knicks and has not had nearly the same success.
He is up against a strong field which includes 2001 winner Ray Allen of Seattle, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas is replacing Phoenix’s Raja Bell, who had to leave after Friday’s media availability due to a family illness. Allen is considered by many to be the best shooter in the NBA. He finished third in 2000, tied for fourth in 2002 and fourth last year.
Nash is the NBA MVP of the Suns and regarded as the best ballhandler and passer in the game. He also is a terrific shooter, which helped him navigate the diverse obstacle course in a record 25.8 seconds last year.
Nash is up against fellow All-Stars LeBron James of Cleveland and Dwyane Wade of Miami and New Orleans Hornets rookie point guard Chris Paul. James and Wade have terrific all-around skills but are not point guards.
“It’s a disadvantage, being the tallest and heaviest guy in the field and going against guys like Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul,” the 6-8, 240-pound James said. “These guys are smaller than I am, but I just have to maintain focus.”
Paul and Robinson are among the first-year players who will try to end their three-game losing streak to the Sophomores in Friday night’s Rookie Challenge. Iguodala, Smith and three members of the Chicago Bulls Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni are among a strong Sophomore squad.
By Chris Bernucca SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
HOUSTON (Ticker) The Detroit Pistons offered the rare elements of teamwork and defense for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. For the Eastern Conference, they arrived just in time.
Playing together in a pair of stretches, the quartet of Pistons fueled a second-half rally from a 21-point deficit and sparked the East to a 122-120 victory over the Western Conference on Sunday night.
In a game often about individualism, the Pistons showed everyone why they are the NBA’s best unit. Even within the context of a wide-open affair, they were able to put their indelible imprint on the midseason showcase one strong enough to provide a win.
“We play our own way,” said Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who had 15 points and seven assists. “We all play hard and we play to win and I think that might have rubbed off on a few of the other (East) guys tonight. That is the only thing we know how to do and I guess it paid off.”
“To have those four guys out there, all on the same team, it was awesome to see,” said Cleveland Cavaliers swingman LeBron James, who scored 29 points and was named MVP.
Billups, backcourt mate Richard Hamilton, center Ben Wallace and forward Rasheed Wallace all were selected as reserves, marking the first time a team placed four All-Stars since the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998.
Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who guided the East, said he would put all four on the floor together and remained true to his word when he inserted them with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter. The impact was minimal, however.
“The most fun I had was to have Rip and Chauncey out there for the first time,” said Ben Wallace, who was playing in his fourth All-Star Game. “It was great to go through this experience with them. It was great to see the looks on their face and how they reacted everytime their names were called.”
“We kind of went out there laughing and just joking around a little bit,” said Hamilton, who scored six points.
The East trailed, 74-53, early in the second half before mounting a comeback. The Pistons began returning piecemeal until all four were together again in the late stages of the third period.
In one sequence, Ben Wallace had a pair of blocks on Pau Gasol and Hamilton made a layup to cut the deficit to 96-94.
“I think we got the momentum right there,” said Wallace, who did not score but had eight rebounds and two blocks. “I think even before that the momentum had begun to shift and that was a really big play right there. After that, we were able to take control of the game.”
Billups opened the fourth quarter with a tying three-point play and Rasheed Wallace added his only basket for the lead. Billups had a jumper and Hamilton and Billups converted transition layups as the Pistons scored the East’s first 11 points of the period to provide a 105-101 lead.
“I know we had a lot of fun out there but when it got down to it, I wanted people to compete,” Billups said. I think for the most part everyone did. I think once we all got on the same page, the only way we went was hard. I don’t know if we all did that in the first half as a whole###but in the second half, I was so happy because we all went for it and we made a game out of it.”
Saunders mixed and matched from there, using Billups and the Wallaces in various spots down the stretch. The East was clinging to a 122-120 lead in the final seconds when Rasheed Wallace a three-time All-Star###came up with a loose ball to clinch the victory.
The impact of the Pistons playing together was obvious. In the second half, the West scored just 50 points, the lowest-scoring half since it had 49 in a 111-110 loss in 2001.
“You could definitely see the game change when they were running all together,” San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan said.
It is that sort of teamwork that has made the Pistons the best team in the NBA. While many teams rely on one or two stars and complementary players, their starting lineup which also includes improving young forward Tayshaun Prince has no weak links.
In addition to being terrific defenders, each is a threat to score, which makes them very tough to beat as a unit. Just ask the Western Conference.
“They were getting stops, they were running some of their stuff,” West coach Avery Johnson of Dallas said. “We didn’t really have time to plan for anything that they were doing in that sense, even though these guys have played against them.”
By Craig Rondinone SportsTicker Contributing Writer
BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) If the NBA is taking a break to put on its All-Star Game, I might as well take this time to go over the RBTN All-Star Team as it stands right now.
These five players have been the best fantasy-wise through the first half-plus of the season. They are on the squad because they contribute in multiple categories, they have rarely missed games this season and they have been the best at their positions. So forget about crazy introductions with overdone lighting and loud hip-hop. Here is the team:
(Guard) Kobe Bryant, Lakers: You may despise him, especially if you are a fantasy owner of Lamar Odom, but love him or hate him, he has been the MVP in fantasy basketball up to this juncture. Phil Jackson’s triangle offense has revolved around Kobe. That is why he leads the league at 35 points per game. But besides the 81-point outburst and his numerous huge scoring nights, the reason Bryant is so awesome for fantasy hoops is because of how well he does in other categories, namely rebounds (5.4), assists (4.4) and three-pointers (104).
(Guard) Dwyane Wade, Heat: Shaq’s little buddy has surpassed “The Diesel” as the top fantasy performer in Miami. D-Wade has not let Antoine Walker steal his shots or Jason Williams mess him up with wild passes. Wade remains one of the top triple-threats in fantasy hoops, giving his owners 27.4 points, 6.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds per night.
(Center) Tim Duncan, Spurs: The Pete Sampras of basketball qualifies as a center in most fantasy leagues, so he gets the nod here over the injury-riddled Shaquille O’ Neal and Yao Ming in what has been a weak year for men in the middle. Duncan’s numbers are down a tad thanks to the emergence of Tony Parker, but fantasy owners still love his 19.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.
(Forward) LeBron James, Cavaliers: “King” James has been crowning defenders all season long, torching zones and man-to-mans for 31.2 ppg. Even though he does not score as much as Kobe does, LeBron’s fantasy value is probably higher because he grabs more boards (7.0) and dishes out more assists (6.6) than Bryant does.
(Forward) Elton Brand, Clippers: Kudos to Phoenix’s Shawn Marion and Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett for making this a tough decision, but big man Brand deserves this spot in the spotlight. He is currently in the NBA’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage. And if that was not enough to garner an RBTN All-Star nod, Brand is hitting 78 percent of his free throws and adding 2.7 assists per game.
WEEK 17 PREVIEW: Schedules: You would think that teams rested enough during the All-Star Break, but several only play two games next week. Those teams are Denver, Miami, Phoenix, Sacramento, Toronto and Utah. Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Portland, San Antonio, Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers play four games. The rest of the teams in the league play three.
Nicest sked: Portland.###Have no fear, Darius Miles is back. Who knows how long he will stay healthy and stay on coach Nate McMillan’s good side, but enjoy him while he lasts. His Trail Blazers host Charlotte, New Orleans and Boston and play at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nastiest sked: Boston.###Big surprise, Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olokowandi are not Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Wally World is averaging 16.6 ppg and Kandi Man 2.3 ppg since the trade, about three points lower per game than they were scoring with Minnesota.. The new-look Celtics go on the road to play at Utah, Phoenix, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Three players worthy of gold medals:
Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets: The only reason I can think of for why Anthony was snubbed out of an All-Star selection is because the NBA must have gotten him confused with that psycho Kenyon Martin. No matter.###Fantasy owners know he has been one of the best this season, with ‘Melo averaging 26.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Speedy Claxton, Hornets: With Rookie of the Year frontrunner Chris Paul injured thanks to the Sports Illustrated jinx, Claxton has stepped into the starting lineup and done just fine running the show, scoring 62 points and adding 28 assists over his last three games.
Ben Gordon, Bulls: It took long enough for Chicago coach Scott Skiles to realize that Gordon should be in the starting lineup. Gordon has been lighting it up lately better than most two-guards, with four 30-point games already this month.
Three players worthy of paper medals:
Larry Hughes, Cavaliers: Hughes has to have a second surgery on the middle finger of his right hand because the first surgery did not do much good. He is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. This is not good news for Hughes’ fantasy owners, but it probably is for LeBron James’.
Jarvis Hayes, Wizards: The All-Star Break will not help Hayes heal up. He might miss the remainder of the regular season because of kneecap surgery. Fantasy owners will have to find someone else to score 9.3 ppg for them.
Mike Sweetney, Bulls: Has Sweetney disappeared into the witness protection program or something? His playing time has been cut in half since the start of the season, and he is only averaging 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds for February. Not so sweet.
Rot Water Cooler Three things being talked about more than luge and curling at the Winter Olympics:
The return of Amare Stoudemire: We keep hearing about Stoudemire doing everything from taking foul shots, running wind sprints, lifting weights and playing video games. Fantasy owners have four words for the Phoenix forward get on the court!
The Seattle-Los Angeles Clippers trade: Seattle traded disgruntled sixth man Vladimir Radmanovic to Los Angeles for backup power forward Chris Wilcox. Vlad-Rad is good for three-pointers and that is about it. Wilcox is good for about 13 minutes a game. In other words, neither is good for fantasy owners.
The Darko Milicic deal: The world champ Detroit Pistons finally cut their losses with the second pick of the 2003 draft, sending Milicic and reserve point guard Carlos Arroyo to Orlando for stiff center Kelvin Cato and a first-round draft choice. Here is to hoping Steve Francis is packaged somewhere shortly so he does not infect Darko with his negativity.
For more information on Craig and his columns, visit www.publishedauthors.net/craigrondinone.
