Sports: A Fantasy World

Despite talk all week about the West creating too many matchup problems for the East to handle, the experts were proven wrong Sunday night as East beat West 125-115 in the 54th NBA All-Star Game.  Playing an up-tempo style suited for their small lineup, the East made a huge second quarter run and held on for a 10-point victory, their first win since 2001.  The 76ers' Allen Iverson took home the game's MVP award, leading the East with 15 points, nine assists, and five steals.

MVP Allen Iverson

(Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty)

The night was highlighted by a couple of show-stopping slam dunks.  First, New Jersey's Vince Carter took a page out of Tracy McGrady's book, tossing the ball off the backboard and grabbing it in mid-air before slamming it home.  T-Mac actually tried his patented move later on in the game, but he didn't time it right and had to settle for a layup.  The evening's other spectacular play was an alley-oop from Kobe Bryant to Amare Stoudemire, a play in which Stoudemire caught the pass on one side of the basket and soared to the other side of the hoop for a reverse jam.  All in all, an entertaining night of basketball and a great way to start off the second half of the NBA season. 

Wow.  I've been hyping up Josh Smith for a couple days now and all I can say is boy, did he ever deliver during Saturday's slam dunk contest.  Not only was he the only one to nail all four of his dunks of the first try, but he also had three dunks that the judges gave a perfect score 50.  His first jam, the only one that did not get a 50, was a classic Dr. J throwdown from just inside the free throw line.  His second, my personal favorite, had him leaping over a seated Kenyon Martin, who delivered him the ball in mid-air before he finished with a windmill dunk (pictured below).  Smith's third dunk was probably the highlight of the night, as he donned a Dominique Wilkins jersey and proceeded to slam like only 'Nique could, making for a great moment with Wilkins watching from courtside.  The fourth and final jam was a huge 360 degree dunk with some enormous hangtime.  Josh had the entire crowd on its feet during the contest and really stole the show.  Hats off to the Hawks' rookie, who I think could win this thing for the next 10 years if he wanted to.

Josh Smith's dunk over Kenyon Martin

(Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

The other guys in the dunk-off were not exactly pushovers, as they also provided the audience with some jaw-dropping jams.  J.R. Smith of the Hornets started the event off in big-time fashion when he went behind-the-back in mid-air before slamming it home (since it took him three attempts, he only got a 45 for it).  The Suns' Amare Stoudemire, the contest's runner-up, pulled off one of the most unique dunks of all time with the help of teammate Steve Nash, bouncing the ball off the backboard and then off Nash's head before completing a reverse slam for a perfect score.  The only participant who did not carry his weight was the Hornets' Chris Andersen, who could not convert either of his two slams before about the tenth try.  Andersen has now bombed two straight years in this event and should never be invited back.

As for the rest of the evening, the prevailing theme was definitely the Phoenix Suns.  First, Nash beat out Denver's own Earl Boykins in the finals of the skills competition, completing the obstacle course in a record 25.8 seconds.  Then, Suns' forward Quentin Richardson won a thrilling 3-point shootout, drilling his last nine consecutive shots to edge Kyle Korver of the 76ers by one point.  Overall, a great night of action that left me wanting more when it was all said and done.

            Steve Nash                       Quentin Richardson

(Andrew Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)   (Nathaniel Butler/NBAE/Getty Images) 

I came pretty close to nailing my picks on all three events, but two out of three ain't bad.  I was dead on with Smith and Nash, and if Richardson would have missed his final shot (a two-point moneyball), I would have been right with my Korver pick as well.  I'll tell you this much, it's a lot easier picking this stuff than trying to figure out what free agents to pick up in my fantasy league.  Man, just a few days away from fantasy hoops getting back into full swing.  Part of me can't wait, and the other part of me is dreading it (injuries have really decimated my team lately).  Anyways, see you again Monday with some comments on Sunday's All-Star Game.

The one player with all the buzz during All-Star weekend is LeBron James.  Former NBA player Steve Kerr wrote an appropriate article about LeBron being crowned "King of the NBA" this weekend.  Also, ESPN's Marc Stein has a good piece comparing James to none other than Michael Jordan.  At just 20 years old and in only his second year in the league, the phenom is posting numbers (25.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game) that make him a strong candidate for the NBA MVP, not to mention a fantasy basketball stud.  If he keeps improving and is able to turn the Cavs into a championship contender, people comparing LeBron to MJ or calling James the best ever will soon have a pretty convincing argument.

LeBron James

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Friday night's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge certainly delivered, especially to the hometown fans in Denver, who got to watch their very own Carmelo Anthony earn the game's MVP with a 31-point performance.  There were plenty of spectacular passes and dunks, not to mention some incredible outside shooting (76ers' sophomore Kyle Korver knocked down seven 3-pointers) in the sophomores' 27-point victory (I said they'd win easily).  My favorite play of the night was 76ers' rookie Andre Iguodala's jaw-dropping 360-degree layup in the second half.  It's a good thing he pulled that move out in an exhibition game, because he definitely would have been whistled for traveling had he done it during a regular season contest.

Carmelo Anthony

(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)

Other standouts for the winning sophomore team included Chris Bosh of the Raptors and, of course, LeBron James of the Cavs, who was playing with both a bad ankle and a case of the flu.  The rookie squad also turned in some solid performances, as Tony Allen and Al Jefferson of the Celtics and the Bulls' Luol Deng all had good games in a losing effort.  Here is a recap of the evening. 

I'll throw out some predictions for Saturday's events and see how many of them I can hit.  In the skills competition I'll go with Steve Nash, whose style fits this contest and who's probably the favorite.  In the 3-point shootout, I'll take the aforementioned Kyle Korver, who did well in this event last year and can catch fire quickly.  Finally, as you likely guessed if you read my last entry, I'm picking Josh Smith to win the dunk contest.  I'll be back Sunday with a review of All-Star Saturday night.

In a year in which there will be no NHL season (not that I'm the least bit upset about that), this weekend's NBA All-Star Game will provide a total break from professional sports for a few days, something which fantasy basketball players like myself are probably looking forward to.  This weekend will allow me to take my mind off fantasy hoops for a while and just enjoy the festivities without thinking about any statistical implications. 

I'm looking forward to Friday's Rookie-Sophomore game (9:00 et, TNT), the annual tilt between the league's standout rookies and its best second-year players.  I can't wait to see LeBron James team up with Dwyane Wade, two sophomores who I think are already among the NBA's elite.  Like the All-Star game itself, the final score of this game really isn't important (for the record, I think the sophs will win easily).  The reason I'll be watching is to see exactly what tricks these young guns will pull out while it's their turn in the spotlight.

All-Star Saturday night (8:30 et, TNT) should be fun as well.  A lot of critics like to rip on on this event, saying that the competition is weak and that the fans don't care, but I would beg to differ.  While an event like the slam dunk contest may not draw the marquee names that it used to, most of its participants are definitely worthy of their spots and I know that everyone in the contest wants to win.  If for nothing else, watch this year's dunk competition for Atlanta Hawks rookie Josh Smith.  This kid, one year removed from high school, is a special athlete who I guarantee will not disappoint.  Obviously, he is my pick to win the thing.

JOSH SMITH

Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

And finally, Sunday is the 54th NBA All-Star Game (8:30 et, TNT) live from Denver, CO.  While on paper, the West looks like the much stronger squad, many of its stars (Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant) are banged up right now and may not play much in the game.  I would not be surprised to see a close contest that goes down to the wire, similar to the game of two years ago. But, as long as the game is entertaining, the score is pretty much irrelevant.

Here is the home for All-Star Weekend 2005.

Apparently I am not the only one who has dedicated a blog to fantasy sports.  ESPN.com's Eric Karabell started a fantasy baseball blog this week.  As a reader of his articles, I'm sure Karabell will have plenty of insight available on his blog each day.

Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN.com wrote a great article on the top 100 fantasy baseball seasons of all time.  Since fantasy sports were not popular until the 80's, many of baseball's great statistical seasons are not really appreciated by the modern fan.  For example, everyone knows that Babe Ruth was a great player, probably the greatest player ever (sorry Barry), but most people don't realize just how many years he had where his numbers absolutely obliterated everyone else's in the league.  ESPN.com fantasy writer Eric Karabell even has a commentary about why today's fantasy nuts should appreciate the top 100 list. 

Also, if you get a chance to pick up the Rotowire 2005 Fantasy Baseball Guide, there is another terrific piece by managing editor Chris Liss detailing the best fantasy baseball team of all time.  Some really interesting stuff that I would highly recommend.