Dirk Nowitzki outshot Ray Allen and Gilbert Arenas in the finals to win the 3-Point Shootout. The problem is – he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. His final shot in the first round, a 2-point “Money Ball,” gave him 14 points and put him in the finals. But the replay showed that he didn’t get the shot off in time, and his teammate Jason Terry should have advanced. Apparently, the contest rules don’t allow for use of replay during the contest. What?
In the Slam Dunk competition, 5’9″ Nate Robinson outlasted Andre Iguodala in the contest’s first ever dunk-off to win the title. Robinson’s best dunk was in the final round when he brought Spud Webb out of the audience. Also vertically challenged, Webb won the title in 1986. Webb donned one of his throwback jerseys and tossed the ball up for Robinson, who jumped over Webb to throw down the dunk. But it took 14 tries for Robinson to complete his last dunk in the final round, and that is what’s wrong with the dunk contest these days. The contest grinded to a halt as Robinson tried his dunk over and over. If a contestant can’t complete a dunk in three or four tries, then they should be penalized.
The most impressive dunk came from Iguodala, who enlisted help from teammate Allen Iverson. Iguodala started out behind the basket as Iverson tossed the ball off the back of the backboard. Iguodala caught the ball in mid-air, ducked his head, and completed a reverse two-handed dunk. It was a close contest, but Iguodala, who won the MVP of the Rookie Challenge on Friday, should have won the title.
