Blake Griffin does not plan to defend his slam dunk championship

[Rake2204]

He's a good dunker, but it only looks good during a game. He had no creativity in last years contest IMO. The jumping over a Kia was just a sponsor move or w.e, popularity crap. Now dwight had a hell of a lot of creativity when he did it

I believe Blake Griffin could expand his mind and attempt some pretty mind-numbing dunks in competition. Another issue I have with just two first round dunks instead of three: three first round dunks usually meant the lowest score would be dropped and a player would be judged based off their top two slams. With just two dunks, I feel there's a much lower opportunity for players to take a chance. If their first dunk finds itself scored in the mid-40's, players have to almost play it safe for their 2nd dunk. By default, this can make for a lame-duck first round. After Blake's first round 360 (which didn't go as planned), I felt we sort of saw a safe dunk from Griffin in round 2. As we know, playing it safe is no way to go through a dunk competition.

[Timmy D for MVP]

It could have been an all big man affair with Griffin, Ibaka, Mcgee and one I wanna see is Vessely (if healthy).

That said I do think this is best for the contest. Ibaka and Mcgee had the better jams but Griffin won the crowd over just by being there and his dunks were pretty boring in comparison to the other guys.

I'd like of course for Lebron to join and to get Ibaka back. And like I said Jan Vessely. But I want Andre Iguodala to get another crack at it because I think he too was robbed of the title in his first go round. That behind the backboard dunk was on of the more impressive I've seen. But he's a technical dunker so... might not translate to the audience who now votes the winner right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKkVzaM-L_k

[shallehalle]

He doesn't have to go up against Blake, so this would be the best timing for him.

like Griffin did something unreal

[shallehalle]

I want westbrook there!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNhDf9hEpfE

in game dunkers isn't same as dunk contest dunkers

[Velocirap31]

like Griffin did something unreal

I know, I'm glad you guys can see through all the hype around him. The average person doesn't. He was a determined winner before the contest happened though, so there is no reason to believe it wouldn't be the same the second time.

[Rake2204]

But he's a technical dunker so... might not translate to the audience who now votes the winner right?

Is it a full-on audience vote? Somehow, I'm not sure I realized that.

I'm going into full-on preach mode now, but I think the Dunk Contest is just asking for another re-birth. By this I mean the NBA coming to a "Back to Basics" realization. I figure at some point the outside factors (the fan voting, the gimmicks, the general setup, the sponsors, and the spotlights) will convolute the contest so greatly it will necessitate a nuclear meltdown where everything crashes and we'll have to start from scratch.

6 Dunkers. 24 total dunks. One subtle sponsor. A purse. No gimmicks. Legitimacy.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

Man, I almost forgot about Stern rigging the Slam Dunk Contest last year

[HurricaneKid]

The actual dunks last year were fairly impressive. I think Griff was probably the second to worst.

It was better than when Nate Robinson missed 16 dunks in a row and won.

[REACTION]

I wish it was more of a street-style dunk contest with more casual practice-type dunks leading up to their final dunk.

[shallehalle]

i've seen Griffin do a Vince Carter between the legs dunk during Clippers warm up, it's on youtube. And if he would have made that first dunk (360 wmill) and that 360 of the side of the backboard, it would have been a different story. But his first made dunk was like a 40 at max. Second dunk was about 44-45, because of all the misses. Elbow dunk was 47-48 in my opinion, and that car dunk, i actually can't rate it.. something between 43-47, because jumping over something or someone and catching an alley oop is actually really difficult.

People talking about Ibaka. He jumped off the FT line, and so? It looked ugly as hell. How can you give him more than a 45? A lot of players did that dunk, even Barry. Second dunk was.. also nothing that special to advance to the next round.

McGee had to bee in the second round, that's easy.

Derozan, of course.

But Griffin had all the hype, and i don't understand how do they judge between the legs dunks, which were never made.

[dunksby]

in game dunkers isn't same as dunk contest dunkers

Are you shitting me? If thats the case why dont they bring street ballers to dunk? its the NBA dunk contest so players who show significant dunking capability during the games participate.

[Velocirap31]

They could have a dunk competition where it is NBA players vs. Non-NBA players. For example, there would be 3 NBA players against 3 non-NBA players. Each player could get two or three dunks and the team with the highest cumulative score would win. Then there would be a fan-voted MVP of the competition. This MVP would essentially be the winner of the dunk contest. Good idea?

[Rake2204]

They could have a dunk competition where it is NBA players vs. Non-NBA players. For example, there would be 3 NBA players against 3 non-NBA players. Each player could get two or three dunks and the team with the highest cumulative score would win. Then there would be a fan-voted MVP of the competition. This MVP would essentially be the winner of the dunk contest. Good idea?

I've heard a variation of this thrown around numerous times but I've never been a fan of the idea. There's something inherently more entertaining to me when it's only NBA basketball players participating in the dunk contest. I know there's niche dunkers doing crazy things all over the world. It just means more to me when it's an elite basketball talent and someone who belongs to an NBA team.

[guy]

If this was the 80s, we would've seen a Blake/Wade/Lebron/Howard dunk contest by now.

[The Choken One]

DeRozan's was better..