All-Star Saturday Night Takes A Step Back

Lackluster Slam Dunk competition ruins progress of previous two years. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

As Nate Robinson and DeMar DeRozen stood awkwardly in front of an uninterested crowd at the AAC Saturday night, while the fan votes were being counted, TNT analyst Charles Barkley had the line of the night.

"Maybe none of them will win," said a dejected Barkley as the rest of the TNT crew burst into laughter.

DeMarr DeRozen, Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson and Gerald Wallace gave an uninspired and unoriginal effort in what is supposed to be a forum for creativity. It appeared as though the dunks they tried were thought-up at the last minute. From alley-oops that could be done in a game, to a reverse slam dunk; the dunk contest sucked.

DeRozen had the only quality dunks of the night, on his first two attempts, but that was it as the crowd at the AAC barely left their seats. Mid-contest, TNT began showing dejected NBA players and celebrities around the arena - the judges (Derek Haper, Ro Blackman, Spud Webb, Mark Acquire and Dominique Wilkins) looked annoyed that they had to judge this garbage.

Something has got to change. Whether it be upping the ante on prize money or requiring superstars to appear just once in the contest - the slam dunk competition is unwatchable.

Other Winners

Dirk Nowitzki and the Texas group won the Shooting Stars competition on a Nowitzki half-court shot.

Steve Nash won the Skills competition, beating three point gaurds that were all at least 11 years younger than the 36 year-old point guard. Nash brought some fun to the event, trying to block Williams' lay-up as he finished his run in the final.

Paul Pierce won the three-point competition, beating Stephen Curry and Chauncey Billups in the final. Pierce hit all five money-balls in the final round and had 20 points to Curry's 17 and Billups' 14.

All-in-all, All-Star Saturday night was a giant snooze-fest. The three-point competition was somewhat entertaining and Nash's antics at the Skills competition were humerous but other than that the entire event was a giant dissapointment.