coolm
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We're all desensitized.
You have uberathletic players all over the country who do monster dunks...gymnasts who do trampoflipdunks ... mascots who do flying thunder dunks ... much like an old donut we're just plain dunked out.
The true beauty of a dunk is the context. Sure, a lot of the athleticism is simply amazing - but it's magnified 100 fold by the fact that player X stole the ball first and picked up his dribble rhythm on a dead run then spontaneously pulled out the dunk he'd been working on a few weeks ago in the gym.
OR some amazingly athletic player just jumped through the sky extending himself fully and throws it down over anyone dumb enough to stay in the way...
OR same spectacular player has to bob and weave his way around and through traffic only to finish it with a quick 180 move around a potential defender and a roof shattering slam.
You can't "can" that and replicate it in a dunk contest environment. To even try is to cheapen what you're attempting to celebrate in the first place.
I remember years ago someone from the East slammed on Magic's All-Stars and Magic was all smiling and wincing and GAVE him the ball on the next possession to do it again. No one was mad, it was fitting. That's how you celebrate an amazing dunk - or you give the kid a nod and a smile at the subsequent FT line.
IMO you make a halfcourt 5 on 5 with money for the winners (to go to charity) along with a few prizes like best shot, best dunk, best pass, etc... and keep the whole thing lite. I think we'd see a lot better moves that way and it would be a more fitting tribute to amazing play styles.
oh...and NO "nation of China" voting for those players either. get some kind of consensus from all-star starters about best street rats.
You have uberathletic players all over the country who do monster dunks...gymnasts who do trampoflipdunks ... mascots who do flying thunder dunks ... much like an old donut we're just plain dunked out.
The true beauty of a dunk is the context. Sure, a lot of the athleticism is simply amazing - but it's magnified 100 fold by the fact that player X stole the ball first and picked up his dribble rhythm on a dead run then spontaneously pulled out the dunk he'd been working on a few weeks ago in the gym.
OR some amazingly athletic player just jumped through the sky extending himself fully and throws it down over anyone dumb enough to stay in the way...
OR same spectacular player has to bob and weave his way around and through traffic only to finish it with a quick 180 move around a potential defender and a roof shattering slam.
You can't "can" that and replicate it in a dunk contest environment. To even try is to cheapen what you're attempting to celebrate in the first place.
I remember years ago someone from the East slammed on Magic's All-Stars and Magic was all smiling and wincing and GAVE him the ball on the next possession to do it again. No one was mad, it was fitting. That's how you celebrate an amazing dunk - or you give the kid a nod and a smile at the subsequent FT line.
IMO you make a halfcourt 5 on 5 with money for the winners (to go to charity) along with a few prizes like best shot, best dunk, best pass, etc... and keep the whole thing lite. I think we'd see a lot better moves that way and it would be a more fitting tribute to amazing play styles.
oh...and NO "nation of China" voting for those players either. get some kind of consensus from all-star starters about best street rats.
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