Official 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend Thread

Surprised No one made this yet.

2012 NBA All-Star Weekend

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ORLANDO – Fortunately, Jeremy Lin’s first press conference at NBA All-Star Weekend included a question about Jeremy Lin having any sort of press conference, period, at All-Star Weekend.

Even though it had only been three weeks since Lin “blew up” as the NBA’s biggest story – underdog Asian-American kid from Harvard coming off the bench to revive one of the league’s marquee franchises in America’s media capital – the frenzy had become the new normal for many.

Oh, of course Lin would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated (again). Oh, of course he would outsell every NBA All-Star in replica jerseys. Oh, of course he would have his very own press conference in an interview room that went SRO 10 minutes before he arrived.

Screeeeech! Someone finally stopped the Linsanity and asked Lin – who never asked for any of the hype or mania surrounding him – if he could appreciate how surreal this was. From sleeping on his brother’s couch a few weeks ago to a private audience with a global sporting press, beyond what the actual All-Stars were getting.

“Oh, absolutely,” the second-year point guard said. “Just any press conference of my own in general, let alone All-Star Weekend. Just to be here and to see the company and all the players that are here is just – it’s been unbelievable, and I’m just trying to take it all in and embrace it and enjoy it every step of the way.”

The legend of Jeremy Lin is pretty well known by now: Undrafted out of Harvard. Signed by Golden State as a free agent in July 2010. Modest rookie season with the Warriors (2.6 ppg, 1.4 apg in 9.8 mpg). Cut in December 2011. Picked up and quickly dumped by Houston. Signed by New York two days after Christmas but barely used through nine appearances, averaging about six minutes, across five weeks.

Then – kaboom! – Lin scores 25 points off the bench against New Jersey. Twenty-eight vs. Utah. Twenty-three with 10 assists at Washington, 38 against the Lakers … and the Knicks win nine of 10 games. He becomes the NBA’s flavor of the month and beyond, a wholly unexpected, happy story in an odd post-lockout season. A downright phenomenon that – even after losses to the Nets and the Heat in recent days (and an ugly stats line vs. Miami of eight points, eight turnovers and 1-of-11 shooting) – shows little sign of abating.

Though Lin expects it to soon.
“Hopefully as the season progresses, it will go from [Linsanity] to ‘New York Knicks,’ ” he said. “We can make a good push after the All-Star break and people will start talking about the Knicks and not necessarily me.” New York is 17-18, at No. 7 in the East and chasing a second consecutive playoff berth after a six-year drought.

Lin shared some other tidbits with the inquiring minds Friday, in the hours before he played in the Rising Stars game at Amway Center.
– Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries have been the New York teammates who have been most supportive and helpful as he has learned, and been tested by, the league.

– Had Knicks guard Iman Shumpert not gotten hurt and dropped out of Saturday’s Slam Dunk contest, Lin might have participated with a replica of his famous couch: “Landry was going to roll a couch out with a cover over it, I was going to be sleeping underneath it and then we were going to pull the cover. I was going to throw to Iman an alley-oop from the couch. And he was going to jump over both me and the couch, windmill it and then sit down and have Landry hand him a Sprite.”

– He hasn’t splurged on any purchase. “I’m still a minimum [salary] guy. That hasn’t changed.”

– His job security was precarious enough in January that he said a prayer in pregame chapel in Miami, as the date for guaranteeing contracts (or dumping those without them) approached.

– Yet he never had a solid Plan B in his back pocket, in the event New York did cut him. “Obviously I was thinking about three main options: overseas, D-League or to just take a break or give up basketball for a while,” Lin said. “I was just trying not to think about it, basically.”

– Lin met head-on a question about his ethnicity and whether it worked against him with NBA scouts. “I think it has something to do with it,” he said. “But I think just being Asian-American, obviously when you look at me, I’m gong to have to prove myself more so, again and again and again, and some people may not believe it.

“I know a lot of people say I’m ‘deceptively athletic’ and ‘deceptively quick,’ and I’m not sure what’s deceptive. But it could be the fact that I’m Asian-American. But I think that’s fine. It’s something that I embrace, and it gives me a chip on my shoulder. But I’m very proud to be Asian-American and I love it.”


Saturday Events:


Haier Shooting Stars:
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The home team, Team Orlando, includes the Orlando Magic's Jameer Nelson, an All-Star in 2009; Florida native and three-time WNBA All-Star Marie Ferdinand-Harris; and former Magic great Dennis Scott, who spent seven seasons with Orlando after the team made him the fourth overall selection of the 1990 NBA Draft.

Team Atlanta features the Atlanta Hawks' Jerry Stackhouse, who replaces six-time All-Star Joe Johnson; Lindsey Harding of the reigning WNBA Eastern Conference champion Atlanta Dream; and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith, an All-Star selection in 1998 with the Hawks and a member of the 2003 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.

Team New York is comprised of the New York Knicks' Landry Fields, who will also play for Team Shaq in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend; the New York Liberty's Cappie Pondexter, a four-time WNBA All-Star and one of the league's top scorers; and former Knicks great Allan Houston, who averaged 17.3 points over his 12-year NBA career, and currently works in New York's front office as an assistant general manager.

Team Texas is represented by the Houston Rockets' Chandler Parsons, an Orlando-area native and second-round pick in 2011, who's worked his way into the Rockets' starting lineup as a rookie; the San Antonio Silver Stars' Sophia Young, a four-time WNBA All-Star, who averaged 13.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 2011; and TNT analyst Kenny Smith, a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995).

The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one TNT on-air talent/NBA legend on each team.
There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.

Taco Bells Skills Challenge:

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Due to injury, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will not be able to defend his Taco Bell Skills Challenge title against a field consisting of Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets. Instead, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics will compete in Curry's place. The 2012 Taco Bell Skills Challenge will take place on Feb. 25, at Amway Center in Orlando.

This year's Taco Bell Skills Challenge will feature an expanded field from five to six participants.

The Taco Bell Skills Challenge was introduced at NBA All-Star 2003 in Atlanta and features players competing in a two-round timed "obstacle course" consisting of dribbling, passing and shooting stations. All players must observe basic NBA ball-handling rules while completing the course.
The two players with the fastest times from the first round advance to the finals with the order of competition determined by inverse order of the first round times. At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.

Foot Locker Three-Point Contest:


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Reigning champion James Jones of the Miami Heat will defend his title in this year's Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Amway Center in Orlando as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night. Rounding out the field are Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Anderson of the hometown Orlando Magic, Anthony Morrow of the New Jersey Nets, and Mario Chalmers of the Heat. The Hawks' Joe Johnson was scheduled to compete, but will now miss due to a knee injury. Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant will compete in his place.

Last year, Jones bested a field that included the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce and Ray Allen -- Pierce captured the title in 2010, while Allen, the 2001 winner, is the career leader in 3-pointers made. Jones' 20 points in the final round topped Pierce's 18 and Allen's 15. Previous winners include: Jeff Hornacek, Jason Kapono, Mark Price and Peja Stojakovic who won two titles each; while Larry Bird and Craig Hodges each captured three straight.

The players will compete in the two-round competition with the top three finishers from the first round advancing to the finals. Five shooting stations will be set up around the three-point line, with four Official Spalding NBA game balls worth one point each and one Spalding NBA All-Star 2012 commemorative red, white and blue "money ball" worth two points at each location. Each player will have one minute to shoot as many balls as he can. In the final round, players will shoot in ascending order of first-round scores. At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest:


Four first time-participants -- Derrick Williams, Paul George, Jeremy Evans and Chase Budinger -- and a new format highlight the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk.


Sunday Events:


Sprint Pregame Concert:

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2012 NBA All-Star Game:

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Rosters:
http://www.nba.com/allstar/2012/players/index.html
 
Last edited:

Number3

Benchwarmer
Lin said.. Shumpert was going to do a dunk over Landrys couch with Lin sleeping on it.. that woulda have been so EPICC!!!!!
 

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
Who ever guesses the right winner for at least one of the competitions are getting repped (including the allstar game)
 

Weissenberg

Grid or Riot
IMO the players are too busy with themselves, those young people for whom they are practially playing deserve at least a hug and some talk.
 

amazinz5

Benchwarmer
and wall didnt fail enough last night lol was that dunk worth it?

that graphic was sick, the taco bell ad that looked like a sign over the city.

and are lebron and wade wearing matching glasses? fags.
 
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