NBA All-Star Weekend Schedule

All times Eastern

Friday February 16th, 2007

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
McDonald's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by 2K Sports
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
(South Convention Center)

9 p.m. - 11 p.m.
T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam
Last year, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala notched 24 of his game-high 30 points in the second half as the Sophomores topped the Rookies 106-96 in the 2006 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge in Houston.
Thomas & Mack Center

Saturday February 17th, 2007

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
2007 NBA All-Star East Practice presented by Toyota
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino (South Convention Center)

3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
2007 NBA All-Star West Practice presented by Toyota
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino (South Convention Center)

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
D-League All-Star Game
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino (South Convention Center)

7:00 p.m.
The Game's Most Spectacular Dunks: NBA Posterized! - TNT

8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA SPORTS:
Sprite Slam Dunk
PlayStation Skills Challenge
Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
Haier Shooting StarsThomas & Mack Center

Sunday February 18th, 2007

8:00 p.m.
56th NBA All-Star Game
Trailing by 21, the East rode the hot shooting of LeBron James to a 122-120 victory over the West in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Thomas & Mack Center

NBA.com: Sonics’ Allen and Jazz’s Okur Named as Replacements in NBA All-Star Game (http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/news/allen_okur_070213.html)

LAS VEGAS, February 13, 2007 – Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics and Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz have been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern as a replacements for injured West All-Stars Allen Iverson (ankle) of the Denver Nuggets and Steve Nash (shoulder) of the Phoenix Suns for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18 in Las Vegas.

Good for Memo... he deserves to be there and IMO should be getting the most props as a former Piston whose skills we miss the most other than all the love thrown at Ben and Darko.

Way to go Okur.

Stern must really like him.

Memo not only has the numbers, he also has hit as many clutch shots this year as anyone in the association. Congrats to Memo!

InsideHoops.com - Jason Kidd to miss all-star game, joe johnson selected as replacement (http://www.insidehoops.com/johnson-kidd-021407.shtml)

My predictions:

3 point competition - Dirk
Slamdunk competiton - Nate the Great
Skills competition - D.Wade
Rookie game - Sophs - MVP - Chris Paul
All-Star Game - East - MVP - Agent Zero

Joe Johnson is all-star worthy for sure.

For sure. Joe Johnson deserves to be there.

Joe Johnson is all-star worthy for sure.

More so than Vinsanity or Kidd who were underacheivers on the Nets who are only 4 games better than the Hawks who only have one supa star in Johnson.


Wonder who else will drop out before the actual game on Sunday?

Sure looks like a lot of stars are backing out for health reasons.

I don't blame them, but if you back out, you should not be listed as an All-Star. It's kinda a hoax if there are 6 or 7 extra All-Stars due to inury. Undermines the entire process.

Sure looks like a lot of stars are backing out for health reasons.

I don't blame them, but if you back out, you should not be listed as an All-Star. It's kinda a hoax if there are 6 or 7 extra All-Stars due to inury. Undermines the entire process.

In some ways it makes it more legit though. There are always guys that get voted in based on past years' performance. The next 6 in line are probably more deserving right now.

Also, those old shoe-ins are the ones most likely to pull out with a pseudo injury.

Steve Kerr's All-Star Weekend Preview

Vegas viewer's guide - NBA - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=sk-allstarguide021507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)

I would almost think that they would make far more money just having the regular weekend games, especially in post-football season.

Guess you have to have an all-star game. Comes with the territory.

The only event I bother to watch is the 3-pt competition.

True Hoop: Saturday Morning All-Star Randomness (http://www.truehoop.com/leaguewide-issues-72106-saturday-morning-allstar-randomness.html)

About 7:30 this morning I walked through the casino to the gym. Packed. The casino was packed with people who clearly had not slept. Even people who work here think that's odd and amazing. There's a hard core party ethic here this weekend that just seems a little out of hand. Yesterday, outside one entrance to my hotel, about eight Vegas cops who were already wearing guns on their hips were hurriedly strapping more guns onto their thighs, and throwing on all kinds of other gear that you usually only see in action movies. There was a police helicopter circling overhead with searchlights. Party!
Apparently the All Star game in Vegas is not a family affair. So much for David Stern's attempts to profile the league towards middle America.

True Hoop: Saturday Morning All-Star Randomness (http://www.truehoop.com/leaguewide-issues-72106-saturday-morning-allstar-randomness.html)


Apparently the All Star game in Vegas is not a family affair. So much for David Stern's attempts to profile the league towards middle America.

Damn. I hope Chauncey brought his earplugs and sleeping mask. I don't want him to get too tired.

Detroit win the shooting challenge!!!

Ben Gordon screwed up and disqualified Chicago in the Final.

Man, oh man was it nice to see Bill Laimbeer taking his classic 3 pointers.

The dude is so competitive. The other retired players had their woes but Lambs was all game face.

Good job Detroit!

I was watching two things back and forth. Were they booing DET when they won?

I was away from the TV. Sorry, didn't see.

I was watching two things back and forth. Were they booing DET when they won?

Yes, they were booing Detroit because they won. It is not Detroit's fault Ben Gordon can't follow directions and got his team disqualified.:nerd2:

Actually watched more of this than I planned.

Saw the Piston team of Lambier, Billups and Cash win the whatever its called competition. This is where an NBA player, a WNBA player and a retired player all from the same city compete by taking a variety of shots. Good win there. Some controversy as team Chicago initially was declared the winner but was later disqualified for skipping one of their shots

3-pt competition - my favorite event. Kapono of Miami pulled off an upset over heavily favored Dirk Nowitzki and Arenas. Kapono shot a 19 and a 24 which tied the all-time 2nd round record.

Slam dunk. Getting creative. Its was all about the defending champ Nate Robinson of NY taking on Gerald Green of Boston. Green deservingly won it by dunking over various things. I thought the best dunk was by Josh Howard when he pasting a sticker to the top of the backboard with his left hand while dunking with his right. As far as I know this was the 1st time a player ever attempted to do somthing else at the moment of the dunk. The coordination involved in that was missed on the judges as he received an average mark for it. Of course that was only one dunk. Green deserved it with his showmanship and creative use of various props, one being Nate Robinson himself as Green jumped over him on his was to the rim.

Actually watched more of this than I planned.

Saw the Piston team of Lambier, Billups and Cash win the whatever its called competition. This is where an NBA player, a WNBA player and a retired player all from the same city compete by taking a variety of shots. Good win there. Some controversy as team Chicago initially was declared the winner but was later disqualified for skipping one of their shots

3-pt competition - my favorite event. Kapono of Miami pulled off an upset over heavily favored Dirk Nowitzki and Arenas. Kapono shot a 19 and a 24 which tied the all-time 2nd round record.

Slam dunk. Getting creative. Its was all about the defending champ Nate Robinson of NY taking on Gerald Green of Boston. Green deservingly won it by dunking over various things. I thought the best dunk was by Josh Howard when he pasting a sticker to the top of the backboard with his left hand while dunking with his right. As far as I know this was the 1st time a player ever attempted to do somthing else at the moment of the dunk. The coordination involved in that was missed on the judges as he received an average mark for it. Of course that was only one dunk. Green deserved it with his showmanship and creative use of various props, one being Nate Robinson himself as Green jumped over him on his was to the rim.

His name is Dwight Howard, but I'm sure he can forgive you for your sin.

(not mocking Dwight's religiousness, just having a bit of fun, don't take it personal)

His name is Dwight Howard, but I'm sure he can forgive you for your sin.

(not mocking Dwight's religiousness, just having a bit of fun, don't take it personal)

Opps, yes I know that - just a slip - thanks . Yes that was Dwight Howard of Orlando not Josh from Dallas.

I watched the entire event-----even Barkley's breathtaking win over Bavetta.

Dwight had the most creative, rest of them were, been there done that, to me. Looks like now we start seeing more props being used. If Green had given it some thought, he should have jumped over a slot machine.

Ol' Bill looked (ph)at on the court, eh?

I agree that Green deserved the win. His first dunk was his best, IMO. With a little help from Pierce, who lobbed a pass off the side of the backboard. His dunk over Nate was nice too.

Dwight should have got a perfect score for his sticker dunk. That was truely original and very impressive. The only thing that could have made that dunk any better is if it was a Darko sticker. :pound:

Swin Cash reminded everyone that 'DETROIT BASKETBALL' ROCKS!!!

Only event we participated, and we won. Isn't that great?

I wish next year D Stern either stop the so called 'stars' like Lebron, Kobe, D wade and C Paul participating in the skills challenge or fine them $$$ for the uninspiring effort out in the court. I'm sure there are lots more players there who can come out and complete the obstacle in less than 30 seconds. That's what the fans wanted to see. Lebron was trying to tell D Stern that he was never interested.

At least in the other event, the other guys are out putting on a show with effort.

I agree that Green deserved the win. His first dunk was his best, IMO. With a little help from Pierce, who lobbed a pass off the side of the backboard. His dunk over Nate was nice too.

Dwight should have got a perfect score for his sticker dunk. That was truely original and very impressive. The only thing that could have made that dunk any better is if it was a Darko sticker. :pound:

I agree Dwight should have gotten a perfect score for that. For finding a way to do something that has not been done before. Have to agree with Barkley when he commented on the height bias in that even.

Ozark - what was up with that Barkley Bavetta race? The oldest ref vs the most out of shape commentator?

I agree that Green deserved the win. His first dunk was his best, IMO. With a little help from Pierce, who lobbed a pass off the side of the backboard. His dunk over Nate was nice too.

Dwight should have got a perfect score for his sticker dunk. That was truely original and very impressive. The only thing that could have made that dunk any better is if it was a Darko sticker. :pound:

I think the judges, especially Jordan and Dr J voted to early before they knew that Howard had put the sticker on the backboard. It took the announcing team a couple of minutes to figure it out.

I knew Howard would have to do something very creative to catch the judges eye, at 6-10. The sticker dunk was not really that impressive to me because, well HE IS 6-10!!

Any 6-10 player that can jump would be able to do that dunk, now to be creative enough to think of it, that`s another story....

I knew Howard would have to do something very creative to catch the judges eye, at 6-10. The sticker dunk was not really that impressive to me because, well HE IS 6-10!!

Any 6-10 player that can jump would be able to do that dunk, now to be creative enough to think of it, that`s another story....

I disagree. I think that dunk is much harder than it looks. You have to remember that he tapped the backboard at 12'6", that's 2 and a half feet higher than the top of the rim. He jumped that high while he was still concentrating on making the dunk with his other hand. I thought it was a great display from an exceptional athlete. How many 6'10-6'11 guys are that atheltic that they can get THAT HIGH and still complete the dunk. He showed his pure athleticism on both of his dunks. You gotta remember that he's a 260 lb guy. He isn't one of these 6'11" Carlos Rogers twigs that is about 220. He's a large man with alot of bulk doing that.

Ozark - what was up with that Barkley Bavetta race? The oldest ref vs the most out of shape commentator?

I didn't see the festivities last night, but that happened because during a TNT game earlier this season that Charles was broadcasting, he insisted that he could beat Bavetta in a race, and the other guys responded about him being too out of shape to win that. I think Charles brought it up because they were talking about how impressive it is that someone as old as Bavetta is still in such good shape.

Dwight's dunk was awesome, no matter what. But hell, all of them can jump, it's crazy. I'd love to see AJ participating next year

I didn't see the festivities last night, but that happened because during a TNT game earlier this season that Charles was broadcasting, he insisted that he could beat Bavetta in a race, and the other guys responded about him being too out of shape to win that. I think Charles brought it up because they were talking about how impressive it is that someone as old as Bavetta is still in such good shape.
I think Bavetta was intimidating Charles with showing off his legs.
:pound:And giving Charles a smack on the lips to boot!

I disagree. I think that dunk is much harder than it looks. You have to remember that he tapped the backboard at 12'6", that's 2 and a half feet higher than the top of the rim. He jumped that high while he was still concentrating on making the dunk with his other hand. I thought it was a great display from an exceptional athlete. How many 6'10-6'11 guys are that atheltic that they can get THAT HIGH and still complete the dunk. He showed his pure athleticism on both of his dunks. You gotta remember that he's a 260 lb guy. He isn't one of these 6'11" Carlos Rogers twigs that is about 220. He's a large man with alot of bulk doing that.

I bet almost any 22 year old 6-10 basketball player could do that dunk. I will give him credit on the creativity, however, the dunk itself was nothing special. The judges obviously agreed.

12' 6" he tapped the backboard, ok at 6' 10" he is damn near touching the rim with his arm outstretched standing on his tip toes, so, he jumped 2 1/2 feet.......WOW!!

I am not taking anything away from the dunk, but seriously, he is freakin' 6-10!!

ESPN.com - NBA/ALLSTAR2007 - Abbott: Howard's sticker slam wins buzz but not contest (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2007/columns/story?columnist=abbott_henry&id=2769976)

ESPN.com contributor David Thorpe of Scouts Inc. text-messaged me seconds after it happened: "I hate dunk contests," he wrote. "But that was the coolest dunk I've ever seen."

Who can disagree?


No one I have talked to, except, apparently, the judges. Howard got a measly 42, the second-lowest score of any dunk in the first round. Julius Erving and Michael Jordan both gave it an 8. I don't know what criteria they were judging by, but whatever it was, I say inventiveness was undervalued.

For those that missed it.

YouTube - Dwight Howard Sticker Dunk - 2007 Slam Dunk Contest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5saBDOE6Sc)

I love Charle's comment: "Michael dun lost his mind" :pound:

Green's first dunk...
YouTube - Gerald Green Dunk Contest 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as08dS0dZcw)

I just found this one as well. Shaq is hilarious!! A great recap of the dunks as well.
YouTube - 2007 NBA All Star Slam Dunk Contest Recap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYukPIrDZoc)

Maybe Dwight should have gone over to the judges' table before his dunk and showed them the sticker, saying "watch where I put this" or something like that, to make it clear what he was going to do. The element of surprise is fun if you can pull it off, but if you didn't know that's what he was going to do ahead of time, it was hard to tell exactly what was going on.

Maybe Dwight should have gone over to the judges' table before his dunk and showed them the sticker, saying "watch where I put this" or something like that, to make it clear what he was going to do. The element of surprise is fun if you can pull it off, but if you didn't know that's what he was going to do ahead of time, it was hard to tell exactly what was going on.

Yeah, I agree. It would have helped if the sticker was a bit bigger as well.

I think he should have shown the sticker to the crowd ahead of time.

Maybe Dwight should have gone over to the judges' table before his dunk and showed them the sticker, saying "watch where I put this" or something like that, to make it clear what he was going to do. The element of surprise is fun if you can pull it off, but if you didn't know that's what he was going to do ahead of time, it was hard to tell exactly what was going on.

I think the surprise was part of the dunk. If he had shown people before hand it would have taken away from the effect.

To me height should not factor in like it does. No one over 6'7" should even bother entering that contest. Even keep it under 6'5" just to be safe.

I just dug this up. It's the transcript from the Detroit Team after the Shooting Stars competition. Laimbeer is hilarious.

Q. So what is the controversy, they shot at the same time?
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: The controversy was -- the rule is, like if you're shooting, the next person can't shoot, they can't even touch the ball until the other person makes the shot.
She picked up the ball to shoot and he picked up to shoot at the same time. One of the balls went in, we just don't know which.

Q. Which of the three of you saw it first?
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: I think we all did. We were all focused and hoping it was missing, anyway. We all caught it.

Q. You got to like having Bill Laimbeer on your side. He's not afraid to stick up for what he thinks is right.
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: He's not. He's funny. He's a competitor. And even something fun-hearted like this, just for the fans and fun, he just wants to win. He's an animal out there. He's hollering at the refs, he's crazy. But you can tell his passion to win.

Q. Were you guys a little frustrated with the clock situation in the first round? It was getting a little screwed up?
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: We couldn't really understand it. We couldn't understand what they was doing. But it all worked out.

Q. Had to create a little controversy, there, hey, Bill?
BILL LAIMBEER: Who me?

Q. They shot at the same time and you obviously thought that was against the rules?
BILL LAIMBEER: It was explained very clearly to us that you can't touch the basketball until the person is finished shooting. They didn't listen hard enough.

Q. Who noticed it?
BILL LAIMBEER: Everybody in the gym noticed it. Everybody in our bench noticed it.
SWIN CASH: Everybody noticed it. They kept going and playing off. We were waiting for them to finish so we could state our complaint.

Q. You must like having Bill around because he's going to definitely say what he's going to say.
BILL LAIMBEER: Go ahead, tell her.
SWIN CASH: Well, I'm just here to say that I knew he would be the one to catch the mistake if there was one. And he did.
BILL LAIMBEER: She doesn't like being booed.
SWIN CASH: I'm going to try to figure out how we're in Vegas and getting booed. And I look to my left and it's all about Bill.
Chauncey and I are very likable. But for some reason they just hate Bill. And he has a theory that it's because all the Laker fans are here.
BILL LAIMBEER: It's true.

Q. Does it surprise you you're still getting booed in 2007?
BILL LAIMBEER: No, the era I played in was very intense and competitive. There was no shaking hands or hugging or kissing or anything like that. It was, we're going to go out there and kick your butt in basketball. And people miss those days. So they still hang on to them.

Q. Scottie Pippen, you beat him and he's attempting a comeback. Does that mean you're going to be ready for a comeback now?
BILL LAIMBEER: No. I'm happy doing what I'm doing.

That is funny, although:

Q. Does it surprise you you're still getting booed in 2007?
BILL LAIMBEER: No, the era I played in was very intense and competitive. There was no shaking hands or hugging or kissing or anything like that.

Bill must have blocked this out from his memory:

http://nbadraft.net/profiles/largepics/thomasmagic.jpg

I always thought Isiah was my favorite Piston because he lifted us out of the depths of basketball hell. But looking back, he couldn't have done it without lambs. What a character.

He's got to be my favorite all time basketball player. When I watch the old clips of him, I know there will never be another like him.

I don't know if he can coach in the NBA or not, but it sure would be a show worth seeing. Talk about passion!

He may not have been the anti-Christ as many opposing players and fans claimed, but Blll Laimbeer was certainly the Anti-Stern.:stirthepot:

That would just be something to bring back the nostalgia of the Bad Boy days. I would die. It would be wonderful. Could you imagine Lambs coaching Darko? :lol: