NBA All Star Weekend for 2012 is just a few days away and the Dunk Contest participants this year aren’t necessarily household names! Does the field of Paul George, Chase Bundinger, Jeremy Evans, and Derrick Williams encourage you to watch?

With less than 30 seconds remaining in overtime and the Pacers up 115-106 over the Hornets, Paul George clinched the victory with a powerful windmill dunk to end it. George will be in the dunk contest this weekend to show off his skills, and as you can see in the video below, we’ll already have a taste of what he is capable of:

It seemed that the Pacers would destroy when the New Orleans Hornets came to visit at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, without two key players in Carl Landry and Emeka Okafor. But boy, did they put up a fight.

All-Star Roy Hibbert was able to get the Pacers past that, as the center went on for a career-high 30 points with 13 rebounds to help Indiana win in overtime, 117-108. Strong stretches by Paul George and Darren Collison also helped out in overtime for the victory as well.

“They came out very aggressive, took the game away from us and kind of knocked us back on our heels,” Hibbert said. “We were able to exist, hang on and got key buckets in the fourth quarter.”

George scored 20 points while Collison had 18 as Indiana won their third straight game. Trevor Ariza hit big shots for the Hornets in the fourth to help New Orleans force overtime, finishing with 21 points overall.

With five seconds remaining in the fourth, George got the ball and had an open shot after taking a stepback jumper. However, he fell short and just barely missed. However, into the extra quarter, Indiana jumped off to a 10-0 run to take a quick 113-102 lead. It followed by an awesome one-hand jammer by Darren Collison and a sweet windmill dunk from King George that clinched the victory.

The Hornets just couldn’t compete in overtime. It was just too much for them, as they missed so many shots.

“We had our chances,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “We had our chance in overtime and couldn’t hit a shot.”

I’m glad Indiana got past, as they trailed several times during the game. They will face the Charlotte Bobcats again tonight. I look for Indiana to destroy, much like the 35-point beating they had on them in their last match-up a few days ago. If they get this victory, they’ll be heading into All-Star break nicely, standing at a 21-12 record. Along with that, we get to see Paul George shows off his skills at the dunk contest.

But first things first: Indiana needs to get a victory tonight.

Iman Shumpert will reportedly be replaced by Utah’s Jeremy Evans in the dunk contest after suffering a left knee injury. Evans is a true dunker right here. Basically, 80-percent of his shots have been dunks, and half of those dunks have been alley-oops. Seriously, this guy is a boss. With that, I think it will come down to him and Paul George in the dunk contest.

Besides, this guy has already shown some folks what he’s capable of:

If you don’t think this guy deserves to be in the dunk contest, please type in his name on YouTube and you’ll see why he’s in now finally.

Bring it on Jeremy!

After Floyd Mayweather made his controversial comments over a week ago about Jeremy Lin, UFC president Dana White came out and said that the professional boxer is a racist.

Mayweather tweeted on February 13th: “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Lin has so far proven that he can be the Knicks’ future point guard. In my opinion, the reason he is getting so much praise not only because he is Asian, but he had to go through so much to get success in the NBA.

White commented on Fuel TV about Mayweather’s comments:

“First of all, what (Mayweather) said, I think, is racist. He’s made a couple of racist comments. And yes, Floyd, you’re racist with the stuff that you’ve said,” White said.

“First of all, Jeremy Lin gets all this credit because he’s an Asian player in the NBA that African-Americans never get? Yeah, he’s getting all this praise because he is an Asian guy playing in the NBA.

White continued: “And you say African-Americans don’t get it? Really? Kobe Bryant doesn’t get any praise? Michael Jordan never got any praise? The list goes on and on of guys who completely get praised for being great NBA basketball players. Not only can (Lin) compete and make it in the NBA, the guy is tearing it up and is breaking records, you knucklehead.”

White also had a chance to diss Mayweather about his comments on Manny Pacquiao:

“… The other thing you said was that Manny Pacquiao should make some sushi somewhere,” White said. “Sushi is from Japan. He’s from the Philippines, dummy.”

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, did not take the comments lightly, responding to White on these comments:

“He needs to shut the (expletive) up and mind his own business, stay in his own lane and keep on taking advantage of the UFC fighters, while underpaying them,” Ellerbe told Yahoo! Sports Tuesday night. “If he keeps on running his mouth, we may decide to give a free seminar to all of the UFC fighters on how the pay-per-view revenue should be distributed.

“This is typical Dana, who is always prone to ignorant outbursts. He should be the last person to try to judge someone else.”

Clearly, both sides of this story are not very fond of each other.

I honestly thought this dunk was exactly what the Knicks needed to spark a run.  It was a decisive basket that cut the lead to seven (did he make the freethrow?  I don’t even remember) and got the crowd back into it.  Turns out what the Knicks really needed to start that little run that never happened was a straight jacket for Deron Williams, who went absolutely crazy on ‘em about two minutes later.  Still, Landry Fields threw down one of those dunks that was good enough to swing the momentum of a basketball game… it just didn’t because D-Will was gettin’ busy on the game of his season.

Landry’s complete lack of a facial expression at :09… I lol’d.  Seriously though, that was a really strong facial over a bigger defender.  It was tough to choose between this dunk, Amare’s dunk, and Al-Farouq Aminu’s dunk (#4), but I think I made the right call.  Hopefully you agree.

Dunk rating on the Starbury Nastiness Scale:

8/10 Starbury Nasty Faces

2011/12 Daily Poster Stats

Throwback Poster Stats: Nene smashes all over some guy in a preseason game…

The Oklahoma City Thunder led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook currently have the best record in the NBA! Are they the best team in the West though?

There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding Pau Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers since the vetoed Chris Paul trade. Kobe ripped the team’s management earlier today that they should just make the decision now on whether to trade him or not.

Lately, Gasol has been in many rumor mills surrounding the Houston Rockets, as they have badly wanted him since the vetoed CP3 trade.

However, another team that could be a suitor may be the Chicago Bulls. According to SheridanHoops.com, Rose wants Gasol on his team.

“He [Rose] hasn’t said so publicly, but he has made that known privately.”

The likely trade that may happen is if the Bulls offer Carlos Boozer and another player to get him. Gasol has two years left on his contract that is worth $38 million while Boozer has three with $46 million.

The Bulls are interested, so add them to the list. I feel Gasol could be traded, and a one-two punch of him and D-Rose looks deadly. But I guess we’ll see what happens at the latest, which is the trade deadline on March 15.

Where do you think Gasol goes? Does he fit with the Bulls?

Jrue Holiday and Ricky Rubio battled all game long on Sunday night.  While Holiday scored big Sixer buckets down the stretch, Rubio dropped 14 of his game-high 22 in the first quarter, single-handedly keeping a floundering T-Wolves team afloat.  Rubio ended up passing off most of the late-game scoring duties to Kevin Love, and although he still managed to out-score Holiday by two (and win the game by one), it could be argued that Jrue won the head-to-head battle.  He certainly took this particular possession…

It’s funny, I didn’t think there was any way Jrue was going to dunk that ball.  His last dribble was kind of low, around his right hip… and as he switched the ball to the left side of his body I figured he’d simply lay it off the glass.  Instead, he whipped it.  Very similar to the dunk he had over Jan Vesely back in January.  I gave that one an 8/10, but this one gets bumped down to a 7.5 ’cause it was over a fellow point guard.

Dunk rating on the Starbury Spencer Hawes Nastiness Scale:

7.5/10 Spencer Hawes Nasty Faces

2011/12 Daily Poster Stats

Throwback Poster of the Day: Desmond Mason drives baseline and bangs on Vlade Divac…

Never before in the incredible history and tradition of the Los Angeles Lakers have we had so much drama in Hollywood. The latest episode in the City of Angels – soap operas on Figueroa Street and near Staples Center – is that the Lakers inept management is hearing it from their franchise star and, yes, the Black Mamba is talking and ripping his bosses.

It’s common and not surprising and slightly evident that Kobe Bryant is frustrated with the Lakers front office, this hysteria swirling around a maladroit organization suddenly plunging into darkness and fading out of the public eye. The superstar guard blasted his bosses for their inertia on trade talks, telling swarms of reporters that the Pau Gasol trade rumors are drawing distractions, in which the lanky, tall seven-footer is struggling with all the disruptions of late in the middle of hearsay that has emasculated the Lakers – to be exact. The promise of inheriting championships has shrunk to a greater sense and – more than anything it seems – the Lakers are engulfed in an uproar, with this entire uprising surrounding the second-most popular franchise in sports. The trade rumors are all talk right now, and Bryant is tired of the conversations that have circulated at the beginning of the season.

“I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him,” Bryant said crossly after the Lakers’ 102-90 loss Sunday. “It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow. I’d rather them not trade him at all, but if they’re going to do something, I wish they would just … do it.”

He’s very candid and furious with the Buss family. This is not to dwell over the recent struggles, giving the folks in L.A. every reason to panic. The veteran guard – once a spoiled, selfish brat, now arguably the best player of our generation – is standing up to management, unafraid to lash out about the mishandling and indiscretion within a team that must revamp if they wish to contend for another championship. And eventually, the Busses will have to listen to Bryant’s words and must be driven in changing the culture to please a superstar’s soul before he requests a trade out of Los Angeles, unhappy and disillusioned with the team’s inaction of entertaining offers for Gasol.

For a team annihilated by old and sluggish bodies with a new head coach in Mike Brown, who is pressured to follow the footsteps of the legendary Phil Jackson and inspire a demanding franchise by preaching the significance of defense, Bryant is aware of the Gasol’s lackluster effort and the dispirited nature in the team’s locker room. In another insane twist, Bryant is using a strategy and psychological approach in pushing management to either make a deal or publicly put a halt to whispers of potential moves. This is a way to rid all the disruptions that has had an effect on the Lakers of late, all while Kobe is jaded and mad with the mistreatment of his teammate, Gasol, who is thrust in a tough position – unsure of what the future beholds for him in Los Angeles.

“If they’re not going to do it, come out and say you’re not going to do it,” Bryant said. “This way, he can be comfortable and go out and can perform and play and he can invest all of himself into the game. You can’t have one of our pillars not knowing if he’s going to be here or not. Do something. One way or another, do something.”

The residual results of what we are seeing in Los Angeles is, in reality, disappearing and – if one player realizes it – it’s Bryant, a man who hates to lose and enjoys to compete for a title each season, aiming for his sixth NBA championship ring to tie the all-time great, Michael Jordan. But he can’t accomplish that goal if the Busses fail to surround him with a deep supporting cast. He’s only getting older, not any younger – a clutch, dependable shooter in his prime and still has enough left to play for more championships. Seems that he’s trying to dictate and persuade the Buss family to bring a couple of rejuvenated stars for creating star power and adding enough depth.

He’s unsatisfied again now, the self-proclaimed Black Mamba, on a mission to raise more championship banners inside Staples Center and would most definitely welcome in Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson or Dwight Howard, fresh-bodied players with hungry winning mentalities. Is there someone, anyone, who can make that happen? This would be a good time, not to mention an important moment to satisfy Kobe, so that he doesn’t ask for a divorce that would create Hollywood drama, no doubt, for the Buss family to take advice from their star guard and upgrade the Lakers current roster.

We have heard about how the Lakers ownership are stubborn-minded when it comes to making moves for the betterment of the team, whether Jerry Buss and his son, Jim, is too damn cheap to bring on board a quality, high-profile star that can have a powerful impact on the Lakers and alleviate much pressure off Bryant. If a trade should happen anytime soon, I guess, general manager Mitch Kupchak, including his boss, Jim, were actively working the phones in order to pursue the trophy. It’s evident that the current team we are looking at now, in a business of silence and poor judgment from management, is in a state of perplexity and Bryant had the decency to step up as a team captain and call out the businessmen issuing him his paycheck.

The trading deadline is March 15, and Kobe is asking the Lakers to either keep Gasol here or trade him elsewhere, coming to the defense of a seven-footer who helped L.A. win a pair of championships. It’s just the business aspect of it all, but the Lakers agenda remains uncertain – unsure of what their intentions are moving forward, although they are pursuing in acquiring Howard from Orlando and even a point guard that they so desperately need to fill the toughest position in basketball. In all the years of basketball, here in the origin of L.A., the Lakers have owned the spotlight but these days the Clippers are getting more attention, after acquiring Chris Paul shortly after he was on his way to the Lakers in a trade that was shot down by the league and NBA commissioner David Stern.

We can only hope that Kobe doesn’t divorce the Lakers, and reconcile with his bosses, like he did with his wife Vanessa after separating and then was seen kissing her on Valentine’s Day. What’s happening with the Lakers is that the team is no longer relevant, no longer a first-rate team in a city that is normally engaged with purple and gold, but not as of now, even if Bryant leads the league in scoring.

Is this the end? Kobe is beginning to panic, and his team is not what it used to be, slowly vanishing in the twilight age. Suddenly, he realizes that but the Busses don’t see it, or just in denial. The dysfunction, the lack of confidence, the failure to dismiss the humiliation from last season’s playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks is what the Lakers are living with, until the Buss family assemble a consistent team to erase all the dreadful moments in the past.

Right now, it seems the Lakers are forgotten. Bryant sees it, if no one else does.