Griffin Simply Given Dunk Title

Blake Griffin could have just showed up, done run-of-the-mill, recycled dunks and been handed the Dunk Contest trophy Saturday night. And that's exactly what happened.

In today's dunk contests, it's rare to do anything - ANYTHING - that hasn't been seen before. Creativity is essential but now it's all props and gimmicks. JaVale McGee's two-basket, double-dunk was impressive but when you have to wheel in another basket, it's not a true dunk. Dwight Howard's from 2009, with the extended 11-foot basket, was also new but very gimmicky. And that's what the dunk contest has become. 

DeRozan should have made finals

Maybe that's why I felt DeMar DeRozan got hosed on his scores. A between-the-legs dunk from the baseline off a pass off the support system deserves higher than 44. Missing the first few attempts probably hurt that particular dunk and the fact it was the first dunk of the night didn't help his score. McGee and Griffin missed even more attempts yet weren't dinged on their scores. 

DeRozen didn't need any props for his attempts. He was the only one that didn't use any, or he was saving them for the final round. DeRozan scored one of the two 50s in the first round with his second attempt, yet didn't make the finals. That's not a surprise when Griffin had already been penciled in for one of the spots.

Griffin's dunks weren't anything new or impressive. He moved on through the competition based on the fact everyone wanted to see him win. His first dunk attempt looked like it was going to be very impressive. However, after two misses he modified it to a standard 360 cock-back dunk. Every person in the contest can do that dunk. His second attempt was even more run-of-the-mill. A baseline windmill from a pass off the side of the backboard.....after seven attempts. And the worst part is it got a 46, better than DeRozan's between-the-legs dunk. It was clear at that point, the fix was in. No matter what Griffin did he was going to win. He shouldn't have even made the finals. DeRozan and McGee were the two best dunkers of the first round.

The one Griffin dunk I did like was his rendition of Vince Carter's arm-in-the-rim dunk. Griffin tossed it off the backboard before powering it through. Even though we've seen that type of dunk before, I'll take it because he tweaked it and added some of his power to it. 

Good idea but jumping the hood isn't that great

And that brings me to maybe the most overrated dunk there's ever been. When you say "he dunked over a car" it sounds impressive. Unfortunately it wasn't in this case. The small Kia they wheeled out was placed under the basket so he didn't have to jump far. Going over the hood meant he didn't have to get very high. The whole thing was set up long before the event even started. They would use the "official car of the NBA" to bring down the house with everyone's "favorite dunker", Blake Griffin. Cue the choir singing "I Believe I Can Fly." (Another low-light.) 

Of course Griffin would have to be in the finals. Sorry, better dunker, you're gone. The Blake Griffin cash cow must be milked. It's been set up for months now.

At least Chuck called it like he saw it.

"I hate to say this but that's not the greatest dunk," Barkley said. 

"But the presentation was pretty fun," Kevin Harlan said. 

"Yeah, but that's like when you have a pretty girl. If she's dumb, it don't matter."

The other dunker, Serge Ibaka, didn't 'wow' me with his rendition of the "free throw line" dunk. He took off right at the line, which is further back than we've seen, but he's 6'11" so it cancels out. Brent Barry could take off from near the free throw line. Grabbing the toy with his mouth hanging at the rim, and especially the kid actor, was silly. 

I watch the dunk contest every year. I get what the league is trying to do with it - get people watching and create a spectacle. However it's getting a bit out of hand at this point, which is hurting the event. The contestants don't need "coaches", especially yelling at the crowd and commentators, and pumping up the crowd. No more bringing extra baskets out. No more cars. It's time to eliminate the props. 

The real "best ever"

Maybe I'm a stick in the mud but I know what I'm looking for and I haven't been seeing it lately. Maybe I'm not embracing the new-school dunk contests. But I saw the highlights of MJ and Dominique battling. There were no props there. Just high-flying, power dunks.

I saw the best dunk contest ever in 2000 with winner Vince Carter and Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady. There were no props used. Vince Carter didn't miss one of his dunks. They were fresh and incredible. Jason Richardson did some amazing dunks that hadn't been seen before when he won back-to-back titles. The closest thing to those two is DeMar DeRozan. He is doing some dunks no one else playing right now can do, and he's doing them so easily I think it's hurting his scores. And he doesn't have the name recognition, that's his biggest problem. And being a good player should factor in to it. 

I'll keep watching All-Star Weekend, always. The dunk contest has the ability to be great. It just wasn't Saturday night, and it hasn't been great in the past few years. Maybe my standards are too high. 

(Photos: ESPN, Getty Images)

Phil Jackson on Dan Patrick Show

I don't listen to the "DP Show" too often. I won't go into a diatribe here about how his comedy stylings and talkative crew turn me off to the program, I'll just say he does a nice job with interviews. Phil Jackson called in this morning. Thanks to my twitter feed (from @AndrewSiciliano), I got the rare national interview by Phil on my radar. I needed an appointment to catch the appearance because he's rarely, if ever, on the shows I frequently listen to (The Herd, The Jim Rome Show). Any Phil interview, at any time, is intriguing. Including those in-game interviews.

Phil Jackson's thoughts on the Lakers and league, courtesy of the Dan Patrick Show, Feb. 16 [AUDIO].

Some excerpts:

On Blake Griffin: "He's going to be a multi-dimensional player, and doesn’t look like he’ll be content just doing those whirly-twirly dunks he can do. We all hope he’ll have the ability to monitor when it’s important to do that type of slam because there’s a reason his knee gave out last year. You can only exhort and expend that body that way so often and sometimes it’s going to get you in trouble…. You learn that as you grow and age in this league.”

Last season? "I'm fully determined to end my career as a coach. (pause for laughter) Did you like that?"

Another Quotable: "I have to watch Modern Family. That's what my kids tell me I have to watch."

Jackson says the only thing the Lakers need to add is Matt Barnes back to the lineup, who's been out 4-5 weeks with a knee injury and his absence has affected the second unit. Jackson also talked about the long road trip and Jerry Sloan.

The Lakers have one more game tonight at Cleveland, which will be a nice break after two bad losses, before resting for the All-Star break. I don't read too far into the losses at Orlando and Charlotte. Four games in five day, three on national TV. The Bobcats "have the Lakers' number", whatever that means. Los Angeles has dropped 8 of last 10 in Charlotte.

Lakers Won't Trade Bynum for Melo

The report of discussions to trade Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony is purely gamesmanship on the Lakers part. They can't give up Bynum this year and win an NBA Finals. Letting this "rumor" out serves them two purposes. 

1) It lets Carmelo know when he becomes a free-agent in the off-season, the Knicks aren't the only major market team interested. 

2) It motivates Bynum. He picks up his play to prove how much they need him and it gives the team, who had been in another lull, a boost with all eyes and doubters focused on them.  

Melo isn't going to be a Laker....this year

Both things will serve them will moving forward. I believe Chris Broussard was hoodwinked again by Lakers or Nuggets executives and his "sources." The Lakers wanted the rumor to get out. Not because they were actually going to make the trade, but to put the image of Melo in a Lakers uniform in everyone's head. And what a sight that would be.

Can you imagine? You wanna talk "Big Threes?" Try Kobe, Melo and Pau. "Big Four" like Boston is boasting these days with Rondo? Just add Lamar.

But that's only if Melo decides to sign up with Los Angeles in free-agency. The Lakers aren't going to trade for him, and they shouldn't. They can't give up Bynum and expect to beat Boston in the Finals. Boston a serious road block on the path to another Phil Jackson three-peat. Right now, Boston is the favorite to win the Finals. 

While adding Carmelo adds a top-3 player in the league, he doesn't play center. An unquestioned talent and the most effortless scorer in the league, Carmelo can add so many things it's worth making a sacrifice.  But this year's Lakers cannot give up Bynum's size, power, presence and expect to compete with Boston's bruising frontcourt.

If Bynum isn't there, Pau is forced to bang on fives and play center. That's not where he lives. This was proved in the 2008 Finals. Bynum was injured and LA got worked over physically and overall. You can't replace Bynum with Carmelo based on size and position. 

The Lakers know this, but they still would like Carmelo to consider playing for them. They'll be needing a three next season to replace Ron Artest, who helped get them one ring and possibly another but is near the end of the line. 

If the Knicks  become contenders if they can simply sign Carmelo without giving up some of their young talent, the Lakers would become an unstoppable force. It's a long shot for the Lakers but a shrewdly played by the front office. Knowing Broussard will report anything and ESPN will make it a top story, it caused a stir. More "motivating through the media" from Phil and Lakers brass. But if they could land the biggest free-agent since, well, last summer, that might even make Phil pull a Favre and renege on his "last season" statement.

Class Act

He waited through nearly the entire first round in the green room on draft day. He rode the pine for three years behind a legend, amid doubts. When he finally got his shot to take over the team, fans cussed at him and wanted to fight him. He went 6-10 in his first season as starter, creating more doubt and animosity. When he took the Packers to the playoffs last year, he lost and got the unfair rap of being "unable to win in the playoffs."

Rodgers reached the pinnacle by staying classy

He's answered a thousand questions about Brett Favre. He continued on, putting in the work to be the best, though not many noticed. He got back to the playoffs. He won the Super Bowl. And one thing remained a constant through his first six, turbulant years: Aaron Rodgers handled it all with class.

It's a trait often forgotten about in today's world but when you see it, you realize how great an asset it is. No one could blame him if he took a Shaq moment. No one deserves to call out all the doubters, haters, Favre-worshipers, disloyal Packer fans more than Rodgers. But he's too classy. That's not where he lives. He lives up on the high road, far above the negativity that tried to bring him down for so many years. Now he lets his ring speak for itself.

After his Super Bowl performance, which some have called one of the greatest by a quarterback in the big game, he is officially in that "elite group" of NFL quarterbacks. His ring and Super Bowl MVP trophy confirm  it. He needed to play a flawless game versus Pittsburgh and he did just that. He's one of the best playing the position right now and he's one of the classiest professional athletes in any sport.

Rodgers deserves to let people know they wrongly doubted him. But don't expect him to anything of the sort. He's too grounded, puts in too much time, works too hard to succumb to that pitfall. He'll continue on the way he always has: with class.