After being named a participant in the dunk contest, most people chose Gerald Green as the favorite to win the competition. While Nate Robinson may also have gathered in some high scores, the real contest was between Green and Dwight Howard.

Not only did Nate Robinson still take several attempts to complete some dunks, the general consensus about Robinson is that the dunks are only impressive because of his lack of size, which provided him with an unfair advantage against Howard. The sticker dunk at 12′ 6″ by the aid of Jameer Nelson may have been the most impressive dunk, making up for the NBA’s disapproval to raising the rim with hydraulics, while Gerald Green opened up the contest with a decent dunk off a side-of-the-backboard oop from Paul Pierce.

Unsurprisingly, Tyrus Thomas had a short lived night in the dunk contest.

Mehmet Okur may have made the only solid defensive play in last night’s All-Star game. Shaquille O’Neal brought the ball upcourt with several crossover dribbles (loosely termed). After it became apparent that Okur didn’t plan on budging, O’Neal launched an ugly jumper that was lucky to hit rim.

The NBA named Kobe Bryant the All-Star game MVP, pleasing many of the southern Californian fans in attendance. The MVP award is the second for Bryant, who also earned the award and received boos in his hometown Philadelphia.

Four days away from the NBA trade deadline, but no big deals seem close to completion. The New Jersey Nets seem to flip-flop between trading Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, with the Los Angeles Lakers continuing to push to acquire Kidd. The Portland Trailblazers are rumored to be a possible partner in a three-way deal.

The Seattle Sonics could send off both Rashard Lewis and Luke Ridnour in separate deals this week. One rumored deal sends Lewis to the New York Knicks for Nate Robinson and Channing Frye, which could give the Sonics a further logjam of developing options at center. The Atlanta Hawks hope to acquire Ridnour to help Speedy Claxton at the point guard position.

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