Rookie/Sophomore Game Projections

More All-Star Weekend Predictions (loge via NBA.com)

Having enjoyed the self-empowerment of selecting the All-Star reserves, and with my head still spinning from an unbelievably exciting day in sports yesterday, I have decided to continue my projection of this year’s All-Star Weekend.

The Three-Point Shootout selections will come later in the week, but for now, we start with the Rookie Challenge (also known as the “Rookies have no chance in hell” game).

One more point before my picks—I’m not entirely sure of how the rosters are filled on each team. As far as I can tell, you fill each position with the starting five positions, then just pick the next best four players (with perhaps a little thought to their ability to sub). With that in mind, here are my selections.

The Dunk Contest We Would Run

The glory years of the dunk contest… we can bring them back

Late last week, All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest invites started going out. On Saturday, Randy Kim at AOL Sports wrote an article about Jamario Moon’s inclusion, and then yesterday Mike Trudell at Timberwolves.com reported that defending champion Gerald Green accepted his own invitation to participate.

That means that within a few days, half of the participants have already been chosen. Henry Abbott at TrueHoop speculates that Dwight Howard should and will also be included, leaving only one remaining spot.

Don’t get me wrong, seeing Gerald Green and Dwight Howard square off in another dunk contest won’t be so bad, but I’m sick of how the league continues to mishandle a wonderful opportunity for sheer excitement. How can it be so hard to run a fruitful dunk contest when there are so many years of successful models from which to copy?