Word leaked out about this Tuesday night so the NBA decided to just make it official on Wednesday:
Your 2011 All-Star Saturday Dunk Contest participants are Blake Griffin (Clippers), JaVale McGee (Wizards), Serge Ibaka (Thunder) and Brandon Jennings (Bucks).
Let’s be honest, this is essentially Blake Griffin — on his home court at Staples Center — against the field. McGee is a freakish athlete who has had some spectacular finishes on John Wall alley-oops (expect one of those in the competition) but we’ll see if he can be creative. Ibaka could win by blocking one of McGee’s dunks, that is what he is best know for.
Then there is the injured guard Jennings, who is not exactly known as a dunker (but there are videos of him from years ago actually dunking impressively). We’ll call him the wild card, he could get bonus points just because nobody has seen him dunk.
Let’s just hope players get creative. Griffin is a monster in-game dunker — so was Shannon Brown last year. That doesn’t necessarily translate to a dunk contest. In a game, there is a defender who is trying to stop you and the creativity is spur of the moment — you can’t go put on a cape and be Superman. A dunk contest dunk is something all together different.
Still, this is Griffin’s to lose.
