Mr. Mahoney’s All-Star Emporium: Random Thoughts From the Weekend in Big D
- Omri Casspi is probably the new underground, above-ground celebrity. On one hand, he’s still a bit of an unknown quality for a lot of people; Casspi’s name doesn’t have the public draw of Tyreke Evans or Brandon Jennings, despite the fact that Omri has had an absolutely terrific season. But on the other, he’s still a highly-regarded rookie, and something of a cult hero. His game is smooth, he’s a mellow, charming cat, and oh, I don’t know, something about his national identity. Which makes me wonder: at what point do guys with a unique trait in the NBA start to view their trait as a burden rather than a gift? Is Omri already burned out on telling people how much it means to represent Israel? Or does that revelation come later, when everything he does matters more because he’s from Israel than it does because he’s a basketball player?
- Despite the fact that he probably out-performed DeMar DeRozan in the dunk-in/dunk-off, Eric Gordon was still really supportive of the concept. Can’t say I agree. I just don’t see either competitor really taking it seriously, especially when the very nature of the event tells the competitors to save their strength for the rest of the Rookie-Sophomore game, avoid injury, and save their best dunks for the actual contest.
- If Dirk Nowitzki isn’t the funniest player in the NBA, he’s certainly among them.
- Another thing I talked to Eric Gordon about that I thought was pretty interesting — draft classes always have a sense of camaraderie, because often the prospects have grown up together and competed with and against each other at every level along the way. The obvious exception though, is international players. Guys like Danilo Gallinari wander into a party where everybody already knows each other.
- James Harden’s beard is even more impressive in person than it is on TV.
- Just in case you were curious: NBA players are not so great with Chinese pronunciation, and none of them are aware what the current Chinese symbol is. SO STOP ASKING, MEMBER OF THE CHINESE MEDIA #21.
- Russell Westbrook spent the second half of the Rookie game gunning for Kevin Durant’ scoring record, but Chris Bosh/Patrick Ewing pulled Russ with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the record still in reach. The Durantula, who was coaching the rookies, met the move with standing applause. But after just about talking Ewing’s ear off begging to get back in, Westbrook finally broke him. Some impressive plays followed, but Durant’s record is still intact.
- Royce Young, Steve Weinman, and Spencer Ryan Hall are not only tremendous writers who you should be reading daily, but tremendous guys as well. Had tons of fun hanging with the fellow TrueHoopers (Moore included, of course, as well as The Blogfather himself), and that’s really the underrated part of the whole experience; the player access, the events, and the glitz all make for great times, but a lot of those that cover this game are just incredibly friendly, interesting people. And to top it all off, some of us blogger/writer types had a great run of pick-up hoops on Sunday morning at SMU, courtesy of NBA.com’s Art Garcia. Good guys, great writers, and solid ballers to boot.
- I appreciate Brandon Roy’s sartorial taste.
- There was a lengthy break between the end of the D-League All-Star Game and the beginning of H-O-R-S-E, so the emcee for the day took it upon himself to entertain and engage the waiting audience in the meantime. So he did what any sane human would do: called a large amount of people down to the floor, and played a giant game of ‘Simon Says’ while cackling into the microphone. Yeah, that was fun.
- If you’ve never heard Gerald Wallace speak, YouTube him immediately. I’m not even sure the average recorder can register sound at that low of a pitch…which makes transcription a bit tricky. Also: FIRST BOBCAT ALL-STAR EVER. If that’s not a reason for a party, then I don’t know what is. Looking forward to the ‘Cats first ever playoff appearance, too.
- Speaking of H-O-R-S-E, I still have yet to watch it on television, but I’d assume it dragged its feed a bit. BUT, the final shoot-out between Durant and Rondo was fantastic, even if the shots were completely pedestrian threes. But Rondo. Shooting threes. Come on!
- Some events happened on Saturday night. Kinda wish they hadn’t.
- Don’t ever, under any circumstances, drive to Cowboy Stadium. It was nightmarish. I was stuck in traffic for what seemed like days, and ultimately parked somewhere in Argentina and had to hike over. Not as much fun as you’d think, especially considering the bizarrely chilly weather in Dallas.
- Al Horford is a terrific interview. Maybe it was the first-time All-Star glow?
- Even though the parking and traffic are horrendous, the stadium really is a marvel. Pictures and video don’t do it justice…you really to see the place from inside-out to grasp just how impressive it is.
- Look, Paul Pierce, we need to talk. I know you want to put together an attention-grabbing ensemble. But you don’t need to go for a salmon coat one night and a pink plaid on another. A bit much, don’tchathink?
- You probably noticed during the game, but most of the Nike guys were all wearing these odd colored shoes: a hue I can only describe as ‘electric teal’ (electric teel?) for the blue-clad Easterners, and something of a fluorescent red for the Westerners. No good, Nike. No good.
[...] Rob Mahoney with some thoughts on All-Star Weekend: “Russell Westbrook spent the second half of the Rookie game gunning for Kevin Durant’s scoring record, but Chris Bosh/Patrick Ewing pulled Russ with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the record still in reach. The Durantula, who was coaching the rookies, met the move with standing applause. But after just about talking Ewing’s ear off begging to get back in, Westbrook finally broke him. Some impressive plays followed, but Durant’s record is still intact.” [...]