Howard to defend dunk title in All-Star events

Basketball Betting Lines

02/13/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard is set to defend his Sprite Slam Dunk title Saturday night during the NBA All-Star Game festivities at US Airways Center in Phoenix.

Howard won the event last year by throwing down a one-handed jam while sporting a Superman cape. The 6-11, 265-pound Howard is trying to become the first player to win the event two years in a row since Jason Richardson did it in 2002 and 2003 as a member of the Golden State Warriors.

Also trying to defy gravity in the Slam Dunk contest, which began back in 1984, will be Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers, J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks 5-9 guard Nate Robinson. Smith is replacing Rudy Gay (hip injury) of the Memphis Grizzlies. Robinson needed several tries to win the 2006 version of this event, beating out 76ers guard Andre Iguodala. Fernandez, meanwhile, is the first international participant in the contest and earned his way onto the stage after being selected by the fans as the fourth and final contestant.

Fans will be able to determine the winner for the second time in the history of the event instead of a panel of judges. Fans will be able to cast their votes by sending a text message or by voting on NBA.com.

Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors will try to win his third straight Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout Saturday night. Kapono is aiming to become the first three-peat winner of the event since Craig Hodges of the Chicago Bulls proved to be the sharpest shooter from 1990-1992. Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird was the first to win the event three straight time from 1986-1998.

Joining Kapono in the Three-Point Shootout will be Indiana's Danny Granger, Orlando's Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby of Atlanta, Roger Mason of San Antonio and Miami's Daequan Cook. All players will battle in the two-round competition with the top three shooters from the first round advancing to the finals. Each player will have one minute to shoot as many balls as he can, as five shooting stations will be set up around the three-point line. Four game balls worth one point each and one 2009 All-Star commemorative "money ball" worth two points will be at each station.

The Skills Challenge consists of four players competing in a two-round timed obstacle course to show off their dribbling, passing and shooting talents. The two players with the fastest times from the first round advance to the finals with the order of competition determined by opposite order of the first round times. Television instant replay may be used for clarification of rules compliance by the referee.

Competing in this year's tournament will be Devin Harris of the Nets, Mo Williams of the Cavs, San Antonio's Tony Parker and Chicago rookie Derrick Rose. Utah's Deron Williams won the event last year in New Orleans to unseat Miami's Dwyane Wade, who had won the previous two Skills Challenge. Magic guard Jameer Nelson was originally pegged to compete in the Skills Challenge, but a torn right labrum in his shoulder will keep him from participating.

The Rookie Challenge will feature NBA rookies versus second-year players in the Valley of the Sun. The 2008-09 rookie class features several future stars, including No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. Rose will be teamed up with fellow rookies Michael Beasley of Miami, Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden of Portland, Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo of the Grizzlies, Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, New Jersey's Brook Lopez and Eric Gordon of the Clippers.

The Sophomore squad will be comprised of reigning Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant of the Thunder and teammate Jeff Green, Thaddeus Young of the Sixers, Houston's Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks, New York's Wilson Chandler, Atlanta's Al Horford, Al Thornton of the Clippers and Detroit's Rodney Stuckey.

In last year's game, Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson buried 11 three-pointers en route to 33 points to lead the Sophomores in a 136-109 triumph over the Rookies. Rudy Gay of Memphis chipped in 22 points for the second-year stars, while Durant paced the Rookies with 23 points. The Sophomore squad has won the last six years.

In the Haier Shooting Stars contest, Team San Antonio will try to defend its title on Saturday night. Team San Antonio, which won the title in New Orleans last year and back in 2006 at Houston, will consist of Tim Duncan, David Robinson and WNBA star Becky Hammon.

Team Detroit, Team Los Angeles (Lakers) and Team Phoenix will challenge the San Antonio squad this weekend. Team Detroit was last year's runner-up and 2007 champion. Each team is comprised of a current NBA player, a former NBA star and a current WNBA player from the city.

The NBA Developmental League will have its All-Star Game on Saturday night from Jam Session's Center Court. A pair of 10-man teams will battle in the third-annual D-League All-Star Game. The annual NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will take place Friday.

In an interesting twist to shake up the All-Star events, the NBA will implement the old-fashioned game of H-O-R-S-E on Saturday. The legendary drive-way game will be played by Durant, Mayo and Joe Johnson of Atlanta. The contest will played outside at the NBA's All-Star Block Party.

If a player makes a shot in H-O-R-S-E, the next competitor must make the same shot or receive a letter. A player gets an 'H' for his first miss and is eliminated once he has all five letters of the word. Each competitor will have 24 seconds to make a shot, while an NBA referee will rule if they attempt is done in proper manner. There will be no dunking in H-O-R-S-E.

On Sunday, the 58th NBA All-Star Game will close out the weekend extravaganza.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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