The NBA All-Star break had its ups and downs, including a monster night from Stephen Curry.
NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone. There were exciting parts, namely Stephen Curry’s three-point barrage, but there were also major letdowns. Although New Yorkers are going to be happy about the outcome of the Dunk Contest, I don’t think anyone enjoyed watching it.
With an incredibly limited schedule of events today, here’s what we’re watching:
- NHL: Avs @ Bruins — 1 PM ET
- CBB: Indiana @ #18 Ohio State — 7 PM ET
- CBB: #7 Baylor @ Oklahoma State — 8 PM ET
Stephen Curry Dominates All-Star Game
The NBA All-Star Game can be hit or miss. Stephen Curry barely missed. The NBA’s three-point king broke the All-Star Game record for made threes en route to 50 points. He connected on 16 of his 27 attempts from downtown.
Obviously, there isn’t much defense in the All-Star Game and Curry took advantage of that. It was one hell of a show and it was all capped off with LeBron James hitting the game-winning shot. It’s fitting that James would end it in Cleveland.
Curry was the easy choice for All-Star Game MVP.
Steph just broke the record for most 3-point FGs made in a game. Sheesh pic.twitter.com/907iG6lEwF
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 21, 2022
NBA All-Star Game MVP.
16 threes. None other than Stephen Curry. pic.twitter.com/pTnd6gSayL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 21, 2022
Obi Toppin Wins Snoozefest Dunk Contest
As a whole, the NBA’s Saturday night was a snoozefest. The Skills Competition was OK and the 3-Point Contest was somewhat exciting, but the Dunk Contest fell flat on its face.
For every legendary Dunk Contest, there are four or five that fall flat. This was one that fell flat, but this isn’t meant to take anything away from Obi Toppin. The second-year Knick won just one year after finishing in second place.
OBI TOPPIN WENT OFF THE GLASS, THROUGH THE LEGS, REVERSE ? pic.twitter.com/rDEDfx0d3D
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 20, 2022
The degree of difficulty here is HIGH for Obi Toppin! #ATTSlamDunk on TNT pic.twitter.com/5tWaxs9lUT
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
This victory was well-deserved for Toppin. He’s one of the best in-game dunkers in the NBA and showed that he can be a little creative in a Dunk Contest as well. Although the night, as a whole, was a bit of a letdown, Toppin deserves his flowers all the same.
Juwan Howard Throws Hands
Sunday’s college basketball slate came with some fireworks. Michigan head coach Juwan Howard was upset with Wisconsin’s Greg Gard for calling a timeout in the final minute of a blowout. They exchanged words in the postgame handshake line. Things escalated from there.
Juwan Howard strikes Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft after Michigan-Wisconsin game pic.twitter.com/fbv0WKzbT6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 20, 2022
Howard connects on an open-hand slap to the head of Badgers assistant Joe Krabbenhoft. That’s when all hell broke loose.
This isn’t a good look for Howard (or Gard for that matter), but we can pump the breaks on any talks of Michigan pulling the plug on the Juwan Howard era.
Obviously, Howard should not be throwing hands with other coaches, but he shouldn’t lose his job over this. College basketball coaches get away with a lot worse than this and are able to keep their jobs or get hired by another school immediately.
