The participants for this year's all-star weekend slam dunk contest were announced today. And that strange sound you heard at about 10:30 this morning was a massive, collective yawn from NBA fans worldwide.
This year's contest will feature rookies Iman Shumpert of the Knicks and Derrick Williams of the T-Wolves, Indiana's Paul George, and Houston's Chase Budinger. How weak is that field? Jeremy Lin's participation - as a helper to his teammate Shumpert - appears to be the biggest selling point in the NBA's planned promotions.
In reality, the NBA missed a major opportunity by leaving Lin's name off the roster for the Rookie/Sophomore game, which is where his participation would have made the most sense. I still have a sneaking suspicion that the league will find some way to add Lin to the mix for that event.
