Per this report from nba.com's "Hangtime" blog, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings will not be participating in the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest that will be held all-star weekend in his hometown of Los Angeles. Jennings will be replaced in the contest by Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, who is also a native of Compton, CA and participated in last year's event finishing second to Nate Robinson (DeRozan got robbed in my opinion).
So as of right now the competition will include DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, JaVale McGee and everyone's favorite, the beast that is known as Blake Griffin. This may be the first time in recent memory that we have had a dunk contest that won't include a guard or "little guy", with all of the contestants being at least 6'6 and up (DeRozan is listed at 6'7).
If anything I'm glad the NBA chose a fellow southern California resident to replace Jennings, with both young stars hailing from Compton. DeRozan won the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest after his senior year in HS before spending a year at USC and declaring for the 2009 NBA draft. So far this season DeRozan is averaging 15 ppg and 3.4 rpg.
Will this year be as much of a snoozer as last year's contest? Unless Blake Griffin jumps from the 3-point line and simultaneously does a 360 it just may be. But least all hope for the best.
(ed. note: click the links for highlights and dunk videos)
-ALR
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