2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, where robbing and Kobe Bryant happens

As All-Star Weekend comes to a close, here's a recap of what transpired during the greatest spectacle in the NBA:

1. Bieber the baller. Fans elected Justin Bieber MVP of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, despite shooting an atrocious 3 of 11 from the field and finishing with eight measly points and four assists (makes you wonder how much his fans know about basketball). With this kind of player running the point, I won't be surprised to find your team on the losing end. However, I gotta commend the young kid's heart. For a guy who doesn't have training in organized basketball, and whose height is somewhere between Mugsy Bogues' and Earl Boykins', Bieber didn't back down from bigger guys, and from the look of his face, took the game seriously. Whenever the ball was on play, you'd see 'The Bieb' running up and down the court, trying to defend and score. But at the end of the day, he could only try. He does pull off a decent crossover and a sweet pass to Jalen Rose for his team's first two points. Now, if only he could work on that ugly shooting form...

The newest dance craze: Bieber pass.

Oh, Scottie Pippen, a six-time champion and multiple All-Star like you got no business bringing 'The Bieb' back down to earth. It's an All-Star game for crying out loud. It's too late Scottie. Bieber's followers are coming for you after you blocked their god. You've been warned.

2. John Wall, Rooks vs. Sophs MVP. Our first robbery incident during the festive three-day event. The Sophomores got their asses handed to them for the second straight time as John Wall scored 12 points and dished 22 dimes, which resulted into a flurry of Demarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin dunks, on his way to the MVP award. The problem: Cousins' 33 points and 14 rebounds got overlooked. And it's good to note that whenever the Sophs gained on them, the Sacramento Kings big man kept them at bay. If you were a temperamental rookie, I bet you won't be happy about being overlooked despite a semi-Herculean effort. And after making Wall look good by setting up the point guard for a throwdown in the closing seconds of the game, you'd at least expect co-MVP honors.

3. Al Horford can make half court shots if his life depended on it. Well, not exactly. But he did manage to make enough to help Team Atlanta win the Shooting Stars event. What made this interesting? A noisy shooter like Kenny Smith participating in an event like this will always put some spice in the competition.

James Jones: Enjoying the open shot
while it's still there.

4. Steph Curry got skills, and Miami finally beats Boston, in the three point shootout at least. After losing to Paul Pierce in last year's three point contest, Curry returns to the All-Star games to win the event that only point guards probably appreciate. James Jones, on the other hand, gets bragging rights as three point king after beating Pierce and Ray Allen in a shootout. Good for him, because that is probably the last time a Heat player will be getting an open shot against the Celtics.

5. Blake Griffin is impressive, but... Let's make this clear. I like Griffin. The guy has serious hops, and his wicked in-game dunks are a testament to that. I think bouncing the ball off the glass before catching it and throwing it down ala-2000 Vince Carter is remarkable. And though not original (checkout this video at the 1:58 mark), I liked the way he jumped over the car's hood. But there's something wrong in the qualifying round. If we're giving Blake points for the degree of the difficulty of his dunks (a 360 degree and the windmill from the Baron Davis' pass), and we're going to give points to JaVale McGee for creativity (dunking two balls in two different rings while in midair and dunking three balls in one bucket while in midair), then, shouldn't Serge Ibaka be in the finals as well. He performed the same dunk that won Dwight Howard the contest back in 2008. The difference: he actually got to touch the rim. And I can't believe the judges didn't show Ibaka any love, even after NBA TV showed Dr. J's dunk from the foul line. Julius Erving took off from the semi-circle nearest to the basket, Serge, on the other hand, barely stepped on the line and took off from the semi-circle farthest from the goal. The best part: it only took him one attempt. How many seven footers can pull that off? And while were on the subject of dunk attempts, he had fewer attempts compared to the competition. Dunk contests are won with the element of surprise. If the audience don't know what you're going to do, it's bound to amaze them. DeMar DeRozan, Griffin and McGee had so many attempts that it kinda took the impact out of their dunks. That's not the case with Ibaka. If you take that into consideration, Ibaka should be in the finals. The problem: All-Star weekend is in Los Angeles so the crowd backed up Griffin. As for JaVale, he can't deny the that his mom, a retired LA Spark, helped him make it that far.

6. Kobe Bryant pawns Lebron James. The Black Mamba led the Western Conference All-Stars over their Eastern counterparts to the tune of 148-143, and he did it with flair. For someone Kevin Durant calls 'Old Fella', Kobe managed to dunk the ball down on three occasions. Twice, I think, he double pumped the leather. But I bet the one you won't forget is in this video:

A dunk over the reigning MVP, a pat on the butt, then a triple? Talk about taking them youngsters to school. Sure, haters and Amar'e Stoudemire would rant about number 24 hogging the ball, but it doesn't matter. It's his town and not only will he be calling the shots, he'll be making them.

And if you think Mamba is going to rub it in your face that he has tied Bob Pettit for most All-Star MVPs, you got it all wrong. Bryant, at 32, is now a humble veteran. Checkout these quotes from his interview with Yahoo!Sports:

On his dunk on Lebron.

"That was funny, actually, because I saw it coming and I wanted to see if I could avoid the LeBron chase-down. But I told him afterwards if I tried to go over the rim, like get up, he probably would have blocked it with his armpit. So I just tried to be quick and just tried to time it up just the right way and I managed to do it. I kind of snuck it on him.”

Okay, he recognized James' athleticism, but highlighted the fact that he one-upped the versatile forward. Not bad. Now let's take take a look at another Kobe quote where he pointed out that Griffin is the future of the league.

"I’ve been there. You know what I mean? I had my time. It’s very important for the game to continue to have young stars emerge. It’s great for the league to get behind Blake and what he’s doing. It’s important for me to step aside. I’ve had that.

It’s about me coming out and performing and staying healthy and doing the right things after 15 years. But it’s about them at this point.”

That says a lot about Bryant's love for LA. Even though he and Griffin are on different teams, he's backing the city's upcoming star. Maybe he plans to pass on the LA-hero torch to the high-leaping forward. Or maybe it's his way of luring Blake to the Lakers so they could have a superstar in the making as Kobe prepares to himself for retirement. What a way to end the weekend, eh?