NBA CENTRAL: All Star Weekend Winners and Losers

Kyrie Irving (left)/AP Images

Tyler Kenly points out the biggest winners and losers from NBA All Star Weekend.


By Tyler Kenly

The midway point of the season has come and passed, but before we look at the second half of the season, let’s recap how the players of the NBA Central did over the All Star Weekend. To review, there were 7 players from the division on display this weekend who either took part in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, Friday night, or the All Star Game, Sunday night. This week, we’ll choose the winners and losers of the weekend. 

Winners:


Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Irving was the biggest winner over the weekend in the Central division. Actually, he might have been the biggest winner in the NBA, as he showed off his ridiculous shooting ability by going 8 for 8 from beyond the arc in the Rising Stars game. The 19 year old rookie won MVP honors after scoring 34 points and leading Team Chuck to a decisive victory over Shaq’s team full of point guards. I guess Kyrie wanted to let the Kazaam star know he picked the wrong ones.


Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
The All Star game isn’t exactly Derrick Rose’s cup of tea. The flashy, ‘look at me’ attitude is something you won’t ever see in Rose’s game. So when he came out and waved politely instead of dancing during his pregame introduction, no one was surprised. However, Rose came out and did everything expected of him during the game, scoring 14 points on 6-8 shooting. Nothing flashy, just effective.


Greg Monroe, Detroit Pistons:
Monroe finally got the chance to display his skill-set on a national stage. The 6-foot-10 center showed the world his under-the-rim style of play. Once again, not exactly a prominent feature in the Rising Stars games, however, he put on a show of great fundamental basketball. Monroe also had, in my opinion, the highlight of the weekend when he stole John Wall’s pass-to-himself alley oop attempt. Well done, young man, well done.


Losers:


Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers and Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls
When you score three points between two players, and the biggest contributions to the game are running away from Blake Griffin, and yelling emphatically after a generic tip-in, you have solidified your spot as a loser. Granted, it was each of their first All Star games, but they really shouldn’t have been there.


Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons
The rookie went 5-14 in the Rising Stars game and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn from downtown. Add in 3 turnovers and a +/- of -11 and that’s what you call a bad game. Maybe next time, Rook.


Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Having anything to do with what has got to be the worst dunk contest in the history of the competition automatically lands you on the losers list. But, Paul George not even winning it makes him our biggest loser. I thought he was the runaway favorite for this thing, but he lost to Jeremy Evans (who?!). Paul George, you are one pathetic loser.