All Star Game Picks – Long Shot at the Slam Dunk Contest

There is a great angle in this slam dunk event, as for the second straight year the winner is going to be determined by a method of voting though SMS text messaging and online through the NBA site.

Here are the latest BetOnline Sportsbook online NBA Odds

To Win 2009 Slam Dunk Contest

Dwight Howard -140

Nate Robinson +350

Rudy Fernandez +500

J.R. Smith +350

It should be noted that Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies is out of this competition with a hip injury, and has just been replaced by J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets, who is not to be confused with Josh Smith of the Hawks, a former winner of this event.

In this field, a strong one, you have the 2006 Slam Dunk champ, Nate Robinson, going up against the 2008 champ, Dwight Howard. In the 23 seasons this competition has been held, there have been only four players who have won it twice: Dominique Wilkins, Harold Miner, Michael Jordan and Jason Richardson. The latter two are the only ones who have won the contest in consecutive years.

There is an interesting dynamic attached to the entry of Smith into the fray, in that he and Robinson got involved in a very nasty brawl with each other at Madison Square Garden a couple of years ago, part of something of the bench-clearing variety. So suffice it to say one won’t use the other as a "prop" during the dunking period itself, though what happens after the final whistle is anyone’s guess.

The NBA went through a period where it was using this as a showcase for younger stars, rather than something to show off the veterans. And with younger and younger guys coming into the league, which brings less fundamentals and more of a "street-balling" mentality in for the purposes of showing up on SportsCenter (I’m ranting a little), this is plenty of style and originality to put on display.

Rookies have often done well in this contest. I think part of it is that generally it means more to them, and their stuff is fresh and hasn’t been seen by these judges or the public before. The rookie in this field is Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers, and maybe one of the things he has in his favor is that fans are already conditioned to voting for him.

Fernandez got into this competition by way of a special fan vote and becomes the first international player to compete, according to the NBA’s official website. In the fan polling, Fernandez got almost 252,000 votes to beat out Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and Joe Alexander of Milwaukee. Don’t be shocked if Fernandez brings enough fresh stuff to the table to get the bonus money.

JAY’S PLAY: FERNANDEZ +500 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay slams it through the hoop as a contributor to the BetOnline Locker Room)