The great Blake Griffin has apparently done it again!  His latest entry into his Dunk Hall of Fame?  Just dunking over (and i mean literally!) Kendrick Perkins.

Even Lebron James was impressed by Griffin's slam.  He posted on his Twitter page:

Dunk of the Year!! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!! Wow!! I guess I’m #2 now. Move over #6

By the way, here was Lebron's version of dunking over somebody (Vinsanity 2.0):

Whose dunk do you like the most?  Comment away!

When the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title last season, owner Mark Cuban said that he was planning something new and foregoing the tradition of handing out rings.  We were expecting bedazzled trophies, belts, bracelets and even cars!.

A third of the season is almost over and I find it fitting to pick my top 5 rookies of the season.  

Kobe Bryant's competitive drive has been a well documented aspect of his game.  In the league today, there is probably no other athlete that comes close in terms of his competitiveness, drive and will to win games.  He is up there with the likes of Michael Jordan in that category.

Bryant playing through the finger injury

There are a lot of perks that comes with being tall.  You don't need to climb the coconut tree.  You sit in the movie theater and not worry about staring on someone's head (although you have to worry about the people behind you though). And a lot more!  What you can do is limited to what you can think of.

Dirk Nowitzki has taken advantage of his height be being really good in basketball, and winning a Championship and Finals MVP along the way.  But that's not the only thing Dirk can do (Exhibit A).

He also can also reach those wires that are simply unreachable by anyone (who even put them there in the first place?!) as shown in the video below.

Right now Dirk must be receiving calls from everyone who needs their cat rescued.

Everyone who has watched Kevin Love play knows that when he is on the court, he will own every rebound. He is the modern day Dennis Rodman but only tattoo-less.  

This year, he leads the league in rebounds per game with 14.7.  That's saying something about a guy who lost more than 20 pounds this past summer.  His work on the boards has already been well documented, including last year where he had 12 games with 20+ rebounds and a 31 rebound night.  

We know he can rebound.  But, what is his secret?  Well apparently, Love likes to bang with the big boys to perfect his rebounding skills.  By big boys, i do mean BIG boys.

Calling the Big Show to the stage!

A trio of In-Your-Face jams headlines the top 10 plays including a facial by Landry on Nene.

Source: NBA's YouTube

The Orlando Magic held off the Sacramento Kings 104-97 despite Dwight Howard being held to only 5 points.  Howard was limited to 19 minutes due to foul trouble.  Glen Davis stepped up for the Magic with 20 points of the bench.  The Kings were led by Tyreke Evans with 28 points.

In Oklahoma City, the Thunder won its third straight games in as many nights after beating the San Antonio Spurs 108-96.  Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 21 points with 10 rebounds and 7 assists.  James Harden came off the bench to score 20 points.  The Spurs were led by Gary Neal with 18 points.

The Washington Wizards remain winless after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 93-72.  The Wizards are now 0-8 and remain as the only team without a win.  Kevin Love scored 20 points while grabbing 16 rebounds for the Wolves.  Rookie point guard Ricky Rubio was solid with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 14 assists.

Source: NBA's YouTube

A couple of blocks, a couple of alley-oops, and a Vintage Kobe moment rounds out the top 10 plays.

Source: NBA's YouTube

The Atlanta Hawks ended the Chicago Bulls streak of six straight wins by beating them 109-94.  The Hawks made sure there would be no overtime as they outran the Bulls from the get go.  Josh Smith led the Hawks by filling up the stat sheet with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 6 blocks.  Vladimir Radmanovic came off the bench to score 17 points going 5-5 from the 3-point line.  MVP Derrick Rose scored only 8 points in 28 minutes of action.

In Houston, Kevin Durant hit the go-ahead jumper with 22.5 seconds remaining to propel the Thunder to a 98-95 victory against the Houston Rockets.  Durant scored 27 points and Russell Westbrook added 25 points of his own.  Houston was led by Luis Scola and Goran Dragic with 28 and 20 points respectively.

The Miami Heat rose to the top spot in the NBA as they defeated the New Jersey Nets 101-90.  The Heat, who were playing without Dwyane Wade, were led by LeBron James with 32 points on top of 7 rebounds and 9 assists.  Kris Humphries led the Nets with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Source: NBA's YouTube

It's a dunk-athon in today's top 10 plays including Vince Carter showing that he still has 40% amazing left.

Source: NBA's YouTube

Despite trade demands during the preseason, Howard has performed like the franchise player Orlando expects him to be.  He is proving that he will play his heart out with the uncertainty surrounding his future with the team.  

The Magic have a win-loss record of 5-3, good for sixth place in the East.  Thy have five players averaging close to 10 points of more, led by Howard with 20 points.  Aside from the points though, what's been noticeable has been his work on the glass.  He has  six games into the season with 15 rebounds or more, including three where he has grabbed 20 or more rebounds.  

Whether Howard will be traded this season or next, it's great news for Magic's fans that Howard, at the moment, is playing to win.  I think Howard will be traded at some point because I think his patience for the Magic has almost run out.  They have never been the same team after they lost in the NBA finals 2 seasons ago.  Nevertheless, Magic fans should be happy that Howard is still with the team because his trade request might be granted anytime soon.

In a previous post I wrote that voting for the 2012 All-Star starters is now open.  Well, I have already sent in my votes.

I won't go through the details of the my thought process on how I selected my starters.  Because honestly there was none.  What is there to think about?  I mean, just go ahead and vote for your favorite players!  Plain and simple.  

And with that, here are my 2012 All-Star starters:

What are you waiting for? go vote now!

The Chicago Bulls remains as the hottest team in the league as they won their 6th straight game as they defeated the Orlando Magic 97-83.  MVP Derrick Rose was 2 rebounds shy for triple-double to lead the Bulls.  Dwight Howard tallied 28 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic.

Out west, the Denver Nuggets earned their 4th straight win by sending the New Orleans Hornets to their 5th straight loss.  Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 23 points.  Andre Miller and Al Harrington came off the bench to score 13 and 14 points respectively.

In Washinton, Carmelo Anthony scored the go-ahead 3 pointer to keep the Washington Wizards winless this season.  Anthony scored 37 points for New York.  Amare Stoudemire had  23 points and 12 rebounds, while Tyson Chandler tallied 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Source: NBA's YouTube

Here are the top 10 plays from today's action.

Source: NBA's YouTube

We all saw the video clip of Dirk Nowitzki singing an off-tune rendition of the Queens classic "We Are The Champion" during the Mavs championship parade.  Yeah, he deserves a break after having won the championship, but apparently Dirk has done it again!

Watch Dirks rendition of Britney Spears' hit song "Oops! I Did It Again", but this time through dramatic reading. 

The Dallas Mavericks, especially Dirk, certainly need all this humor right now considering their horrific start this season.  

Last season's Finals' MVP scored only 6 points, his lowest output since he scored 5 points on Dec 18, 2009, in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs 93-71. Matt Bonner led the Spurs with 17 points, hitting 5 of 9 three pointers. 

In Atlanta, the Miami Heat outlasted the Hawks in 3 overtimes 116-109. The Heat were without Wade and James who where both out due to minor injuries. Chris Bosh had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Mario Chalmers stepped-up and scored 29 points and added 8 assists. 

Kieth Smart earned his first victory as the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 103-100. The Kings looked like they were well on their way to their third straight loss after trailing by 21 at halftime. Tyreke Evans led the comeback with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Marcus Thornton and DeMarcus Cousins chipped in 27 and 19 points repectively. 

Gerald Wallace scored 31 points and LaMarcus Aldrigde added 28 points and 10 rebounds to hand the LA Lakers their 11th loss in the Rose Garden out of 13 games. Kobe Bryant scored 30 despite an injured wrist and Andrew Bynum added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Source: NBA's YouTube

Only 5 games were on tap today so we only have the top 5 plays.  Check them out below.

Source: NBA's YouTube

Orlando will the Official Host City of the 2012 All-Star events which will be played on Feb 26, 2012.  The NBA All-Star ballot lists 120 players -- 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences -- with 24 guards, 24 forwards, and 12 centers from each conference comprising the list. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference.

The players were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA.  My problem with this though is that only 12 players from each conference will be chosen to the roster.  And I believe only a third of list really deserves to be mentioned in there.  Why did they have to lists out 120 players anyway?  I will not go into the detail of who I think will never have a chance to be an All-Star.  If you are an NBA fan and follow it closely, you know what I mean.

Anyway, to vote for your starters, go to the NBA 2012 All-Star ballot page by clicking here.  Hurry now!  You've got 26 days left to vote.

Source: NBA 

The Chicago Bulls rolled to their 5th straight win by beating the Detroit Pistons 99-83.  The Bulls are now 6-1, tied with the Miami Heat, for 1st place in the East.  The Heat also won in their matchup against the surprising Indiana Pacers 118-83.  The Pacers who had a record of 4-1 coming into the game, were totally demolished by a Heat team which played without Dwyane Wade who was out due to injury.

In New York, the Charlotte Bobcats bounced back by running over the New York Knicks.  The crowd at the Garden booed the home team after losing to the Bobcats, who in the past 4 games have lost by an average of 18 points.

Powerful slams, Lob Angeles, a sweet finger roll by the King and an over-the-head alley-oop makes the list of today's top 10 plays.

 

Source: NBA's YouTube

The Oklahoma City Thunder have now lost 2 games in a row after they were defeated by the Portland Trailblazers 103-93.  Lamarcus Aldridge led Portland with 30 points while Oklahoma was paced by Russell Westbrook with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 37 points and Andrew Bynum registered his first career 20pt-20reb with 21 points and 22 rebounds to led LA to a win against the Houston Rockets 108-99.

The Chicago Bulls recorded an improbable victory against the Atlanta Hawks after trailing by 19 midway in the 3rd quarter.  MVP Derrick Rose scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the 4th quarter.  Loul Deng scored 21 points and scoring the winning basket with 3.7 seconds left.

The NBA is full of exciting, jaw-dropping and make-you-scream plays that leaves you "Ohhh"-ing and "Ahhh"-ing for more.  That is why, I will be posting everyday the top plays from the games on that day.

To start the rim shattering, head-faking, no-look-passing, blocking and high-flying acrobatics; here are the top 10 plays from today's action.

Source: NBA's YouTube

After 2 weeks of NBA action, let's check out where each team stack out against the rest of the league.

EAST Standings

WEST Standings