Some Tough Questions About H.O.R.S.E.

We tried, we failed. Despite the best efforts of myself and others to get Monta Ellis in the NBA's vaunted H.O.R.S.E. contest, when the field was announced, Monta was nowhere to be found. Instead, we got defending champion Kevin Durant, shooting-impaired Celtics All-Star Rajon Rondo, and Israeli up-and-comer Omri Casspi. And with that announcement, a good idea died before it even got off the ground.

I was more of a fan than most of Durant's showing last year. Long arms and long threes are always exciting, especially from a seated position. But Rondo and Casspi are, to say the least, curious selections. Rondo is a master of seeing the court in unorthodox, seemingly arbitrary ways, but his only reliable scoring move is a streaking lay-up. I like Casspi's game a lot, but have absolutely nothing in my memory banks that would lead me to pick him for this event.

While last year's field of Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Joe Johnson wasn't perfect, for a first try, it wasn't bad. However, I'm fairly certain that Durant -- one of my favorite players -- ruined the new H.O.R.S.E. contest forever.

When taken in tandem with his wondrous doings in the equally inconsequential Rookie/Sophomore Challenge, Durant managed a mini-coming out party of sorts. Remember, this is a guy many felt belonged in the real thing, and someone the league very much wants on the minds of fans. Unfortunately, he plays in one of the most minor of markets, and at the time the playoffs, and network broadcasts, seemed a ways off for the Thunder.

But between his record-setting showing in Friday's event, and his relatively entertaining win in H.O.R.S.E., Durant did get some national exposure out of that weekend -- and the chance to make a good impression. The league smiled, and with that, H.O.R.S.E. went from being, well, H.O.R.S.E. to a way to promote young players. You'd think the dunk contest would be a better fit, not in the least because it's not on in the middle of the day and has a long, storied tradition (and its own commercials!), but I guess even the NBA knows how broken it is.

Why Rondo and Casspi? Rondo will play on Sunday, but at the same time, might not get the attention he deserves. Much like every single day he's on the Celtics with those old guys. Rondo isn't only underrated, or overshadowed; he's come to be seen as a role player, instead of the star-in-waiting he is. Whether or not he'll do anything in H.O.R.S.E. to raise the level of interest in him is another question altogether, but clearly his selection was based on something other than trick-shooting prowess.

Casspi is an altogether more sensitive subject. The first-ever Israeli player in the NBA may not be a household name, and it's certainly not widely-known that Casspi is one of this year's best rookies. Yet the implication that Casspi needs that extra boost as badly as Rondo, or Durant last season, is a little strange. That is, unless you bear in mind -- and I'm writing this as a Jew -- Casspi's enormous pull as a token. At the risk of stereotyping, the Jewish people are fans of basketball, and seeing one of our own spotlighted by the league is a big deal. You can draw your own conclusions as to why Jordan Farmar isn't given the same treatment.

Casspi deserves recognition for what he's done so far, which is why he's playing Friday night. His inclusion in H.O.R.S.E., though, smacks of pandering. It's an insult to my intelligence, my identity, and possibly even to Casspi himself.

All that said, I'd love to be proven wrong. Let's see Casspi and Rondo pull off far crazier stuff that anyone brought last year. Then again, you'd think that if this were really about H.O.R.S.E., the NBA would promote it as such. Where's the footage of these guys showing us what they bring to the table? This isn't the MVP race; it's self-evident what should qualify someone for the competition. Why isn't the NBA letting us in on their rationale -- which coincidentally, would be the best possible way to promote H.O.R.S.E.? At this point, I'd say it's not exactly on the radar of the casual NBA fan.

In other words, they should provide us with exactly what we've seen from Monta Ellis over the last few weeks. I'm not saying Ellis, who belonged in the All-Star Game, was campaigning for a spot in H.O.R.S.E. At least not openly. But I'll be darned if he hasn't done a better job than anyone in the contest of convincing us he belongs.