So you've probably seen that Devin had a decent first outing at the All-Star Game. But the game isn't all there is -- this thing is an event. Here's some observations from inside the arena:

• According to a league handout, because the NBA is “Where Responsibility Happens,” Safety Habit No. 1 we should have been practicing is to "leave (my) seat location information with someone at home in case they need to get a hold of (me)."
  
  Uhm, thanks for the tip, guys, but I’m pretty sure if anyone back in Brooklyn needs to be in contact, their first thought is probably not going to be, "When’s the next flight to Phoenix?! I have to get to Section 207, Row 5, Seat 13 RIGHT NOW."



• Devin got a nice, solid round of applause. Good look, Phoenix.



• Shaq came out dressed like a member of the JabbaWockeeZ dance crew, tragedy mask and all, running through an extended pop-and-lock routine to “Hero” by Nas (with Keri Hilson crooning that oh-so-catchy hook). They really let him ride that out, and the fans – and players – loved it.
  
  "That was phenomenal," said former teammate Dwyane Wade. "That was actually great, that was exciting. We were all in the back cracking up. The Big Fella’s got some skills. His coordination with the other guys, the JabbaWockeeZ, was great. Me and KG had to dance with them the other day for Gatorade, and ours wasn’t like that.”
  
  
• Grant Hill’s wife, R&B singer Tamia – our obligatory local celeb with Canadian ties – sang “O Canada” in French … and then English, inexplicably switching mid-song. Somewhere out there, Ray Brennan from Radio Free Roscoe is quizzically thinking, “Best of both worlds?”
  
  
• Local lass (and “youngest American Idol winner EVER!”) Jordin Sparks kept it easy breezy with the National Anthem until the ¾ mark, and then SANG IT OUT. You go, girl.
  
  [Cringing as I realize those words just came out of my fingers, before deciding to leave them floating in cyberspace as a reminder that no matter how cool I pretend to be in isolated instances, I am a lame.]
  
  
• Also, it should be noted here I nearly laughed out loud when they cut to Dirk on the JumboTron, appearing to have eyes glued to the virtual American flag on the pixilated four-color second-tier. If it rains in Phoenix tomorrow, that water is Germany’s tears touching down from across the Atlantic.
  
  
• Big round of applause for Muhammad Ali – mid-anthem, which is kind of unprecedented in my sports-event history. He received a nice secondary ovation later in the game, which swelled when he raised his fists and threw a few jabs for the camera.
  
  That was a dope moment, but bittersweet.
  
  
• Jay-Z and Beyonce are shown sitting courtside, and it’s clear they’ve got love for the Minority Owner in the desert.
  
  
• Mascots from various teams, including our own Sly Fox, come out for a trampoline dunking exhibition. Sly took a pass off-the-glass for a two-handed slam, but then couldn’t get a ball for his second attempt, despite gesturing to any participant or ball boy to look in his direction.
  
  After reaching the end of the court with no ball, the line began to back up with Grizz gesturing that Sly should just go already and Sly repeatedly showing him his empty hands. Our boy missed a rotation, but finally found a ball for the third run and threw one down.
  
  
• The Suns “Golden Grannies” and “Dancing Dads” were actually booed initially, though the Dads earned some cheers for a hands-on-the-butt hip sway. Songs used: “Womanizer,” “Hot in Herre” and “Tricky,” with a “2 Legit 2 Quit” finale. Really.
  
  
• There was a nice Bill Russell tribute as they re-announced that the Finals MVP Award had been named after him. League officials wheeled out a green “75” cake with stars around it to honor his birthday. KG, P Squared, and Ray joined in for a cross-generational Celtics moment. Somewhere in the audience, a tear wets Bill Simmons’ cheek.
  
  
• During breaks in the action, they’ve been showing a running gag all weekend: “The NBA, Where Love Happens” CD infomercials, with All-Stars singing karaoke. Defining the scale by the singers, Dwight Howard’s actually pretty decent, LeBron’s tone is monotonous and Shaq is atrocious, but has a whole lot of fun.
  
  
• The Kiss Cam cut to Jay and B, and Jay paused before calming throwing a Diamond up without even looking at Beyonce. Jay is a cool dude. “Swagga Like Us,” indeed.

So the planned live blog of All-Star Saturday Night kind of completely collapsed. On the plus side, I twittered the whole thing (Follow NetsBasketball!), and got a great quote from Devin complimenting Skills Challenge winner Derrick Rose.

Almost didn’t get that one, either, due to the skybox seating they’ve got me in all weekend: By the time I made it around the concourse, down the elevator, and into the media/player “mix zone” in the depths of the US Airways Center, Devin was on the way out after finishing his rounds.

When he saw me coming down the stairs while he was starting to come up (along with our director of PR, Aaron Harris), Devin shook his head disapprovingly and asked, “Where’ve you been? Off consorting with the enemy?”

“Nah, man – just trying to get down here! They’ve got me above the JumboTron.”

He laughed and let me walk-and-talk like another Aaron (Sorkin) was overseeing things, allowing for the question-to-quote magic to take place. That was a good look.

Some notes from the evening’s events:

Haier Shooting Stars
The Detroit trio of Katie Smith, Arron Afflalo and Bill Laimbeer led off the competition by nailing all six shots in under a minute (59.3 seconds), a first-round time only topped by the hometown Phoenix squad of "Thunder" Dan Majerle, Leandro Barbosa and Tangela Smith (53.3). The defending champion Spurs went up last and had 35 seconds to make the halfcourt heave, but repeatedly rang shots off the rim, eyes on target but ball not dropping through.

Detroit shaved a second off its time in the second round, and though Phoenix blazed through the five few shots in about 14 seconds, each Smith, Barbosa and Majerle missed seven shots before Thunder Dan swished one through.

It’s a decently fun event, bringing together generations and such, but when teams get stuck on that halfcourt heave, it can be a bit tedious. They all hit it eventually, though.

Skills Challenge
Outside of what made it into the article, the only thing of note was that the crowd really booed Tony Parker. Guess the Spurs aren’t too popular ’round these parts.

Foot Locker 3-Point Shootout
Rashard Lewis opened things up with a 17, despite hitting only two of the first 10 balls. Mike Bibby went cold on the last two racks to finish with 14. Daequan Cook hit 11 of the first 15 triples to tally a round-high 18 points. With eight points entering the last rack, Danny Granger needed all five to advance, nailing four but not getting the money ball off before the buzzer. Roger Mason Jr., was consistent everywhere except the straightaway, missing all five on the middle rack and posting a 13. That left the door open for two-time defending champ Jason Kapono to notch a 16 and make the finals.

Kapono led off the finals, but after nailing three money balls in Round 1, missed all five and totaled a 14. Next up was Lewis, who again hit only two balls entering the third rack. He heated up to sink 11 of his final 15, including the last four, which pushed his total to 15 and dethroned Kapono. But then Cook returned, matching Lewis’ “final four” feat to tie him at 15 and force a faceoff.

Which, unfortunately, was terribly anticlimactic. Lewis missed every shot on the first two racks, and eight of the final 10, finishing with seven points. Cook stepped in and wetted seven of 10 to open, including the second money ball, which clinched the competition. He gamely ran out the course and hit a contest-high with 19. Well done, that. Watching Lewis was brutal – you almost felt bad. Tap that old Dodger adage, Magic fans: Wait ’til next year!

Sprite Slam Dunk
Let’s break this one down by competitor, in reverse order of finish:

Rudy Fernandez
I thought his first dunk was undersold with a 42. That behind-the-back pass off the glass was nifty, and he crossed to the other side of the rim before flushing at full extension. The second one was dope – once he finally pulled it off. He was rightly penalized for taking so many tries. And that “now that time’s up, he gets two more attempts” leniency was weak sauce.

J.R. Smith
He held it down pretty decently for a last-second entry, with a nice two-handed windmill off a second bounce to lead things off and a two-handed flush off a bounce lob Sonny Weems threw from the stands. Would’ve been dope if he pulled off the alley-oop around-the-back jam he twice attempted before switching things up.

Dwight Howard
A pretty impressive showing by the defending champ, despite fizzling at the end. The opening one-handed spinning windmill was a nice nod to Vinsanity, though the 50 was questionable. The 12-foot off-the-glass two-handed oop was just craziness, as was the off-the-side-of-the-backboard leaning one-hander. Had those been the second-round dunks, Dwight would’ve won. However, he finished up with a not-quite-from-the-foul-line slam that was impressive for a big, but anticlimactic considering the buildup.

Nate Robinson
Nate just straight up won this thing. His opening one-handed windmill off the bounce probably looked cooler than it should’ve due to Nate’s height. (Speaking of which, dude is listed at “5-foot-9.” I’m 5-10 in socks and I’ve got him by two inches, maybe three when we’re both wearing sneakers.) I appreciated the “booster seat” maneuver in which he launched off Chandler’s back for a jam – even muscle-bound athlete backs are not the sturdiest of stepstools.

Robinson’s second round introduced the “Krypto-Nate” all-green gimmick and playing it spectacularly safe on the first attempt, with Nate throwing down a double-pump reverse off the bounce; it was eminently makeable and enthralling to watch due to the height/athleticism factor. But his final dunk topped everything, with Dwight gamely positioning himself at the outer fringe of the charging semi-circle. Krypto-Nate cleared the 6-foot-11 Howard and flushed on the first try. Simply spectacular. I don’t think I could clear half of Nate and lay it up. I don’t know about you, but where I come from, they call that performance a winner. And it was.

Happy Saturday, Nets fans. This morning was the All-Star practice at NBA Jam Session, which is open to the public. I dropped in to catch the media availability and watch the East All-Stars hit the floor – the first time Devin was on-court with his honored brethren.

The session opened up with the East All-Stars holding down spots on the hardwood and subjecting themselves to clusters of media members. They fielded questions about how they feel about their video game counterparts, feature-filling inquiries and anything else someone with a credential was willing to utter.

With All-Star Saturday Night a few hours away, I managed to ascertain a few predictions for the Playstation Skills Challenge, and our boy might enjoy what was said:

Dwyane Wade
“Well, I think Devin might could pull it off. Of course it’s about speed, but it’s about precision as well. You’ve got to make your passes – don’t rush through your passes at all. Last year, watching Deron Williams do it was unbelievable, how fast he went through it. But I think Devin Harris might pull it off.”

Jameer Nelson (who was replaced in the Challenge by Mo Williams):
“I’m going with Devin. Devin is pretty efficient in terms of making shots and is pretty quick in terms of getting around the obstacles.”

Oh, and I meant to drop in this in yesterday, but someone asked Devin if he played any instruments, and this was his response:

“Used to play the saxophone for like a month when I was younger, but that was about it. It cut into my gym class, so I had to choose between music and gym. You think I made the right choice?”

There’s a reason some questions are rhetorical, and it’s moments like those. Catch y’all during AS Saturday Night – I’ll keep you updated on the ever-evolving View from the Couch throughout the evening’s events.

What’s good, Nets fans? Hope you’ve been enjoying all the All-Star coverage we’ve been providing from Phoenix. It’s been a hectic time – I woke up at 8 a.m. this morning and was running around tailing Brook and Devin so much I didn’t have the chance to eat a meal until 5 p.m. It’s tough subsisting on a water bottle and a granola bar, especially when they don’t come until 3:30 p.m. Yikes. That’s a lesson for tomorrow, ha.

With a slew of All-Stars easily accessible, it’d be a waste not to take advantage of that access, so during the two media availabilities (they split ’em by conference) I culled a few opinions on how our guy got to the big show for the first time in his five-year career. Here’s some All-Star analysis of Devin Harris’ ascendance:

Dirk Nowitzki
“I’m really happy to see it. We knew he was a great point guard, and was going to be. But for us, we wanted to move in a different direction. We made a move, and when you make a move in the NBA, you can’t look back; you have to look forward and go from there.

“But I’m really happy for him. I just saw him for a brief moment and he looked happy to be here. I said, ‘It’s your first time – just try to soak everything in. it’s a great time, so I told him to really enjoy this. He deserves it: he’s had a heck of a year, and I’m proud of him.”

Dwyane Wade
“Well I matched up against Devin in Wisconsin when I was at Marquette, and now he’s playing like that Devin. I think in Dallas they didn’t want him to do certain things, and as a player once you’ve been doing something so long and they tell you, ‘Don’t do this,’ it takes your confidence away. We were going under screens against Devin!

“I knew that Devin was a scorer, I knew that he could put the ball in the basket, so it was amazing to me. But that’s the role that they had him in. now, he’s back to being the player we knew he was, and when he walked in, I said, ‘Fresh meat! We got fresh meat in here.’ I’m excited to see him here in the All-Star Game and hopefully he’s here for a long time.”

Chris Paul
“The freedom is the difference. Dev, right now, has the freedom to go. I remember when he was at Wisconsin, he was a great scorer. In Dallas, when you’re playing with Dirk and Jason Terry and guys like that, you hold some of that back for the greater good of the team. But now in New Jersey, they’re letting him go and you see what’s happening.”

Tony Parker
“He’s got the ball in his hands now. When you play with Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and all those guys, you don’t have the ball in your hands as much. This year, it’s only him and Vince Carter scoring the ball, so he’s had a lot of opportunity to show off his skills.”

Here’s a bonus quote from fellow first-timer Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers, on what it means to be selected by the coaches despite playing for a sub-.500 team, just as Devin was:

“It is validating. More importantly because my team was losing and I still got recognized. The coaches vote you in, which in a way is even better than the fan vote, because the coaches are who you play against and they recognize your skill level and what you bring to the table. It’s definitely a great accomplishment.”

And finally, from the man himself, here’s your daily Devin:

“In the back of your mind you want to get to this level. Sometimes with the way that the team’s structured or the role you have, that’s not always plausible, but the move was made and it’s been positive.

“I just came in and wanted to reinvent myself into the player I knew I was capable of being. I knew these things were possible, but it was just about having the opportunity. When the trade happened, that opened things up for me.”

Waiting around with Brook Lopez as he hit the NBAE media circuit, we got to see the Orlando Magic’s three All-Stars (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson) finish up their photo shoot. And into the room walked Nets guard Keyon Dooling, who had played with all three last season in Orlando.

The quartet yukked it up for several minutes, cracking jokes about hairstyles and their outfits. Afterward, Keyon was good enough to answer a few questions for us.

Keyon Dooling: My man. How you doing?

NJNets.com: Chillin, chillin. Good to see you. What brings you out here this weekend?

KD: We have our league meetings as far as the players in the union, and it’s something I have to be very intimate with now that I’m a vice-president, so I’m looking forward to that experience.

NJN: What’s that role entailed thus far?

KD: So far it’s been making decisions about the direction we’re going, the stances we need to take, planning for the next collective bargaining agreement. Any complaints that players may have, they may come back to me and it’s my duty to be that voice of reason as far as the bridge from player to union.

NJN: You going to make it out to the events?

KD: [Nods] Dunk Contest, 3-Point Shootout, all that good stuff. Skills Challenge, definitely; got to go support Devin, got to watch that. I’m probably not going to make it to the Rookie Challenge – I’ve got some other things going – but nevertheless, I’m still going to try and support Brook in one way or another.

NJN: Any one of them a favorite?

KD: The Dunk Contest. I’m definitely looking forward to that.

NJN: You got a prediction for me?

KD: Oh, Dwight Howard. (NOTE: This answer was unequivocally, 100-percent definite)

NJN: Think he’ll be as creative as last year?

KD: Yeah. I think he can jump with a kid on his back. I think he could still windmill with a kid on his back.

NJN: You just sticking with your guy from Orlando or what?

KD: Nah. With his size and his athleticism, I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do.

NJN: Now I saw you talking with Jameer ...

KD: That’s my ace. It’s good to see my boy again. Unfortunately, I would have liked to see him play in the All-Star Game, but life sometimes throws roadblocks at you. I know he’s strong enough that he’ll recover.

NJN: So he plays with you and becomes an All-Star, and now you’re on a team with Devin Harris, who’s also a first-timer. Is Keyon Dooling the connection?

KD: [Laughs] I tell ’em: You let me foul you in practice for a year or two and you’ll become an All-Star. That’s what I tell them.

What's good, Nets fans? Your friendly neighborhood blogger here, inaugurating our All-Star Edition of View from the Couch. As you're reading this, I'm en route to Phoenix, where I'll be keeping you posted on all things Harris and Lopez throughout the festivities. To tide you over til that hustle is up and running, we've got a special guest for you: Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe dropped by for a little blog action before he took off for his own trip to the desert.

All-Star Weekend is always an active forum for NBA execs to talk trade, especially with the deadline (February 19th) looming. That in mind, Vandeweghe shot us the following thoughts:

The Plan
We set out a year ago to build a championship caliber team as quickly as possible. Our fans deserve this and we felt that our team could not accomplish this goal as it was constructed. So we made several large trades, acquired several extra draft picks and increased our financial flexibility in the future. Our game plan has always been to focus on our core group of young players while winning as many games as possible in the present.

Having said all this, I would expect that any future trades would continue along the same game plan. The one thing that we will not do is shortcut with Band-Aid solutions that would decrease our financial flexibility or impact negatively the development of our young players.

The Present
Our team is tracking very well. The young players are improving and we have not compromised our financial flexibility in the future. So far we are very pleased with how the team and the players have performed this year.

We feel very comfortable with the young players at the point guard and center positions. We also believe that we have a star, in Vince Carter, who will continue to play at a high level for years to come. The 4 position has two young players, Yi and Ryan Anderson, who I believe will continue to improve and be solid NBA players for us, if not stars. We are currently building a foundation for a great team and although we have areas to improve, we believe we are right on track.

Yi was playing extremely well before he broke his finger. He was consistently scoring around 20 points a game while getting 8 or 9 rebounds. By any standard these are great numbers but for a young player that has not played a lot of basketball, they were truly outstanding. Besides this he was improving rapidly on defensive, becoming a force that other teams needed to prepare for. When he comes back he will need time to acclimate but we believe he will pick up where he left off within a few weeks. We all must realize that he is still a young player that will make lots of mistakes but if brought along correctly will pay great dividends for many years to come.

The Possibilities
The current economic environment globally has impacted basketball as well. It is a unique time in basketball and, with that, there will be many unique opportunities to improve your team. We believe that there will be several big-name players made available in the near future. It is important that you continue to stay with a successful game plan. We would not be opposed however, to speeding up our rebuilding process if the right player, for us, became available.

Flexibility is extremely important because you never know when the opportunities will arrive. You also do not know what form they may take, whether they come during the draft or at the trade deadline. Being very aware of league-wide events and being able to capitalize on opportunities is the quickest and surest way to improve.