Posterized!!!

Thursday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers was one for the ages. It had a playoff atmosphere just two weeks into the season. With Michael Jordan sitting courtside in a tailor made suit the stage was set for two of the game’s best to put on a show. Dwayne Wade and Lebron James are the future of the NBA and they showed why on Thursday night. The showdown between the two was one of the best that I’ve seen in the regular season. They went bucket for bucket all night. One basket that probably won’t be matched by anyone all season is D-Wade’s jam over Anderson Varejao. As soon as Wade crossed half court he made a b-line for Varejao. I’m assuming that the Cavs big man was expecting to see Wade’s infamous “Euro Two Step” but that is not what he got at all. Instead he got posterized with a chest to chest tomahawk slam that will probably be the most viewed basketball clip on YouTube for the next week. What made it bad is Wade’s reaction. He immediately stepped over him, walked away, and looked at the crowd to let them know what he had just done. That dunk got me thinking. Where does that dunk rank among the best in-game “posterizations.” It had everything needed for a great dunk. There was a size mismatch. It was unexpected. He celebrated afterwards. The crowd went nuts. What more could you ask for? People get dunked on all of the time in the NBA. It’s a part of the game. But some stand out more than others. The first that comes to mind is Shawn Kemp on Alton Lister. The Reignman charged down the lane, cocked it to the side, and dropped the hammer on Lister. Adding insult to injury, when Lister fell down Kemp pointed at him while he was on the ground. I can’t even begin to imagine the embarrassment he felt. It’s always nasty when a little guy takes off on a big man. The most famous example is when Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns went baseline and elevated over the seven foot Hakeem Olajuwon. Two other instances are AI’s tip slam on Marcus Camby and when Baron Davis went up on AK-47. Kobe isn't exactly little, but compared to Dwight Howard he's tiny. Which made it so surprising when he teabagged Superman. It is equally hilarious when the roles are reversed and a big guy takes advantage of a guard. When Lebron jammed on Damon Jones I felt bad for D.Jones, but it didn’t stop me from watching the replay over and over again. He set him self up for failure. Rather than getting out of the way like any logical person would, he decided to jump and take a forearm to the back of the neck. The best part about it was Jones’ reaction. He just covered his face and walked away. Priceless. I have four favorites. The first is when T-Mac sat on Shawn Bradley’s back in the 06 Playoffs. It takes a lot to get McGrady to show emotion, but that dunk definitely did that. Then you have MJ’s dunk over Pat Ewing on the baseline. You can’t talk about dunks without bringing up Vince Carter. His dunk on Alonzo Mourning was ridiculous. It felt like he was hanging in the air for an eternity. And when he jumped over that seven footer in the Olympics the whole world was in awe. I don’t know where D-Wade’s dunk is on the list, but it deserves to be in the conversation. That is a play that will be in his highlight reel twenty years from now.