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Orlando, Fla. • The experimentation began late Thursday. Jazz forward Jeremy Evans and teammate Gordon Hayward walked into a near-empty Amway Center, threw ideas into open space and searched for inspiration. The only way to make the cut? Be thrilling. Be captivating. Be worthy of winning the 2012 NBA All-Star dunk contest crown.
Evans aims to capture it Saturday. And he spent 30 minutes Friday basking in the glow of his newfound popularity, answering questions about everything from his childhood dunking hero — Michael Jordan — to whether he can actually touch the top of the backboard — no, but he's only 12 inches away.
"It'd be amazing. Just to win it, a dream come true," said Evans, during a media interview at the Orange County Convention Center.
The Human Pogo Stick has family and friends flying in from all over the country to watch him in action. And while he wouldn't reveal what he plans to unleash Saturday before a worldwide audience, he and Hayward dropped a few hints.
Evans might use two people in at least one of his dunks, with Hayward a likely candidate. Props are expected to be used, but only because Evans — an old-school, traditional dunker — recognizes creativity goes a long way toward capturing the fan-only vote. And while Jazz devotees have long grown accustomed to the sight of the second-year forward slamming home monster shots that immediately show up on EnergySolutions Arena's JumboTron, Evans said he's never performed any of his three planned dunks in public.
"I feel like we've got a couple locked in, but there's still ideas," he said. "[I] just talked to Dwight [Howard]. He had a couple of ideas for me, so maybe we might tweak some things."
Couch-surfer
While Evans dreamed of the dunk title, Jeremy Lin stole the show Friday — at least in terms of media interest.
The New York rookie was the only player in the Rising Stars Challenge to have his own news conference. The first question came from Knicks teammate Landry Fields, who snuck in to ask Lin a tough and obscure one with an answer that was … Landry Fields.
"Landry Fields was the MVP of the San Francisco Pro-Am [in] 2009-10. He played for the Oakland Believers," Lin said. "And he doesn't have a lot of friends."
Cue laughter.
A hint the Big Apple phenom then dropped about what would've happened had New York rookie guard Iman Shumpert been healthy enough to compete in the dunk contest — Shumpert's absence made room for Evans — left NBA fans drooling.
A "sweet idea" had been dreamed up, Lin said. Fields would roll out a covered couch Saturday along the Amway Center hardwood. Beneath the sheet: Lin, who famously couch-surfed while trying to remain on the Knicks' roster. The ex-Development League standout would then pop up and throw an alley-oop to Shumpert, who in turn would throw down a windmill slam before taking a sip of Sprite.
"That was our idea, but it didn't get to happen," Lin said.
Open invite
Evans also has someone wanting to help him in the dunk contest.
Ex-Jazz guard Deron Williams' eyes lit up Friday when he was asked about Evans, his high-flying former teammate.
Williams thought Evans should've been in the 2011 contest, and he's never seen anyone leap as high as The Elevator. If Evans needs any assistance Saturday, D-Will's game.
"He's my favorite right now. I'm pulling for him. If he needs someone to come out and throw some lobs, I got him, because I know Earl [Watson] can't be here," Williams said. "I'm really happy for him. He's a great kid and a great athlete."
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