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That had been his secret weapon for the dunk contest: raise the rim super high. But Stein reports that the NBA won't go along with that idea:

Orlando sources report that Howard has been practicing a couple wicked maneuvers that might inject this dying competition with the ingenuity/originality it desperately needs. One is a 360 throwdown with the rim hiked to 12 feet, two feet higher than regulation. The other sets the rim at 11 1/2 feet and has Howard purportedly going between his legs with the ball in mid-air before flushing.



Yet you apparently won't get to see either trick. League officials considered Howard's request, sources said, but decided that changing the height of the rim -- easily done mid-contest with the help of hydraulics -- would be a departure from the basic rules of the game too radical for them to stomach.

If the league wants to be seen as anti-fun, playing favorites, and needlessly creepy, this is a great way to kick off All-Star Weekend. With blinfolded dudes, people heading the ball to teammates, no traveling violations, and totally subjective gymnastics-style scoring it's tough for me to buy the case that this gimmick would monkey with the integrity of the game.