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LOS ANGELES - As practice wrapped up at the Lakers facility in L.A. on Thursday, Terrence Ross hung around to work on his aerial acrobatics with the assistance of teammate DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan threw the Raptors sophomore and reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion lobs off the side of the backboard, he tossed bounce passes and threw alley-oops. Ross experimented with a variation of finishes. As it turns out, they could both use the practice. The Raptors duo will take part in State Farm All-Star Saturday Night - taking place in New Orleans on Feb. 15 - as Ross returns to defend his title in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition and DeRozan will make an unexpected appearance in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. After edging out Jeremy Evans to win last years contest in Houston, Ross will have his work cut out for him this time around. For the first time since 1988, three all-stars - Pacers forward Paul George, Wizards guard John Wall and Blazers guard Damian Lillard - will compete in the event. Rounding out the field is Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Kings rookie guard Ben McLemore. "Everybodys kind of a threat," Ross said of this years competition. "Its going to be fun, everybody wants to win." What will Ross do for an encore? The 23-year-old says hes still searching for ideas, scouring YouTube, Twitter and even using video games to brainstorm. "Everybodys done everything," he continued. "I dont know, its like how many times can you do the same dunk before people get tired of it? So its hard to find new dunks but at the same time you always find something a little different." The one thing he could say with certainty is he will not be using props. While Ross has expected to defend his crown since last season, DeRozans debut in the Skills Challenge comes as a surprise, even to him. "I kind of got peer pressure into doing it," said the first-time all-star, who will also be assisting Ross in the dunk-off. DeRozan initially declined the invitation but his agent twisted his arm and eventually he came around. "I changed my mind. I said Ill try it, why not." "I thought it would be fun," he said of the event, which is usually exclusive for point guards but DeRozan hopes to start a new era of shooting guards entering and conquering the ball handling/passing obstacle course. "Everybody doesnt get a chance to be a part of All-Star Weekend and the big thing for me is to go out there and have fun. I think it will be cool to go out there and represent my team as much as I can and you never know, I might mess around and win it." Along with DeRozan, the participants will consists of Lillard, Goran Dragic, Reggie Jackson and rookies Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke. DeRozan, who has previously competed in the Slam Dunk contest on two separate occasions, will be the first Raptor to appear in the Skills Challenge. Although he wouldnt tip his hand, his strategy centres on speed over precision. "I look at it like, a lot of players go out there and try to do it cool," said the fifth-year guard. "I always used to say, you can go a little faster. So Ive got my whole mindset to try and win it." The format in both events will be tweaked this season. The Skills Challenge will feature four teams of two players each competing in a two-round timed relay-style course. The fastest team from each conference will advance to the second and final round, where the winning pair will be crowned. The Dunk Contest participants will also compete in teams, divided by conference. The competition will tip off with a "freestyle round" where the dunkers for each the East and the West will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they choose. At the conclusion of the opening round, the panel of judges will vote for a winning conference. The winning conference will decide whether its competitors will dunk first or second in the following round, a head-to-head "battle round". In the battle round dunkers from opposing conferences will face off against each other, with the judges choosing a winner in each battle. The first team to win three battles will win the competition. Fans will then vote on the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Ross is the fifth Raptor to participate in the event, joining DeRozan, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Jamario Moon. Cheap Air Max 720 From China . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Cheap Air Max 720 For Sale . Harris has played in six games since joining the Argos in 2012, completing 17-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown. http://www.wholesaleairmax720.com/ . -- Martin Kaymer never lost sight of opportunity even amid so much evidence of trouble in the closing stretch Sunday at The Players Championship. Discount Air Max 720 Online . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Cheap Air Max 720 .5 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. Hatcher agreed to terms Thursday, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed.Romain Grosjean feels there is even more to come from Haas following their points-scoring debut in Australia. The Frenchman finished sixth in Melbourne, making the American squad the first new team to score points in their first race since Toyota in 2002.The remarkable feat saw Grosjean win the inaugural Driver of the Day award in a fan vote, but the 29-year-old always had faith in the teams abilities to deliver. Since day one when I jumped in the car I told everyone this is a very good platform, a very good baseline and I like it, he told Sky Sports Digital at the Bahrain GP.But then people need to get results to realise that the drivers comments go together with what is happening on track. It was a tough weekend because we didnt get any driving on the Friday, very little on the Saturday morning after the pit lane crash and in the race was the first time we were putting softs and mediums on the car, with very little set-up work.So to hold onto sixth place and score some big points I am very pleased with that and it gave a boost to everyone who has been working very hard over the last two months. Now in Bahrain we can learn more about the car, carry out more set-up work and unlock the potential in the car. Whens the Bahrain GP on Sky Sports? TV times and full schedule for this weekends race Starting 19th on the grid made Grosjeans points finish all the more impressive and although he started alongside team-mate Esteban Gutierrez, the Frenchman feels that isnt where the car is on pace.The second attempt in Q1 I was up something like two seconds and it would have put me P4 at the end of Q1 which would have been really good, he said.But we couldnt finish the lap because of the new format. We got caught by the timing, there are things we could have done better, so it was a bit of a disappointing day. But on the other hand we realised how strong the car could be and what was possible to do from there and the race confirmed what we were thinking. However, Grosjean says lessons have been learnt from Australia and is confident of a better performance in Bahrain.ddddddddddddThere are routines and work we can do and improve. Everyone is trying to find those 20 seconds that missed us getting across the line, he added.We are a brand new team, we need to get those small details and then we are through. Hopefully it will get better this weekend. One call the team did get correct was to switch to medium tyres during the red-flag period in Australia.It is team work - we were discussing it on the pit wall and my only words to my engineer was I dont think we can do 39 divided by two on the supersofts so we went to mediums, he said.We messed up a bit the aero balance, we had too much aero on the car but we had no delta and no information on what to do when we change the tyres. But it was a good call, those were the best tyres, I had the same feeling they did and we went for it.And after the highs of Melbourne, Grosjean feels more points should be on the cars in Bahrain.We put the bar pretty high on the first weekend, so it is not going to be easy to repeat but Gene [Haas] didnt come to F1 to finish last, he said.It is going to be a good weekend, things are going to be hard and tough, but I want us to be proud of what we are doing and give 100 per cent and if everything comes together we should have big points. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here. Also See: Bahrain GP talking points When is the Bahrain GP on Sky? ' ' '