[TRC1991Participant]

Now before I continue, I want to say that this is what I personally believe should be the all-star rosters…That being said, I can almost guarantee that Tim Duncan and Yao will get votes albeit probably undeserving ones at that. Here is who has played the best so far

WEST

G-Russell Westbrook- 23.7 ppg, 8.6 apg, 5.5 rpg, 2.2 spg

G-Kobe Bryant- 26.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 spg

C-Pau Gasol- 20.2 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 53% FG

F-Dirk Nowitzki- 24.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 55% FG

F-Kevin Durant- 27.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg

BENCH

G-Deron Williams- 21.8 ppg, 10 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 spg

G-Chris Paul- 16.2 ppg, 10.4 apg, 4.7 rpg, 3 spg

G-Manu Ginobili- 20.6 ppg, 5 apg, 3.7 rpg, 1.9 spg

F-Carmelo Anthony- 22.8 ppg, 8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg

F-Blake Griffin- 20.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 52% FG

F-Paul Millsap- 17.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 55% FG, 2.5 apg

F/C-Kevin Love- 20.3 ppg, 15.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 40% 3PT

just missed: lamar odom, brandon roy, lamarcus aldridge, al jefferson, paul millsap, steve nash, luis scola, michael beasley, tony parker, tim duncan, david west, eric gordon, rudy gay, zach randolph, jeff green, stephen curry, monta ellis and kevin martin

 

EAST

G-Derrick Rose- 24.9 ppg, 8.2 apg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 spg

G-Dwyane Wade- 21.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.5 spg

C-Dwight Howard- 20.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 58% FG

F-Amare Stoudemire- 25.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 53% FG, 1.9 bpg

F-LeBron James- 23.7 ppg, 7.3 apg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 spg

BENCH

G-Rajon Rondo- 11.4 ppg, 14.1 apg, 2.3 spg, 4.6 rpg

G-John Wall- 17.4 ppg, 9.1 apg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 spg

G-Raymond Felton- 18.1 ppg, 8.5 apg, 4 rpg, 2 spg

F-Paul Pierce- 19 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 52% FG

F-Danny Granger- 21.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.3 spg

F-Chris Bosh-18.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 51% FG, 1.9 apg

C-Al Horford- 17 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 59% FG, 1 bpg

 

just missed: kevin garnett, roy hibbert, joakim noah, wilson chandler, ray allen, gerald wallace, stephen jackson, joe johnson, josh smith, elton brand, andray blatche, luol deng, brandon jennings, andrew bogut, rodney stuckey, andrea bargnani, and brook lopez

 

[mj23mj23besteverParticipant]

noah def makes it over horford or bosh 15.5 pts and 14 boards 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks def deserves to be at the all star game

[inukawaii8Participant]

 love your west projection: i would probably put Williams at starting PG and exchange millsap with Luis Scola for now. 

 

for the east, i dont believe bosh is an all star right now. Also, since wall has missed many game this season so far and has been inconsistent, i dont believe he deserves that spot either (however, he might just get in bc of popularity). I would replace them with noah and gerald wallace 

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Other than Wade, there are like none who are truly worthy of making the ASG this year. Ray Allen would be the closest thing, depending on who you define as an SG, but due to Joe Johnson’s injury (and even with that, it is shaky), there are none that deserve it. However, I do not think John Wall has claimed an ASG spot yet, especially since he has missed a number of games due to injury. Rookies are typically judged on a tougher scale, and Wall has played very well, but he plays on an awful team and has missed a bunch of games, I say he has little shot at making the ASG. Here are my predictions, taking into account the likely voting numbers:

Eastern Conference

C Dwight Howard

PF Amare Stoudemire

SF LeBron James

SG Dwyane Wade

PG Derrick Rose

C Al Horford

PF Chris Bosh

SF Paul Pierce

SG Ray Allen (Default, the two sweetest words in the english language (Simpsons))

PG Rajon Rondo

PF Josh Smith

SF Danny Granger

 

Western Conference

C Yao Ming (Will he play, doubtful)

PF Dirk Nowitzki

SF Kevin Durant

SG Kobe Bryant

PG Chris Paul

C Tim Duncan

PF Pau Gasol

SF Carmelo Anthony

SG Manu Ginobili

PG Deron Williams

PG Russell Westbrook

SG Monta Ellis

Yao’s likely injury replacement: Kevin Love (monster year, he is playing at an All-Star level)

 

I know I leave out both rookies who are killing it, but to be fair they are both on awful teams and the last rookie to make the ASG was Yao Ming (2003, who was of course voted in) and the last one to make it as a sub was Tim Duncan (1997). Now, both are playing at or near an All-Star level, but I think it is safe to say there are other players putting up similar or betters numbers at their same position on better teams, so chances seem slim. I think Blake and John Wall will get there chance. Even LeBron didn’t make the ASG as a rookie (Neither did AI in his first few years, which was garbage, but you get my point). It is slight bureaucracy, and your list may be of who is most deserving, but I think there are players more deserving of making the game than both of those players. But I am so disappointed in the lack of quality SG’s in the East for All-Star contention, it is sad. You would have thought Iguodala would have a chance to definitely claim it, but he has not risen to the occasion. I do honestly hope that Raymond Felton gets the spot over Allen, but I find that they are such sticklers when it comes to choosing by position. I guess they want the game to be as competitive as possible, but sometimes by being sticklers in choosing by position, they make it less so. I still feel the East should take it again, especially with the addition of Amare to beef up that front court. I saw he and Felton play the Raps last night, and they both looked great. I would also actually be surprised if KG does not make the All-Star team. They go by seniority, and while Josh Smith is having a monster year, I think if it is between those two, KG makes it. Heck, he may even make it over Bosh. The format is always of course the 2 leading vote getters at guard/forward, the leading vote getter at center, than center, pf, sf, sg, pg and two wildcards, though I feel they tend to favor height and rarely will pick two guards (even though in the West, their are so many guards that could make a claim). Well, it has been a weird year due to injury, Brandon Roy and Joe Johnson have assumably given up their usual spots, it should be interesting to see who makes the team.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

As many players from the worst two teams in the West as the best two?

 

[TRC1991Participant]

are you telling me that tim duncan and jason terry are worthy all-stars this year? and that blake griffin and kevin love dont deserve to be on there?

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Always such a curmudgeon, lol. Hey, I do think All-Stars should more than likely be from teams within play-off contention, but Love is making a huge case. I know to you he is a number cruncher from a losing team, but DAMN is he crunching some numbers. He is putting up old school rebound totals, it is just huge, plus scoring at a good clip too. I mean, you should give credit to a guy averaging 15 boards per game, right? David Lee made it for the Knicks last year, and you can not tell me that he was not at least in a similar "number crunch" scenario on a bad New York team, right?

[Toronto16Participant]

Tim Duncan does not deserve to be an allstar this season.  It is not a life time achievement award.

[Anton123Participant]

 Does noone think Bogut can be an all-star? He’s playing well, leading the NBA in bpg, pretty good for his team, I think if the Bucks improve Bogut should be an all-star

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Not to mention that their are a number of centers on better teams putting up similar numbers (Noah, Hibbert and Horford). Also, churchboy, more often than not it is a lifetime achievement award, especially when the achiever’s team has the leagues best record (if they still do going into the ASG weekend, though even if it is one of the top records it should hold up). I know the game was in Dallas, but JKidd being an All-Star last year points to lifetime achievement. The more you have made the team, the more likely you are to keep making it. Timmy is close to a lock, even with him posting 14 and 9. I know I would not be upset if he makes it, even with him posting numbers way below his career averages, I still feel he is better than almost every PF/C in the league.

[joecheck88Participant]

i would take chris bosh out and put in josh smith. i would take horford out and put in noah. john wall will have a tough time making the team. even lebron and melo didnt make it their rookie years. i think blake griffin could end up starting because of fans votes. high flyers always seem to get many votes(amare, dwight, vince and tmac). although he may need more time as a fan favorite. its a really good list and other than bosh and horford i agree with everyone else. and i just think noah deserves it over horford and joe johnson wont play. and atlanta should have one all star atleast and i think j smoove has played atleast just as well if not better than bosh. plus j smoove in an all star game would be fun.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

"Always such a curmudgeon, lol. Hey, I do think All-Stars should more than likely be from teams within play-off contention, but Love is making a huge case. I know to you he is a number cruncher from a losing team, but DAMN is he crunching some numbers. He is putting up old school rebound totals, it is just huge, plus scoring at a good clip too. I mean, you should give credit to a guy averaging 15 boards per game, right? David Lee made it for the Knicks last year, and you can not tell me that he was not at least in a similar "number crunch" scenario on a bad New York team, right?"

The case for Love ends at 5-17 and the fact that the numbers for Minnesota’s opponents are far better than those for the Wolves. I understand that defense isn’t actually played in the All-Star game, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored in evaluating the worthiness of an all-star. Am I the only one who realizes that teams like the Spurs and Lakers have had to put forth one quarter of effort to beat Minnesota this year? Anyone else notice how the Thunder decided to wake up and start trying yesterday after that first quarter. It is funny how teams with actual stars don’t get half-hearted efforts from opponents.

David Lee made it last year on an awful Knicks team -and didn’t deserve it- though much of it was a result of New Yorkers wanting to heap praise on their own. It was really quite pathetic, but he moved on and amazingly the "All-Star" David Lee is unable to help Golden State in the wins department either.

[CodySLCParticipant]

 I dont think Bosh makes it in the East either. Noah  and Josh Smith are two player who come to mind that would be before him. And even tho Minny isnt winning i think Love should make it.

[joecheck88Participant]

i agree with you. but if a slot came between kevin love and lamar odom, who would u choose? i mean numbers arent everything but a significant numbers difference is hard to go against.

[joecheck88Participant]

and odom is getting 15, 10 and 3. love is getting like 20 and 15. i mean you could definately make a case for odom but love is having a great year.

not calling you out, just wanted our perspective on it.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Odom is a better player. I don’t think that there is even a valid argument between which player is better equipped to help a team win. The statistical differences are at best minimal. Odom is on a team where Kobe eats first (by his own words) and Pau eats second. It is hard to do better than 15 PPG when you get 10 shots. It is also hard to make too much of the rebounding numbers when the Lakers as a team rock solid, and 10 per game isn’t exactly slight. If Minnesota wasn’t so bad at shooting, there wouldn’t be so many rebounds to be had. But Lamar Odom, to his infinite credit, is not a guy who plays for numbers. He is a better player than Andrew Bynum, but has been willing to come off the bench. He doesn’t gripe about the number of shots he gets, and unlike so many guys I see on bad teams, does not alter his aggressiveness to get a shot when he has a chance because they are so limited. He makes the right play regardless. And he really is so incredibly versatile and that comes into play on both ends. The length that he and Gasol give the Lakers is so difficult for teams. His ability to act like a pseudo point, initiate the offense, make the right passes, and play unselfishly is just devastating. Him and Pau are the best passing frontcourt duo since C-Web and Vlade/Brad Miller.

[QUINCEY HODGES1]

The only reason i wouldn’t put Odom in the discussion is, when Bynum comes back that’s gonna take some of his time and numbers. If he can continue his production and the lakers keep winning then i think he will get put on the team. Plus the fact that its in L.A this year ( already got my tickets to the games as usual and going to yet another Kenny smith All star party, those things are off the hook)

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

But I do like your point. If Odom does continue his production (which does have to count slightly towards making someone an All-Star), than I would be cool with him being on the team. He has yet to make an ASG, and I honestly do feel like he is the better player out of the two, at least for his role on a winning team. Glad I got the explanation man, sometimes the sarcasm is not exactly as graphic as a response. I am a fan of K-Love ever since his HS days in the Oregon state tourneys, but I would agree that their are better players to choose on an All-Star team than one from the worst team in the league. As someone who also did not exactly endorse David Lee being chosen as an All-Star last year (Josh Smith and Stephen Jackson were both far more deserving), I can feel where you are coming from and even feel your choice. It is a pretty important honor for players to receive, and it should go to the best players in the game rather than to those putting up the best numbers. Thank you for responding, and the curmudgeon thing was kind of a joke (kind of, but I am not at all joking about your response).  

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