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The All-Star weekend is a special time to put together the best players on the court at the same time. I’ve written before about how the all-star game is more of a popularity contest than a validation of talent when you consider the mechanism of voting for the starters.
Fans vote to put in the players whom they want to see. But the selection of all-star reserves reflects on a player’s talent and his contribution towards his team, since the reserves are voted for by the coaches. A coach cannot vote for his own players and every coach in the NBA votes for seven players from his own conference, two guards, three front-court players and two players regardless of position. Today the selection of the All-Star reserves was announced. The fan’s choice was locked in on 14th January, following are the players selected by the fans:
West:Chris PaulKobe BryantKevin DurantBlake GriffinDwight Howard
East:Rajon RondoDwyane WadeLeBron JamesCarmelo AnthonyKevin Garnett
This year’s All-Star game will feature 10 players who did not participate in the festivities last year. Here’s a look at the selection of the reserves by the coaches:
East
Chris Bosh: One of the best big men in the league. He’s slid into the center position for the Heat, and is making no gripes about taking a back seat to Wade and James. Consummate professional.
Kyrie Irving: Well deserved. The Dark Knight has been tearing teams apart. 20.7 points, 5.7 assists and 39.9 3 FG% at the age of 20 and you can forgive the 11-32 record of the Cavs.
Jrue Holiday: The Sixers are missing Bynum, but Holiday has kept them in the running. They are battling the Celtics for the 8th playoff spot at 17-25. Holiday is the only player in the NBA to average 19 points and 9 assists.
Paul George: The Indiana Pacers are playing historically good defense this year. Paul George has been a huge part of that, having six double doubles in the last two weeks.
Joakim Noah: Ditto goes for the Bulls. In the absence of Derrick Rose, the others have stepped up and its all anchored in the middle with the defense of Joakim Noah. They are at 25-16, 4th best in the East. Noah is averaging 12.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game.
Tyson Chandler: The Knicks’ resurgence can be credited to the defensive lynchpin, Chandler, who hopes to reprieve what he did for the Mavericks with the Knicks, who are at 26-14 this year. He is averaging 12.2 points and 11 rebounds while leading the league in shooting percentage with .674.
Luol Deng: Another player who has helped the Bulls stay afloat, Deng makes his second consecutive All-Star selection while leading the NBA in minutes played.
Apart from Bosh and Deng, all the other reserves in the East are first time All-Stars. Notable names missing are Carlos Boozer, Brook Lopez, Paul Pierce, Brandon Jennings, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and J.R. Smith. Brooklyn must be livid at the snub of potential three All-Star players on their squad. Williams, Johnson and Lopez have helped the Nets to a 26-16 record, third best in the East. Lopez is averaging 18.6 points and 7.4 rebounds. His major criticism has been not averaging double digit rebounding, but that’s no excuse to pass him up. “He holds down the paint, He’s busting everybody up this year. I’m surprised”, said NBA analyst and former player Chris Webber.
Rumour has it that the Nets’ seemed to have quit on Avery Johnson, and other coaches are taking an issue with that. “They were hating on the Nets,” Charles Barkley said. “Coaches stick up for each other”, Kenny Smith added. “Coaches don’t like other coaches getting fired”, Current Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “I’d be disappointed (if none of our players made it), but I’d also be happy that they got rest instead of having to go to Houston and play.”
Here’s a look at Western conference All-Star reserves:
West
Tim Duncan: The ageless machine has helped the Spurs to a 34-11 record, second best in the league. No team in the Eastern Conference has even won 30 games yet. The Heat lead the way with 27 wins. Duncan makes his 14th All-Star selection.
LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge deserves to be an All-Star with what he has been doing for the Trailblazers. Were the Blazers not playing in a small market, he would have been considered long ago for an All-Star selection as he spoke to us about it. The Blazers are holding the 8th playoff spot in the West with 21-21.
Tony Parker: Another reason the Spurs are where they are. Parker picks defenses apart with abandon and allows Popovic to implement his system
James Harden: Trades often resurrect players. Especially true for James Harden, who has pushed the Rockets to the 9th spot in the West with a 22-22 record.
David Lee: I would have taken Steph Curry to represent the Warriors. The guard is shooting 45.1% from three point range and his sharpshooting has helped the Warriors rise to the 5th best record in the West with 26-15. He’s averaging 20.9 points and 6.6 assists. The Warriors are the only team in the NBA to have defeated the Clippers, Heat and Thunder.
Russell Westbrook: Jeff Van Gundy commented that he admires the free reign Scoot Brooks is giving Westbrook. Jeff admits to have tried to change Steve Francis a lot back in the day, and sees similarities in Francis and Westbrook, and regrets not letting his star guard loose when he could. Westbrook has his detractors, but he is one of the biggest reasons the Thunder have the best record in the NBA with 33-10. The man is top five in the league in steals and assists.
Zach Randolph: He is leading the NBA in double doubles with 27, and he’s averaging 16.1 points and 11.6 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Curry is a surprise omission considering the stellar season he has had so far.
Notable omissions from the West besides Curry are Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Damian Lillard and Jamal Crawford. The selections reflect that team success trumps individuals when it comes to coach’s selections, unless you are tearing it up on the next level like Irving.
The East and West will be coached by the coaches whose teams have the best record come 3 February. Scott Brooks is ineligible as he coached the West last year. The 62nd All-Star weekend will begin on February 17. In the event of an injury to any of these selections the commissioner, David Stern will select replacements.
