2006 All-Star Thread

[Chaplin]

Dunk Contest Contestants chosen:

Iguodala, Robinson, Warrick join slam-dunk fieldAssociated Press


NEW YORK -- Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith could become the third player to win consecutive NBA slam dunk contests when he participates in the event during All-Star weekend.


Smith




Michael Jordan won back-to-back competitions in 1987-88 and Jason Richardson did it in 2002-03.


Joining Smith in contest this year will be Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks 5-foot-9 guard Nate Robinson and Hakim Warrick of the Memphis Grizzlies.


Judges for the event, scheduled for Feb. 18 in Houston, all have ties to the Houston Rockets. Clyde Drexler, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes and Kenny Smith were all stars for the team and former coach Rudy Tomjanovich led the Rockets to two NBA titles.


The winner will receive $35,000, the runner-up gets $22,500 and the third and fourth finishers get $16,125 each.

 

[boisesuns]

I wish the super stars would do it.

McGrady
Carter
Lebron
Kobe


And others would be nice.

 

[ProdigalSun]

Nate Robinson is the odds on favorite to win this thing. Historically little men have the advantage since they have to jump so much higher to get to the rim. Too bad Chris Anderson won't be in it this year.......

 

[Gaddabout]

I am surprised every year to find they still have a dunk contest. Then I try really hard to get interested in it, I just can't seem to stay focused. I keep waiting for something new. Maybe NDog is worth tuning in for this year.

 

[fordronken]

Maybe NDog is worth tuning in for this year.

For a second I thought Boniface Ndong was participating.

 

[jibikao]

I went to a Mavs forum and there's an article about Dirk not making to the all-star. What's the chance of that this year with Elton and Marion being media's favorite...well, TNT's favorite.

Ok, I am just bored... waiting for the MRI result.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Too bad Chris Anderson won't be in it this year.......

Yeah, he could have tossed the ball in the air, snorted a line off the floor, then jump through the air, catch the ball and...doink!

He'd then repeat the process about 15-16 times before he OD'ing

 

[reader]

All Star Starters have been announced

West
Bryant
Nash
Duncan
McGrady
Yao

East
Iverson
James
O'Neal/S
O'Neal/J
Wade

 

[elindholm]

I haven't been following the voting in the least, but I'm surprised Nash made it as a starter. Maybe the fans aren't completely clueless after all.

The starting five for the East is better, probably, depending on who replaces J. O'Neal. Has any team as bad as the Rockets ever had two starters voted on?

 

[fordronken]

I haven't been following the voting in the least, but I'm surprised Nash made it as a starter. Maybe the fans aren't completely clueless after all.

It's basically because McGrady got voted in as a forward. Otherwise it would have been Yao/Duncan/Garnett/Kobe/McGrady.

 

[HooverDam]

Both Yao and McGrady are over rated IMHO. Yao just gets a billion votes for China, and I hear McGrady's jerseys are now outselling Yao's in China, meaning the Chinese are just all big Rockets fans in general now.

I think if the West started the 5 best players it would be something like:

C Duncan (dont give me this "Im a forward" BS timmy)
F KG
F Dirk
G Bryant
G Nash

The Easts starting 5 is much better/closer to who the best players are.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

It is possible that with a 12 point/7 rebound career average, Ming will be an All Star every year.

It's disgraceful. They should remove fan voting.

 

[CaptainInsano]

It is possible that with a 12 point/7 rebound career average, Ming will be an All Star every year.

It's disgraceful. They should remove fan voting.

It is stupid but basically the nba is about profit, and profit comes from the fans, and if all the chinese fans want Yao Ming then there you go.

Damn the chinese.

You have to wonder if that many chinese actively watch the nba and buy merchandise and can sway the vote like that, then how much does just one man, good ole Yao, bring the nba in profit? I would bet you that even with fan voting taken off, the pure power of the multitude of chinese fans money would keep Yao on the team to keep them pleased.

 

[kaesile]

It is possible that with a 12 point/7 rebound career average, Ming will be an All Star every year.

It's disgraceful. They should remove fan voting.

That's a bit of an exaggeration - Yao Ming has never averaged less than 8 reb/game in his career. Here are his averages per season:

13.5/8.2
17.5/9.0
18.3/8.4
19.8/9.2 (current)
16.7/8.6 (career)

He's also played 80 games/season until this year, when he had the bizarre toe surgery.

I think it's true that Yao's performance has been a bit underwhelming, but honestly, what other center deserves to be in the All-Star game for the West? The problem is that there are way too many strong PFs, so being forced to carry a center or two always results in the All-Star team leaving off a deserving forward. I've always felt that Shaq deserved to start over Yao when the two were both in the West, but now that Shaq's gone, who else is there? Let's look at some center candidates:

Marcus Camby (having a career year, but he's also been injured, to the surprise of absolutely no one)
Brad Miller (excellent passer, but nothing else in his game really outshines Yao)

I'm looking at the rosters of the Western Conference teams, and the only other center I can really see that's played decently is Chris Kaman, who's still a little inconsistent.

Obviously Amare is in a category by himself, and with his agreement to play 'point center' last summer, I'm wondering if he'll be listed at center on next year's All-Star ballot. If so, there's no question that he should be starting over Yao Ming.

It's debatable that Yao Ming should get as many votes as he does for the All-Star game (and always be an unchallenged starter), but it's also a little hard to argue that he doesn't deserve to be an All-Star with the lack of strong centers in the NBA now.

Something else that I want to point out is that I'm not sure how influential internet votes are for Yao Ming. Here's something I found in wikipedia:

These fans are quick to point out China's massive population as an unfair advantage in favor of Yao. Yao's main Western Conference rival at center in his first two seasons, Shaquille O'Neal, has also cited Yao's support from Chinese fans as the reason why [Yao] receives more All-Star votes. However, despite the significant backlash against Yao, no actual figures have yet been provided to prove that Chinese fans have ever been the deciding factor in All-Star voting. In fact, for the 2004 All-Star Game, the year in which Yao won the starting spot by the smallest margin in his career, he actually received around 4,000 fewer online votes than his rival, Shaquille O'Neal. Yao managed to make up for this by outvoting O'Neal in paper balloting. These paper ballots were handed out in NBA arenas and shopping malls in the United States and Chinese fans were unable to vote on them. Thanks to paper balloting, Yao went on to finish ahead of O'Neal that year by a margin of 29,000 votes overall.

One thing that I want to bring up is the factor that Houston Rockets fans have on the fan voting. While Tracy McGrady is a popular player regardless, remember how Steve Francis was voted in as a starter in the 2004 All-Star game? He was having a sucky year, but he still started alongside Kobe Bryant in that year's All-Star game. It's funny how Houston has consistently voted in two starters from their team the past few years.

In short, fan voting is a screwy thing, but it's hardly a plague upon the league. There are always a few screwy choices (e.g. Vince Carter being voted ahead of Michael Jordan even when Carter was crippled, etc.), but things usually even out in the end.

 

[Ollie]

Who would you pick over Ming Yao in the West anyway ?

WEST CENTERS (12)
Marcus Camby, Denver
Erick Dampier, Dallas
Chris Kaman, LA Clippers
Jamaal Magloire, NO/OKC
Chris Mihm, LA Lakers
Brad Miller, Sacramento
Mehmet Okur, Utah
Michael Olowokandi, Minnesota
Joel Przybilla, Portland
Kurt Thomas, Phoenix
Lorenzen Wright, Memphis
Yao Ming, Houston

Stat wise, excepted Camby (who missed as many games as Yao by the way) and maybe Okur, it's hard to argue with that choice.

Edit : well, Kaesile was the fastest to make the point.

 

[elindholm]

These paper ballots were handed out in NBA arenas and shopping malls in the United States and Chinese fans were unable to vote on them.

Ugh, Wikipedia shouldn't have let this pass. What an ignorant statement. Obviously there are Chinese and other Asian fans in the U. S. who can use paper ballots just fine. When Yao is on the road and the host team draws many more Chinese fans than usual, does this author think that they all flew over the Pacific just to come watch the game?

 

[kaesile]

These paper ballots were handed out in NBA arenas and shopping malls in the United States and Chinese fans were unable to vote on them.

Ugh, Wikipedia shouldn't have let this pass. What an ignorant statement. Obviously there are Chinese and other Asian fans in the U. S. who can use paper ballots just fine. When Yao is on the road and the host team draws many more Chinese fans than usual, does this author think that they all flew over the Pacific just to come watch the game?

I think the article text should be clarified to read "foreign Chinese fans were unable to vote on them." The point the author was trying to make was probably that the original backlash against mainland Chinese votes is misplaced. I feel that one of the reasons why people are against Yao Ming getting so many votes is because they think that random Chinese nationals who don't really follow the NBA are stuffing the NBA.com ballots. In reality, Yao Ming has pretty wide domestic support (at least according to the 2004 statistics), which weakens the whole "a billion Chinese voting for him" argument.

Of course, the question of whether or not fans in general should be able to vote for All-Star players is a different debate.

 

[Chaz]

Who would you pick over Ming Yao in the West anyway ?

WEST CENTERS (12)
Marcus Camby, Denver
Erick Dampier, Dallas
Chris Kaman, LA Clippers
Jamaal Magloire, NO/OKC
Chris Mihm, LA Lakers
Brad Miller, Sacramento
Mehmet Okur, Utah
Michael Olowokandi, Minnesota
Joel Przybilla, Portland
Kurt Thomas, Phoenix
Lorenzen Wright, Memphis
Yao Ming, Houston

Stat wise, excepted Camby (who missed as many games as Yao by the way) and maybe Okur, it's hard to argue with that choice.

Edit : well, Kaesile was the fastest to make the point.

You can take Magloire off that list.

He is with the Bucks now.



I voted for Camby but that was before he was injured.

 

[Ollie]

You can take Magloire off that list.

He is with the Bucks now.

Yeah I know that he and Kandi-man have gone east since the beginning of the voting, but they both were in the western conference ballot so they were Ming's rivals after all...

 

[Chaz]

Yeah I know that he and Kandi-man have gone east since the beginning of the voting, but they both were in the western conference ballot so they were Ming's rivals after all...

Hmmm, OK I'll buy that.


Magliore was traded pretty early so that is a little suprising to me.

Kandi doesn't suprise me because he was just traded last week.

 

[JCSunsfan]

The worst team in the WC should NOT have 2 starters on the all-star team. If they are worthy of being starters, their team would not be in the basement.

As far as centers in the West--there should be a FC position rather than a center position. Most of the big men in the league today would fit that role.

Tim Duncan should be the starting center on the West team.

My suggestion would be this. There should be 4 "fan selections" to the all-star team. The other 10 (yes, I would add two spots, just like the team rosters have been expanded) should be chosen by the players.

The respective coaches should decide who starts.

 

[jibikao]

I think the article text should be clarified to read "foreign Chinese fans were unable to vote on them." The point the author was trying to make was probably that the original backlash against mainland Chinese votes is misplaced. I feel that one of the reasons why people are against Yao Ming getting so many votes is because they think that random Chinese nationals who don't really follow the NBA are stuffing the NBA.com ballots. In reality, Yao Ming has pretty wide domestic support (at least according to the 2004 statistics), which weakens the whole "a billion Chinese voting for him" argument.

Of course, the question of whether or not fans in general should be able to vote for All-Star players is a different debate.

I agree with you to some degree. Chinese people can only vote online I think... with their Chinese address? lol I don't know if Yao really got that many Chinese voters because I know very few Chinese people who actually like Yao. Chinese people don't like tall and slow players. We love Kobe-like players who give us more "fancy" basketball than Yao. In fact, many players believe Yao is just taking advantage of his height and nothing else. lol

But on the other hand, if Yao got a lot of support from non-Chinese fans, why did Stevie Francis got voted in a few years ago? Did Stevie got voted him? I believe so. That means either Rocket has a HUGE fanbase or there are indeed a huge Chinese community who supports Yao and Rocket and that's why they voted Francis.

It is still a mystery to me. I do believe Yao has more domestic fanbase than most people give him credits for. Most people think all the Chinese people voted Yao in but in reality, Chinese people are not that big on sports. They don't really care if Yao is successful or not, unless the Chinese government is behind this, like hiring people in North America to vote Yao in? Would that be too much of a surprise? Hard to tell.

 

[reader]

Raja the Suns new 3 point shooter

(this is from the Suns web site .. I couldn't get the link to copy)

Bell to Participate in All-Star Three-Point Contest
Posted: Feb. 3, 2006
Suns guard Raja Bell will join the growing list of Suns participants in Houston for All-Star Weekend later this month. After some deliberation, Bell has accepted an invitation to join the field in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout. The 6-5 guard will attempt to return the crown to Phoenix after former Suns guard Quentin Richardson walked away with the title last season in Denver.

Bell is shooting a career high 43 percent from beyond the arc and was the league's leader in super shot accuracy for the month of January.

"It’s a credit to the system I’m in," he said after Friday's practice at US Airways Center. "I’m just getting opportunities and they’re so open sometimes, it’s just hard to miss them."

Bell has begun to form a philosophy for his first foray into the long range shooting competition.

"It’s different than shooting catch-and-shoot jump shots in a game," he admitted. "I don’t know if I’ll be very good at it, but I’d probably be kicking myself a few years from now if I turn down the opportunity.

"I think my philosophy’s going to be if I can make them quality I don’t have the finish the rest. I don’t like to rush my shot, so I’m going to try to knock down the ones I can shoot in 60 seconds and if that fails in the practice rounds, maybe I’ll go to another philosophy."

 

[jibikao]

Wow! Raja is going??! Holy.

Last year both Q and JJ went and now we have another shooter going to the allstar! I bet nobody pictures Raja as a 3pt shooter. It's amazing how a system can affect a player's growth.

 

[jibikao]

By the way, apparently there are many threads about KG being an all-star this season.

The argument becomes quite nasty. Of course we all know how great KG is but All-Star reserves are voted in by coaches who mostly judge players based on the current season and not the previous seasons (obviously this is All-Star 2006). Last season, Rashard Lewis got in and even though many people disliked that, it is hard to not to vote him in when Sonics was one of the most surprising teams.

Now, having said that, would it be so bad if KG doesn't get in? Looks like the media is in favor of Melo, Gasol, Marion and Elton. It's hard to ignore Melo when his team owns KG's division. As for Gasol, Griz is doing so much better than Wolves. And we have Marion and Elton who plays like a MVP on his team.

What do you guys think? Would it be the WORST vote-in ever if KG doesn't get in? I think the reserves should be based on the current standings and if KG is really THAT great, how come he can't lead his team to at least a winning record? I mean Kobe at least brings Lakers to a winning record.

If KG gets voted in, doesn't it hurt the integrity of coaches' decisions? We all know KG is one of the best players in the league but that only means so much when you have the winning record to show it. If KG gets in, what's the point of voting? You might as well just choose who you think is the best regardless of team records, when team record speaks the TRUTH about the greatness of a player. I know injuries should factor in and that's exactly why we have different votings for each all-star season. This way more players have better chance to make it (like how Rashard Lewis got in) instead of just those "great ones".