Who will make the all-star cut?
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Monday, January 26
Updated: January 26
9:38 AM ET
The fans have spoken. The media have spoken and spoken. Soon, the coaches will get their say too.
The final All-Star Game voting tallies won't be announced until Thursday, but if all goes according to current voting trends, Vince Carter, Jermaine O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Ben Wallace will be in the East starting lineup. Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Steve Francis and either Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming (the one race still too close to call) will start in the West.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. The East starting five is solid. At least, this year, Carter is actually playing. The West starting five is a bit shakier. TD and KG are obvious choices. Kobe is an interesting fan vote given his legal troubles at the moment. But given the contenders at the two guard position (Ray Allen, Emanuel Ginobili, Michael Finley) can you blame them? Francis is about the fifth-best point guard in the West this season, but who's counting.
Once the starters are announced, the league will turn to the coaches to make the final seven selections. Predicting what they'll do has turned into a laughable proposition.
The all-star selection process is one of the great unsolved mysteries left in the universe. There is no rhyme or reason. No pattern. No logic. Might as well sacrifice small animals, throw their innards on the ground and let a shaman or two divine the stars.
The fans would vote in Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley if they could. Everyone thought LeBron James would be a shoo-in with the hype and the shoes. Go figure that, per the latest NBA results, he ranked behind Carter, O'Neal, Wallace, Iverson, McGrady and Jason Kidd in fan voting in the East. The fans want to see the stars, the flash and the dunks. Period. There's nothing wrong with that.
The media love to rail on the fans for getting it wrong. Of course, we too, rarely get it right (witness the Jazz and Bucks). We're great at hyping our pet projects or making selections that bolster preseason predictions -- but what do we know?
Ron Artest is deserving of a spot on the Eastern Conference roster.
The coaches have the better chance of getting things right. They do more than peruse box scores or breath heavily over the latest flavor of the month. They're less likely to be swayed by a good player putting up great stats on a horrible team. And they're more likely to give a guy who busts his butt every night (read Ron Artest) over a no-substance scorer (read Shareef Abdur-Rahim). They also have grudges. That's why you'll never see Rasheed Wallace or Latrell Sprewell get any love this time of year. Again, nothing wrong with that.
With that said, here's the part where I tell you to ignore all of that and listen to me. I don't, however, have all of the answers. My all-star ballot doesn't make much sense either. Is it OK to vote in a guy like Zach Randolph, whose entire team needs to be checked into a rehab center? I have no idea. What about a guy like Brad Miller? His numbers are all at career highs, and he's a key player on the best team in the Western Conference. The Kings would be lost without him. But, is he really among the best six or seven big men in the West? It's debatable.
Company policy forbids me from mutilating squirrels, so, for the second year in a row, I went for the next best thing. I called up five successful GMs and asked for their perspective. I respect the GMs' opinions for a couple of reasons. One, they see the whole picture. Skill, work ethic, bang for the buck, marketability and character all play into it for them. Second, they see the whole league. GMs are constantly scouting other players, looking for a good fit, or that guy who will put them over the top. It's not an exact science. But to these five guys, all of whom wished to remain anonymous, it's as close to science as any of this gets.
While no one agreed on everything, here's a rough consensus of who should be flying first class to Los Angeles in February.
Eastern Conference Starters
G- Jason Kidd, Nets
G- Tracy McGrady, Magic
F- Ron Artest, Pacers
F- Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers
C- Ben Wallace, Pistons
Comments: All five GMs agreed that Kidd, O'Neal and Wallace were the best at their positions in the East. McGrady and Artest garnered four votes, with one vote going to Paul Pierce and another going to LeBron James.
Baron Davis
Point Guard
New Orleans Hornets
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
41
23.4
4.2
8.0
.387
.639
There aren't any huge surprises here. Baron Davis is having, arguably, a better season than Kidd this year. What kills Davis, according to the GMs, is his 38 percent shooting percentage and his love affair with the 3-point shot. Everything else -- points, assists, steals, defense and ability to carry his team -- is great this year. McGrady is having a down year, especially when you compare it to what he did last season, but he's still the most talented swingman in the game. Artest should finally get the love this year based on his tough defense (Will he actually defend in the All-Star Game?), emerging offensive game and his calm demeanor this season on and off the court.
O'Neal may be the only guy in the group having an MVP season. He continues to mature every season and has turned into the East's most dominating big man on the offensive end. I always get a kick out of putting Wallace at center. He doesn't play the position, hasn't for the past two season, but in the size-challenged East, he's as close to an All-Star as you can get. All 15 starting Eastern Conference centers just don't make the cut. So you must move on to the second-best power forward in the East and that's Wallace by a landslide.
Eastern Conference Bench
G - Paul Pierce, Celtics (5 votes)
G - Baron Davis, Hornets (5 votes)
G - Allen Iverson, Sixers (4 votes)
G - Michael Redd, Bucks (3 votes)
F - Vince Carter, Raptors (3 votes)
F - LeBron James, Cavaliers (3 votes)
F - Lamar Odom, Heat
(3 votes)
Comments: Everyone knows that the East is very guard heavy, but this is a little ridiculous. Depending on how you rank positions, there are six guards here and just one forward, Odom. Carter and James can technically be listed at forward because of their size and the positions they play on their team, but objectively, they're closer to guards than they are to forwards. What happened to the rest of the forwards? The problem is there are few players worth voting for. Odom barely made it in with just three votes. The Nets' Kenyon Martin got two votes, the Cavs' Carlos Boozer and the Nets' Richard Jefferson got one each. No one else even garnered so much as a vote.
The nature of the guard-heavy East also produced a two interesting snubs. The Knicks' Stephon Marbury and the Pistons' Chauncey Billups garnered just two votes each. Marbury was probably hurt the most because of his teams' poor records. Billups has been huge for the Pistons this season, but his numbers, when stacked up against the other top guards in the East, aren't as convincing.
Western Conference Starters
G- Sam Cassell, Timberwolves
G- Peja Stojakovic, Kings
F- Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves
F- Tim Duncan, Spurs
C- Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers
Comments: Garnett and Duncan were the only unanimous selections this year. Stojakovic edged out Kobe, 3-2. Shaq beat out Yao Ming 4-1. Cassell edged out Steve Nash 4-1. It's tough to argue much of anything here. Stojakovic at two guard? I let that slide. It was clear that the GMs weren't comfortable voting in Kobe and were looking for an out. If we let Eastern Conference GMs vote Ben Wallace in at center, then why not Stojakovic at the two. He can play the position and does it about as often as Wallace plays center.
Cassell was a little bit of a surprise. He's having a career season, but given his inability to make the team previously, it's nice to see the voters put the past behind them. Shaq may not be having a great season, but the fact that, whenever he does play he's dominating, gives him the edge this year.
Western Conference Bench
G- Kobe Bryant, Lakers (4 votes)
G- Steve Nash, Mavericks (3 votes)
F- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (4 votes)
F - Brad Miller, Kings (3 votes)
F - Pau Gasol, Grizzlies (2 votes)
F - Zach Randolph, Blazers (2 votes)
C - Yao Ming, Rockets (5 votes)
----------------------------------------------
Continued......................
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford
Monday, January 26
Updated: January 26
9:38 AM ET
The fans have spoken. The media have spoken and spoken. Soon, the coaches will get their say too.
The final All-Star Game voting tallies won't be announced until Thursday, but if all goes according to current voting trends, Vince Carter, Jermaine O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Ben Wallace will be in the East starting lineup. Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Steve Francis and either Shaquille O'Neal or Yao Ming (the one race still too close to call) will start in the West.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. The East starting five is solid. At least, this year, Carter is actually playing. The West starting five is a bit shakier. TD and KG are obvious choices. Kobe is an interesting fan vote given his legal troubles at the moment. But given the contenders at the two guard position (Ray Allen, Emanuel Ginobili, Michael Finley) can you blame them? Francis is about the fifth-best point guard in the West this season, but who's counting.
Once the starters are announced, the league will turn to the coaches to make the final seven selections. Predicting what they'll do has turned into a laughable proposition.
The all-star selection process is one of the great unsolved mysteries left in the universe. There is no rhyme or reason. No pattern. No logic. Might as well sacrifice small animals, throw their innards on the ground and let a shaman or two divine the stars.
The fans would vote in Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley if they could. Everyone thought LeBron James would be a shoo-in with the hype and the shoes. Go figure that, per the latest NBA results, he ranked behind Carter, O'Neal, Wallace, Iverson, McGrady and Jason Kidd in fan voting in the East. The fans want to see the stars, the flash and the dunks. Period. There's nothing wrong with that.
The media love to rail on the fans for getting it wrong. Of course, we too, rarely get it right (witness the Jazz and Bucks). We're great at hyping our pet projects or making selections that bolster preseason predictions -- but what do we know?
Ron Artest is deserving of a spot on the Eastern Conference roster.
The coaches have the better chance of getting things right. They do more than peruse box scores or breath heavily over the latest flavor of the month. They're less likely to be swayed by a good player putting up great stats on a horrible team. And they're more likely to give a guy who busts his butt every night (read Ron Artest) over a no-substance scorer (read Shareef Abdur-Rahim). They also have grudges. That's why you'll never see Rasheed Wallace or Latrell Sprewell get any love this time of year. Again, nothing wrong with that.
With that said, here's the part where I tell you to ignore all of that and listen to me. I don't, however, have all of the answers. My all-star ballot doesn't make much sense either. Is it OK to vote in a guy like Zach Randolph, whose entire team needs to be checked into a rehab center? I have no idea. What about a guy like Brad Miller? His numbers are all at career highs, and he's a key player on the best team in the Western Conference. The Kings would be lost without him. But, is he really among the best six or seven big men in the West? It's debatable.
Company policy forbids me from mutilating squirrels, so, for the second year in a row, I went for the next best thing. I called up five successful GMs and asked for their perspective. I respect the GMs' opinions for a couple of reasons. One, they see the whole picture. Skill, work ethic, bang for the buck, marketability and character all play into it for them. Second, they see the whole league. GMs are constantly scouting other players, looking for a good fit, or that guy who will put them over the top. It's not an exact science. But to these five guys, all of whom wished to remain anonymous, it's as close to science as any of this gets.
While no one agreed on everything, here's a rough consensus of who should be flying first class to Los Angeles in February.
Eastern Conference Starters
G- Jason Kidd, Nets
G- Tracy McGrady, Magic
F- Ron Artest, Pacers
F- Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers
C- Ben Wallace, Pistons
Comments: All five GMs agreed that Kidd, O'Neal and Wallace were the best at their positions in the East. McGrady and Artest garnered four votes, with one vote going to Paul Pierce and another going to LeBron James.
Baron Davis
Point Guard
New Orleans Hornets
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
41
23.4
4.2
8.0
.387
.639
There aren't any huge surprises here. Baron Davis is having, arguably, a better season than Kidd this year. What kills Davis, according to the GMs, is his 38 percent shooting percentage and his love affair with the 3-point shot. Everything else -- points, assists, steals, defense and ability to carry his team -- is great this year. McGrady is having a down year, especially when you compare it to what he did last season, but he's still the most talented swingman in the game. Artest should finally get the love this year based on his tough defense (Will he actually defend in the All-Star Game?), emerging offensive game and his calm demeanor this season on and off the court.
O'Neal may be the only guy in the group having an MVP season. He continues to mature every season and has turned into the East's most dominating big man on the offensive end. I always get a kick out of putting Wallace at center. He doesn't play the position, hasn't for the past two season, but in the size-challenged East, he's as close to an All-Star as you can get. All 15 starting Eastern Conference centers just don't make the cut. So you must move on to the second-best power forward in the East and that's Wallace by a landslide.
Eastern Conference Bench
G - Paul Pierce, Celtics (5 votes)
G - Baron Davis, Hornets (5 votes)
G - Allen Iverson, Sixers (4 votes)
G - Michael Redd, Bucks (3 votes)
F - Vince Carter, Raptors (3 votes)
F - LeBron James, Cavaliers (3 votes)
F - Lamar Odom, Heat
(3 votes)
Comments: Everyone knows that the East is very guard heavy, but this is a little ridiculous. Depending on how you rank positions, there are six guards here and just one forward, Odom. Carter and James can technically be listed at forward because of their size and the positions they play on their team, but objectively, they're closer to guards than they are to forwards. What happened to the rest of the forwards? The problem is there are few players worth voting for. Odom barely made it in with just three votes. The Nets' Kenyon Martin got two votes, the Cavs' Carlos Boozer and the Nets' Richard Jefferson got one each. No one else even garnered so much as a vote.
The nature of the guard-heavy East also produced a two interesting snubs. The Knicks' Stephon Marbury and the Pistons' Chauncey Billups garnered just two votes each. Marbury was probably hurt the most because of his teams' poor records. Billups has been huge for the Pistons this season, but his numbers, when stacked up against the other top guards in the East, aren't as convincing.
Western Conference Starters
G- Sam Cassell, Timberwolves
G- Peja Stojakovic, Kings
F- Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves
F- Tim Duncan, Spurs
C- Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers
Comments: Garnett and Duncan were the only unanimous selections this year. Stojakovic edged out Kobe, 3-2. Shaq beat out Yao Ming 4-1. Cassell edged out Steve Nash 4-1. It's tough to argue much of anything here. Stojakovic at two guard? I let that slide. It was clear that the GMs weren't comfortable voting in Kobe and were looking for an out. If we let Eastern Conference GMs vote Ben Wallace in at center, then why not Stojakovic at the two. He can play the position and does it about as often as Wallace plays center.
Cassell was a little bit of a surprise. He's having a career season, but given his inability to make the team previously, it's nice to see the voters put the past behind them. Shaq may not be having a great season, but the fact that, whenever he does play he's dominating, gives him the edge this year.
Western Conference Bench
G- Kobe Bryant, Lakers (4 votes)
G- Steve Nash, Mavericks (3 votes)
F- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (4 votes)
F - Brad Miller, Kings (3 votes)
F - Pau Gasol, Grizzlies (2 votes)
F - Zach Randolph, Blazers (2 votes)
C - Yao Ming, Rockets (5 votes)
----------------------------------------------
Continued......................
