All-stars continued..................
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Comments: There's room for plenty of healthy debate here. Let's start with the guard snubs. Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Steve Francis, Emanuel Ginobili, Mike Bibby and Gary Payton got one each. Allen would've been a lock had he played most of the season, according to several GMs who left him off the ballot. There was a feeling that he just hadn't played enough to earn a spot. Francis is, by all accounts, having an off year, though the GM who voted for him said we shouldn't penalize him for trying to play with Jeff Van Gundy's system.
Manu Ginobili
Shooting Guard
San Antonio Spurs
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
40
12.9
5.0
4.2
.406
.768
One GM, in love with Ginobili, thought he was the second most important cog on the Spurs. Bibby has been great this year, but gets lost in the shuffle with so many Kings. Payton has been good for the Lakers, but like Bibby, just got lost in the shuffle a little bit.
The West is big heavy, so it was no surprise to see them grab five of the seven other spots. Yao was the only reserve everyone seemed to agree on. It was a little surprising that one GM left Nowitzki off his vote completely. He's struggled this season, but not that much. There was a popular sentiment for Miller who, in addition to scoring and rebounding, has turned himself into one of the best passing big men in the game.
After that was really wide open. Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, Elton Brand, Erick Dampier, Carmelo Anthony and Rashard Lewis all got one vote each. In my mind, Kirilenko is more deserving than Randolph based on his overall contribution to his team. The Jazz are winning and Kirilenko is getting it done in every category. Randolph's scoring and rebounding numbers are better, but he gives up as many points as he scores every night on a terrible team. It's also surprising that three teams with winning records -- the Nuggets, Sonics and Jazz -- don't have any representatives on the team.
But what do we know?
"This isn't rocket science," one GM said. "You just kind of vote your gut and try to keep the past out of it. But bottom line, this is just personal preference. The coaches will see things differently and I could absolutely see a guy like Kirilenko or Dampier, who give them fits every night, get in. We'll find out soon enough."
Spoken like a true shaman.
Joe All-Star
Now that we've got that out of the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention five guys who didn't get much support for their all-star bid. Whether it's because their team is terrible, their play isn't highlight-reel quality, or they've just appeared on the radar, here's my vote for five average Joes "almost all-stars" who are doing special things in the NBA this year.
Andrei Kirilenko, G, Jazz
The Stats: 16.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.9 bpg, 2.1 spg, 47 percent shooting
The Skinny: He may be the most complete player in basketball. His numbers are never flashy on the surface, but dig a little deeper and he's pretty amazing. He became just the third player in the past decade to have a game in which he scored at least five points, had five boards, five assists, five blocks and fives steals. The fact that he's already done it twice this season is just amazing. He won't make the all-star cut this year, but Kirilenko has been the big reason behind the Jazz's surprise run this season.
Andre Miller, G, Nuggets
The Stats: 15.9 ppg, 6.2 apg, 4.3 rpg, 1.6 spg on 46 percent shooting
The Skinny: The Nuggets added two big weapons to the worst team in basketball last summer -- Miller and rookie Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony himself is also worthy of all-star recognition, Miller was given the keys to the Nuggets' offense and he's been running it to perfection. The fact that he's bounced back from a horrible season in Los Angeles proves that Miller isn't just a guard who puts up good numbers on a bad team. He's also a leader capable of turning around a team when he has the right talent around him.
Carlos Boozer, F, Cavs
The Stats: 13.7 ppg, 10.8 rpg on 50 percent shooting
The Skinny: Lost in all of the LeBron hoopla is the emergence of Boozer as one of the most dominating power forwards in the Eastern Conference. Not bad for a second year player who mysteriously slipped into the second round on draft night. Boozer seems to improve by the game. When LeBron went out with ankle injury, Boozer proved that he can be a lethal scorer in the paint as well. He's averaged 23.5 ppg, 16 rpg and 1.5 bpg over his last four. With Cavs GM Jim Paxson slowly weeding out distractions, it may be just a matter of time before Boozer works his way into the All-Star Game.
Emanuel Ginobili, G, Spurs
The Stats: 12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.9 spg
The Skinny: The Spurs have one of the most boring, traditional and lethal offenses in the league, but thanks to Ginobili, it now has the requisite spice to make it palatable. Ginobili has been amazing for San Antonio, especially when Tim Duncan is struggling or out altogether. His quickness and gambling on the defensive end have made him one of the team's most valuable players in the plus/minus stats. In a conference with a dearth of great two guards, give Ginobili another year to get his feet wet and he should be well on his way to his first all-star selection.
Elton Brand, F, Clippers
The Stats: 20 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg on 53 percent shooting
The Skinny: Don't hate the guy just because he plays on the Clippers. The former all-star will likely be passed over because the Clippers are struggling once again, but there isn't a more consistent double-double guy in the NBA. Brand may not be exciting, but the consistency in horrible conditions is enough to impress us.
Honorable Mention: Erick Dampier, Warriors; Shawn Marion, Suns; Donyell Marshall, Raptors; Keith Van Horn, Knicks; Jim Jackson, Rockets; Richard Jefferson, Nets; Chauncey Billups, Pistons.
The Kids
While we're at it, the league is set to announce the rosters for the Rookie-Sophomore game this week as well. They've traditionally done a pretty good job of getting it right, but just in case there's any confusion at the league office, here's our take on who should be in.
Rookie All-Stars
STARTERS
G - Dwyane Wade, Heat
G - Kirk Hinrich, Bulls
F - LeBron James, Cavs
F - Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
C - Chris Bosh, Raptors
BENCH
G - Leandro Barbosa, Suns
G - T. J. Ford, Bucks
G - Raul Lopez, Jazz
G - Keith Bogans, Magic
F - Jarvis Hayes, Wizards
F - Josh Howard, Mavericks
C - Chris Kaman, Clippers
Comment: The top five are pretty easy to pick. All five have been outstanding at their positions. Given their relative draft positions, none of it should come as big surprise. The bench isn't that controversial either. The biggest snubs are Udonis Haslem of the Heat and the Jazz's Aleksandar Pavlovic getting pushed out by Lopez and Bogans for the last positions on the team. Still, when you look at this list, there's no question that this is one of the best rookie classes ever.
Sophomore All-Stars
STARTERS
G - Frank Williams, Knicks
G - Emanuel Ginobili, Spurs
F - Tayshaun Prince, Pistons
F- Carlos Boozer, Cavs
C - Yao Ming, Rockets
BENCH
G - Marko Jaric, Clippers
G- Ronald Murray, Sonics
F- Amare Stoudemire, Suns
F - Jiri Welsch, Celtics
F - Drew Gooden, Magic
F - Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
F/C - Nene Hilario, Nuggets
Comment: Last year's rookie class was considered a huge success, but compared with the Class of 2003, it pales in comparison. Yao, Stoudemire, Boozer and Ginobili all look like they have star written on them. Prince, Murray, Nene, Gooden, Dunleavy and Welsch also appear to have a bright future. Last year's point guard class was awful, however. Frank Williams and Jaric were the best that we could come up with, and neither player has done more than impress in small stretches.
What's also interesting is who's NOT on the list. Caron Butler was a starter last season, but has struggled to rebound from offseason knee surgery. Dajuan Wagner was supposed to be the second coming of Allen Iverson, but injuries have wreaked havoc on his career. An injury to Jay Williams, another starter from last year, may end his career. Several other players are just now starting to come around. The Wizards' Jared Jeffries, the Clippers' Chris Wilcox, the Lakers' Kareem Rush, the Suns' Casey Jacobsen and the Bucks' Dan Gadzuric are having promising seasons, but not enough to make the cut this season.
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Comments: There's room for plenty of healthy debate here. Let's start with the guard snubs. Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Steve Francis, Emanuel Ginobili, Mike Bibby and Gary Payton got one each. Allen would've been a lock had he played most of the season, according to several GMs who left him off the ballot. There was a feeling that he just hadn't played enough to earn a spot. Francis is, by all accounts, having an off year, though the GM who voted for him said we shouldn't penalize him for trying to play with Jeff Van Gundy's system.
Manu Ginobili
Shooting Guard
San Antonio Spurs
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
40
12.9
5.0
4.2
.406
.768
One GM, in love with Ginobili, thought he was the second most important cog on the Spurs. Bibby has been great this year, but gets lost in the shuffle with so many Kings. Payton has been good for the Lakers, but like Bibby, just got lost in the shuffle a little bit.
The West is big heavy, so it was no surprise to see them grab five of the seven other spots. Yao was the only reserve everyone seemed to agree on. It was a little surprising that one GM left Nowitzki off his vote completely. He's struggled this season, but not that much. There was a popular sentiment for Miller who, in addition to scoring and rebounding, has turned himself into one of the best passing big men in the game.
After that was really wide open. Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, Elton Brand, Erick Dampier, Carmelo Anthony and Rashard Lewis all got one vote each. In my mind, Kirilenko is more deserving than Randolph based on his overall contribution to his team. The Jazz are winning and Kirilenko is getting it done in every category. Randolph's scoring and rebounding numbers are better, but he gives up as many points as he scores every night on a terrible team. It's also surprising that three teams with winning records -- the Nuggets, Sonics and Jazz -- don't have any representatives on the team.
But what do we know?
"This isn't rocket science," one GM said. "You just kind of vote your gut and try to keep the past out of it. But bottom line, this is just personal preference. The coaches will see things differently and I could absolutely see a guy like Kirilenko or Dampier, who give them fits every night, get in. We'll find out soon enough."
Spoken like a true shaman.
Joe All-Star
Now that we've got that out of the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention five guys who didn't get much support for their all-star bid. Whether it's because their team is terrible, their play isn't highlight-reel quality, or they've just appeared on the radar, here's my vote for five average Joes "almost all-stars" who are doing special things in the NBA this year.
Andrei Kirilenko, G, Jazz
The Stats: 16.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.9 bpg, 2.1 spg, 47 percent shooting
The Skinny: He may be the most complete player in basketball. His numbers are never flashy on the surface, but dig a little deeper and he's pretty amazing. He became just the third player in the past decade to have a game in which he scored at least five points, had five boards, five assists, five blocks and fives steals. The fact that he's already done it twice this season is just amazing. He won't make the all-star cut this year, but Kirilenko has been the big reason behind the Jazz's surprise run this season.
Andre Miller, G, Nuggets
The Stats: 15.9 ppg, 6.2 apg, 4.3 rpg, 1.6 spg on 46 percent shooting
The Skinny: The Nuggets added two big weapons to the worst team in basketball last summer -- Miller and rookie Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony himself is also worthy of all-star recognition, Miller was given the keys to the Nuggets' offense and he's been running it to perfection. The fact that he's bounced back from a horrible season in Los Angeles proves that Miller isn't just a guard who puts up good numbers on a bad team. He's also a leader capable of turning around a team when he has the right talent around him.
Carlos Boozer, F, Cavs
The Stats: 13.7 ppg, 10.8 rpg on 50 percent shooting
The Skinny: Lost in all of the LeBron hoopla is the emergence of Boozer as one of the most dominating power forwards in the Eastern Conference. Not bad for a second year player who mysteriously slipped into the second round on draft night. Boozer seems to improve by the game. When LeBron went out with ankle injury, Boozer proved that he can be a lethal scorer in the paint as well. He's averaged 23.5 ppg, 16 rpg and 1.5 bpg over his last four. With Cavs GM Jim Paxson slowly weeding out distractions, it may be just a matter of time before Boozer works his way into the All-Star Game.
Emanuel Ginobili, G, Spurs
The Stats: 12.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.9 spg
The Skinny: The Spurs have one of the most boring, traditional and lethal offenses in the league, but thanks to Ginobili, it now has the requisite spice to make it palatable. Ginobili has been amazing for San Antonio, especially when Tim Duncan is struggling or out altogether. His quickness and gambling on the defensive end have made him one of the team's most valuable players in the plus/minus stats. In a conference with a dearth of great two guards, give Ginobili another year to get his feet wet and he should be well on his way to his first all-star selection.
Elton Brand, F, Clippers
The Stats: 20 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg on 53 percent shooting
The Skinny: Don't hate the guy just because he plays on the Clippers. The former all-star will likely be passed over because the Clippers are struggling once again, but there isn't a more consistent double-double guy in the NBA. Brand may not be exciting, but the consistency in horrible conditions is enough to impress us.
Honorable Mention: Erick Dampier, Warriors; Shawn Marion, Suns; Donyell Marshall, Raptors; Keith Van Horn, Knicks; Jim Jackson, Rockets; Richard Jefferson, Nets; Chauncey Billups, Pistons.
The Kids
While we're at it, the league is set to announce the rosters for the Rookie-Sophomore game this week as well. They've traditionally done a pretty good job of getting it right, but just in case there's any confusion at the league office, here's our take on who should be in.
Rookie All-Stars
STARTERS
G - Dwyane Wade, Heat
G - Kirk Hinrich, Bulls
F - LeBron James, Cavs
F - Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
C - Chris Bosh, Raptors
BENCH
G - Leandro Barbosa, Suns
G - T. J. Ford, Bucks
G - Raul Lopez, Jazz
G - Keith Bogans, Magic
F - Jarvis Hayes, Wizards
F - Josh Howard, Mavericks
C - Chris Kaman, Clippers
Comment: The top five are pretty easy to pick. All five have been outstanding at their positions. Given their relative draft positions, none of it should come as big surprise. The bench isn't that controversial either. The biggest snubs are Udonis Haslem of the Heat and the Jazz's Aleksandar Pavlovic getting pushed out by Lopez and Bogans for the last positions on the team. Still, when you look at this list, there's no question that this is one of the best rookie classes ever.
Sophomore All-Stars
STARTERS
G - Frank Williams, Knicks
G - Emanuel Ginobili, Spurs
F - Tayshaun Prince, Pistons
F- Carlos Boozer, Cavs
C - Yao Ming, Rockets
BENCH
G - Marko Jaric, Clippers
G- Ronald Murray, Sonics
F- Amare Stoudemire, Suns
F - Jiri Welsch, Celtics
F - Drew Gooden, Magic
F - Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
F/C - Nene Hilario, Nuggets
Comment: Last year's rookie class was considered a huge success, but compared with the Class of 2003, it pales in comparison. Yao, Stoudemire, Boozer and Ginobili all look like they have star written on them. Prince, Murray, Nene, Gooden, Dunleavy and Welsch also appear to have a bright future. Last year's point guard class was awful, however. Frank Williams and Jaric were the best that we could come up with, and neither player has done more than impress in small stretches.
What's also interesting is who's NOT on the list. Caron Butler was a starter last season, but has struggled to rebound from offseason knee surgery. Dajuan Wagner was supposed to be the second coming of Allen Iverson, but injuries have wreaked havoc on his career. An injury to Jay Williams, another starter from last year, may end his career. Several other players are just now starting to come around. The Wizards' Jared Jeffries, the Clippers' Chris Wilcox, the Lakers' Kareem Rush, the Suns' Casey Jacobsen and the Bucks' Dan Gadzuric are having promising seasons, but not enough to make the cut this season.
