With the annual Kobefestivus out of the way, now is the time of year that we debate who should and who should not be an all-star. Below is my ballot for the starters for each conference. Introductory fluff… Caveats… Doesn’t matter because Allen Iverson’s fantards are going to screw it up anyway… You know how this works. Let’s roll.
Eastern Conference
F – LeBron James
You can probably just go ahead and pencil him in here for the next decade or so.
F – Chris Bosh
This pick is a bit trickier. Bosh is finally showing signs that he is the superstar we already had assumed he was. He is also showing signs of his usual deteriorating numbers as the season progresses. That said, there isn’t anyone else mounting a reasonable challenge at this point, so even if the numbers (which include a PER above 26) slide, he’d still be the guy. Of course, if you adhere to the absurd logic that wins should dictate all-star appearances, J.J. Hickson should get the nod ahead of Bosh.
C – Dwight Howard
Dwight is having an off season, by his standards. He is blocking fewer shots, rebounding and scoring less, and fouling more. These are relevant talking points in an MVP discussion. This is not that discussion.
G – Dwyane Wade
The Eastern Conference doesn’t exactly abound with great guards. An injury or two will give us a BJ Armstrong type candidate (or Mo Williams again). There is one hands-down all star guard in the EC this year, and that guy is Dwyane Wade.
G – Rajon Rondo
Told you so. Actually, Rondo is having an all-star caliber year, resembling Jason Kidd in his prime with his ability to contribute in every facet of the game except shooting. Most impressive is that he has improved his assists per game by 1.4 (to 9.6) with no corresponding increase in turnovers. AI fans are texting their idiocy to Sprite™ en masse, but on my ballot , the petulant little snot gets in.
Western Conference
F - Dirk Nowitzki
For someone so boringly dependable that he is often overlooked, Dirk sure is a fun player to watch. He’s like the ball hog in 5th grade who takes 20 foot jumpers all the time, even though everybody guards him because they know he won’t pass… Only Dirk makes the shots, so everyone just has to grumble to themselves about how he should be a team player. Nowitzki is doing some of his best work since his MVP season, so here he is.
F – Carmelo Anthony
Like Chris Bosh, ‘Melo finally seems to be living up to his potential. Anthony has typically been a slow starter, which has cost him an AS appearance or two, but that has not been the case this year. Maybe getting a taste of playoff success has awakened something in him. Or maybe he’s taking pointers from Chauncey; he is getting to the line more (10.1 attempts per game), and converting a high percentage of those attempts. Either way, his output is matching his considerable reputation.
C – Tim Duncan
The league should just step in and force the Spurs to call Duncan a center. Until then, everyone who writes about sports has to play this game where we make excuses for putting Duncan at center, because in reality he’s not a PF… Ideal world. Blah, blah, blah. I am tired of this charade. Incidentally, the dude’s playing out of his mind right now, and presently constitutes the only plausible alternative to LeBron as the MVP.
G – Chris Paul
Yes, he has been injured. That would matter if Chris Paul were, say, Monta Ellis, and a fringe candidate therefore. But Chris Paul is not Monta Ellis, by virtue of being Chris Paul. He has consistently demonstrated himself to be the best guard in the league, so it’s not like the missed games constitute any sort of question mark. He certainly deserves to be starting over Steve Nash (not to mention Allen !@#$ing Iverson) but that’s a different story.
G- Kobe Bryant
Here he is, everybody. Calm down.