Eastern Conference Starters...
SG - Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)...Wade was the #2 winner in the 2010 Summer-O-Fun in the NBA (#1 being Joe Johnson who re-upped in Atlanta for more $$$ than any other team would have paid him, and he got more $$$ than any other free agent)...Wade did not have to change his address and welcomed long time chums LeBron James and Chris Bosh to town...this was supposed to mean much less scoring opportunities for D-Wade, but his 25.3 points per game say otherwise...his 3-point shooting continues to be awful, and his free throw shooting is decent at best, but his ability to attack the rim and finish at the rim with an athletic move remain his strength (same as it was as a Collegian at Marquette)...D-Wade is rebounding at a better pace than he ever has too
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| 2 of these 3 are special players...the other is Chris Bosh |
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire (New York Knicks)...now I do want to talk about Amar'e, but while we are on the subject of PF in the East I would be remiss if I did not mention that Chris Bosh (the man who wanted to be on TV and wanted more attention than he felt he was receiving as a Raptor) was a 5-time All Star for the Raps and was one of the top vote getters every season...what an afterthought he has become in South Beach...25 players received more votes than Bosh this year, and in the PF votes where he was annually #1 or #2 as a Raptor CB4 finished 5th this year...in Miami Bosh has seen his Field Goal % - Points - Rebounds - Assists - Blocks all take steps backwards...for me I am glad he will not be an All Star...Anywho back to a man who does deserve praise and that is STAT (Standing Tall And Talented) Amar'e Stoudemire who has the Knicks back as a relevant team in the Association for the first time in years and years...Stoudemire is the first Knicks player to start an All Star game since Patrick Ewing in 1992 (geez I was still in high school in '92)...he is setting Knicks records and has been a beast...we know from Alicia Keys that New York is the concrete jungle where dreams are made of and Amar'e is the toast of the town
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| Is that a bird?!?! Is that a plane!?!? Oh it's D12 |
C - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic...2012 Los Angeles Lakers...a guy can dream can't he?!?!)...D12 was #2 vote getter in the NBA (Kobe #1) and the #1 vote getter in the East...what can you say about this guy...likes to have fun, likes to win...he scores, he rebounds, he provides an amazing presence at the rim that blocks and changes several shots every game...we look at the overhaul the Magic did to their roster allowing them to add Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu all of whom are looked at to provide outside sharp-shooting to go with everything that D12 brings down low...I wrote in a previous blog that when Kobe is ready to leave the NBA I feel he will be passing the torch to Howard who is going to completely dominate this league one day...there were days that you needed to build your team to give yourself a shot to beat Bill Russell, Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq etc and Dwight Howard will have that same domination soon...he is already damn good
Western Conference Starters
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| CP3 is one of the greatest PG's ever |
PG - Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)...most underrated Superstar in the Association?!?! Do you hear a lot about this guy?!?! You should...he is special...this guy will go down as one of the greatest PG's ever...immense talent on a roster with very pedestrian talent...at some point in the next year or so he will be traded out of New Orleans (he will be the next trade-watch player after the Carmelo Anthony situation finally gets resolved) and perhaps to a better team with more North American coverage where we will see more of him...in 2010-2011 his scoring and assist #'s are slightly down, but he has led a decent-at-best team to a good record (30-16 and currently on a 9 game winning streak)...his Personal Fouls and Turnovers are down, while his 3-point shooting and Steals are up...
SG - Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers)...for the 13th straight year KB has been named an NBA All-Star...if he gets named to a 14th next season he will tie Jerry West, Shaq, and Karl Malone for the most ever...quick - what team drafted Kobe Bryant?!?!...answer at the bottom of this blog entry...What can I add here that you don't already know about Black Mamba?!?! Truly one of the all-time greats...no one has facilitated and contributed to winning like Kobe has since Jordan...his #'s remain great, and this season he is doing it playing through a mashed finger on his shooting hand, and a knee that is so damaged it is pretty much bone-on-bone at this point...in the first half of this season KB has been the only Laker to bring it every night...this guy is special
SF - Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets currently)...the #1 story in the Association for a while now has been where will Melo be going forward...we think it will be New York, but what Borough?!?! Melo also recently lost his sister and missed time due to that...despite these huge distractions Anthony has had a great season...the Nuggets are 27-18 and currently the #6 seed in the tough Western Confernece...Melo is the team leader in points, and rebounds...his 3-point game continues to be horrid, but his fouls are down - his turnovers are down - his rebounding is at a career high pace, as are his blocks...this guy was born to score the basketball
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| KD is one of the best scorers we have ever seen |
C - Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)...Yao is done for the season, and likely done for his career...a sad story as far as I am concerned as Yao is a great b-ball player and even better person...whereas Greg Oden began his career right away with terrible injuries Yao only missed 2 games in his first 3 seasons, but injuries to his feet and ankles have not only jeopardized his NBA career, but may affect his quality of life...good luck big fella...Now the only way Yao got voted in this season is that the voting is available on-line so he gets hundreds of thousands of votes from Asian countries...the fans screwed this up badly (as fans often do) as Yao was #1 in votes for C while Andrew Bynum was #2...Bynum is not even back to full health/mobility yet and while he has All Star potential he is not having an All Star season due to injuries too...As for who should start at C for the West how about Utah C Al Jefferson...Big Al is undersized (listed at 6'10" but there is no way he is that tall) but has heart and work ethic that have made him a perfect fit to replace Carlos Boozer in Utah...I can see maybe allowing Pau Gasol, Blake Griffin, or Kevin Love to play out of position and start at C for the West too...a dark horse may be Memphis C Marc Gasol
Super Bowl preview coming soon... craig.ballard@hotmail.com
P.S. pictured here is Kobe on Draft night July 11, 1996 wearing the hat of the team that drafted him...the now non-existant Charlotte Hornets who traded him that same night to the Lakers for Vlade Divac
