duncan228
01-10-2009, 09:27 PM
NBA's no-hope All-Stars (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/NBAs_no-hope_All-Stars.html)
Mike Monroe-Express-News
Marcus Camby was at the AT&T Center last week with the injury-wracked Clippers, losers of 10 straight games and already so far out of playoff contention you wonder how a veteran like Camby manages to motivate himself enough to average nearly 14 rebounds per game.
Camby trails only Superman,aka Dwight Howard, in both rebounds and blocked shots, but he has been around long enough to know he's not going to the All-Star Game as a Western Conference reserve. Players from teams as bad as the Clippers don't get invited to the midseason festival of basketball superiority.
“I had a couple of years I thought I had an opportunity to make the All-Star team, but now it's all about popularity,” Camby said. “The way the system is set up, with the fans voting, Yao Ming is going to be the starting West center his whole career.
“Then, you look at how poor our record is this year, I know I'm not going to be an All-Star. You have to take it in stride. The only thing I can control is what I can bring to this ballclub. I just have to let it go.”
Here is a small consolation for Camby: We're putting him on our inaugural No-Hope All-Star Team, which will be made up of outstanding players on teams so bad they have no hope of being voted as All-Star reserves by their respective conference's coaches.
Point guard
Chris Duhon, Knicks: Our first choice for this spot was Andre Miller, but the Sixers are too close to a playoff berth to meet the No-Hope criteria. Ditto for Chicago’s Derrick Rose. So we went with Duhon. We’re guessing you had no idea he ranks sixth in the NBA in assists per game, at 8.2. He also scores 12.4 points per game.
Shooting guard
O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies: Mayo will be in Phoenix on All-Star Weekend, but only to play in the Rookie-Sophomore game. What he has done in his first season in Memphis has gone beyond leading the Grizzlies in scoring, at 19.7 points per game. He is a reason for fans to turn out.
Center
Al Jefferson, Timberwolves: Don’t worry. Camby’s getting a spot on our team, but not in the pivot. He’s more of a perimeter player. Big Al, on the other hand, is strictly a post-up guy. He’s averaging 22.6 points and 10.5 rebounds, and of all the players on this team most deserves a real All-Star spot. Only if the Wolves extend their season-long four-game win streak to double digits will he have even the slightest chance of making it.
Power forward
Marcus Camby, Clippers: Camby had been traded before, so when he heard the Nuggets had shipped him to the Clippers, it wasn’t a shock. But when he found out he had been moved for next-to-nothing (the Nuggets got the right to swap spots in the second round of the 2010 draft), he considered not reporting. His own standard of professionalism has produced 13.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
Small forward
Kevin Durant, Thunder: The former UT star and College Player of the Year has gone through a lot in a season-and-a-half in the NBA, but not much to convince him that coming out after one season with the Longhorns was the right choice. But he is going to be a legitimate star in the NBA, and the Thunder won’t regret building their future around him. His averages — 23.6 points and 5.6 rebounds — would be All-Star worthy if he played for a better team.
Mike Monroe-Express-News
Marcus Camby was at the AT&T Center last week with the injury-wracked Clippers, losers of 10 straight games and already so far out of playoff contention you wonder how a veteran like Camby manages to motivate himself enough to average nearly 14 rebounds per game.
Camby trails only Superman,aka Dwight Howard, in both rebounds and blocked shots, but he has been around long enough to know he's not going to the All-Star Game as a Western Conference reserve. Players from teams as bad as the Clippers don't get invited to the midseason festival of basketball superiority.
“I had a couple of years I thought I had an opportunity to make the All-Star team, but now it's all about popularity,” Camby said. “The way the system is set up, with the fans voting, Yao Ming is going to be the starting West center his whole career.
“Then, you look at how poor our record is this year, I know I'm not going to be an All-Star. You have to take it in stride. The only thing I can control is what I can bring to this ballclub. I just have to let it go.”
Here is a small consolation for Camby: We're putting him on our inaugural No-Hope All-Star Team, which will be made up of outstanding players on teams so bad they have no hope of being voted as All-Star reserves by their respective conference's coaches.
Point guard
Chris Duhon, Knicks: Our first choice for this spot was Andre Miller, but the Sixers are too close to a playoff berth to meet the No-Hope criteria. Ditto for Chicago’s Derrick Rose. So we went with Duhon. We’re guessing you had no idea he ranks sixth in the NBA in assists per game, at 8.2. He also scores 12.4 points per game.
Shooting guard
O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies: Mayo will be in Phoenix on All-Star Weekend, but only to play in the Rookie-Sophomore game. What he has done in his first season in Memphis has gone beyond leading the Grizzlies in scoring, at 19.7 points per game. He is a reason for fans to turn out.
Center
Al Jefferson, Timberwolves: Don’t worry. Camby’s getting a spot on our team, but not in the pivot. He’s more of a perimeter player. Big Al, on the other hand, is strictly a post-up guy. He’s averaging 22.6 points and 10.5 rebounds, and of all the players on this team most deserves a real All-Star spot. Only if the Wolves extend their season-long four-game win streak to double digits will he have even the slightest chance of making it.
Power forward
Marcus Camby, Clippers: Camby had been traded before, so when he heard the Nuggets had shipped him to the Clippers, it wasn’t a shock. But when he found out he had been moved for next-to-nothing (the Nuggets got the right to swap spots in the second round of the 2010 draft), he considered not reporting. His own standard of professionalism has produced 13.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
Small forward
Kevin Durant, Thunder: The former UT star and College Player of the Year has gone through a lot in a season-and-a-half in the NBA, but not much to convince him that coming out after one season with the Longhorns was the right choice. But he is going to be a legitimate star in the NBA, and the Thunder won’t regret building their future around him. His averages — 23.6 points and 5.6 rebounds — would be All-Star worthy if he played for a better team.