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Dirk at C, what the ?
You forgot Bynum.
Eastern Conference All-Stars
Starters: PF- Garnett, SF- James, C- Howard, SG- Wade, PG- Arenas
Bench: PF- Bosh, SF/SG- Pierce, C- O'Neal, SG/SF- Carter, SG- Johnson, PG- Harris, SF- Granger
Western Conference All-Stars
Starters: PF- Duncan, SF- Anthony, C- Nowitzki, SG- Bryant, PG- Paul
Bench: PF- Stoudemire, PG- Williams, SG- Roy, PG- Parker, PF/C- Gasol, PG- Billups, SF- Durant
All-NBA teams
1st team: F- James, Duncan, C- Howard, G- Bryant, Paul
2nd team: F- Garnett, Nowitzki, C- Gasol, G- Wade, Roy
3rd team: F- Anthony, Pierce, C- Stoudemire, G- Parker, Williams
Dirk at C, what the ?
You forgot Bynum.
After the controversy in '08 surrounding Duncan being listed originally on the ballot as a C for the first time in his career and eventually with lobbying from the Spurs organization having it changed back to F, I think it's safe to say he'll be listed as an F on the ballot for the remainder of his career.
Yao is the usual starting C for the West and is out for the season and since there isn't a true C deserving of getting the start for the West, look for coaches to be allowed to bend the rules more than ever in order to get more deserving players onto the team. Nowtizki is a veteran and his team figures to be better than Stoudemire's, which is why I give him the edge for being named the starting C in the West, even though you can expect Duncan to start out on Howard defensively.
Bynum? At best, he'll be the 3rd best player on his team, but he could just as easily be 4th or more likely, 5th. I didn't even list more productive bigs like Jefferson, Aldridge, Boozer and West. Being a true C helps Bynum, but there's probably too many obstacles for him to overcome to make the team.
Bynum received more All-Star votes than Jefferson, Aldridge and Boozer. West won't be listed at C. The fact that he's on the Lakers means more national exposure and his team won't be terrible.
With Yao and Shaq out Bynum is easily in the mix if he stays healthy.
Really, people need to stop slobbering al over Jefferson. Puts 20+ points up on a horrendous team as the only guy that even resembles a 1st option and is one of the worst defenders in the league at his position. Bynum dominated him every time they went head to head on the floor last season.
Like I said, I suspect the league will allow the coaches more leeway than ever in order to get the best of the best into the game, regardless of whether the West has a true center or not. Of the four I mentioned, only Jefferson is likely to be listed as a C (even though he's truly a PF), but the point remains: they're all considered better players.
Let's face it, the five best big men in the West are: Duncan, Nowitzki, Gasol, Stoudemire and Yao. Yao is out for the season and the other four are shoo-ins, so that leaves one or possibly no more positions for bigs. Bynum is in the mix, but he's a long shot. He's arguably the 5th best player on his own team and isn't likely to have overwhelming stats.
I don't disagree about Jefferson's stats being inflated because he's on a bad team, but he's still a more polished, productive player than Bynum. Of course Bynum has dominated him. Bynum is probably 7'1'' (he's listed at 7'0'') and at least 280, while Jefferson is probably 6'9'' (he's listed at 6'10'') and was 256-265 (he's reportedly slimmed down 30 pounds this off season). Huge size differential.
Last edited by TD 21; 10-04-2009 at 08:21 PM.
Pretty damn good list sir
Being a homer I'm taking Billups off(4 PGs is too many), and I'm putting Okafor in there
21 you such a tool
Billups is overrated.
Bynum aint NO all star...
What does being the 5th best player on your team have to do with being arguably the 2nd or 3rd best legit center in the west?
Bynum was clearly the third best player on the Lakers last season when he was healthy.
Bynum was clearly and an average role player at best last season.
Get over it.
Kobe Odom Gasol > Any combos with bynum
East:
Derrick Rose / Gilbert Arenas / Devin Harris
Dwyane Wade / Vince Carter / Joe Johnson
LeBron James / Caron Butler
Chris Bosh / Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard / Shaquille O'Neal
Very good chance it will be Paul Pierce instead of Caron, but if the Wizards have a very good record when the coaches vote, I can see two Wizards making it.
West:
Chris Paul / Deron Williams / Tony Parker
Kobe Bryant / Brandon Roy
Carmelo Anthony / Kevin Durant
Amare Stoudemire / Dirk Nowitzki / Pau Gasol
Tim Duncan / Al Jefferson
Duncan might still be listed as a forward, but I think an injured Yao Ming gets the fan vote to start, which will allow Stern to move Duncan into the starting line up at the center position. Nash and Billups will have a tough time getting past those three great young points, unfortunately for them.
I think Roy, Aldridge, and Oden will all make the All Star team this year.
You dream big buddy boy
The ballot will tell it all. But neither Duncan nor Dirk will be listed at C.
The league hasn't changed the rules so the voters will pick the starters no matter what.
Only way Bynum isn't a starter is if he's hurt (obvious possibility) or Amare is listed at C and plays exteremely well.
Here are the centers from last year
Andris Biedrins, Golden State; Andrew Bynum, LA Lakers; Marcus Camby, LA Clippers; Tyson Chandler, New Orleans; Nick Collison, Oklahoma City; Al Jefferson, Minnesota; Chris Kaman, LA Clippers; Brad Miller, Sacramento; Greg Oden, Portland; Mehmet Okur, Utah; Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix; Yao Ming, Houston.
Here are the final results
Player Votes
Yao Ming (Hou) 2,532,958
Shaquille ONeal (Pho) 1,850,018
Andrew Bynum (LAL) 549,131
Mehmet Okur (Utah) 437,106
Greg Oden (Por) 359,318
Andris Biedrins (GS) 357,984
Al Jefferson (Minn) 310,643
Tyson Chandler (NO) 242,356
Chris Kaman (LAC) 231,928
Marcus Camby (LAC) 158,491
Nick Collison (OKC) 154,309
Remember, its a popularity contest. I guess if Oden steps up and does well he has a chance but it will be hard for him to overcome Aldirdge to get popularity - esp if he's battling Pryz for minutes. Bynum, otoh, has the primetime spotlight and got touches even with Pau next to him.
Yah, like that will happen!
Roy is an All-Star lock. Aldridge has a good shot.
You obviously weren't watching Lakers games in December/January. Because Bynum was clearly outplaying Odom during that time on both sides of the ball. Then Kobe busted his knee.
At 21, Bynum is only going to get better.
Get over it.
Neither has to be listed as a center for either to start at center. As I alluded to in my post, if Yao Ming gets the most fan votes, he would be the starting center of the ASG. But his being injured would allow Stern to choose his replacement, which could easily end up being someone like Duncan or Dirk.
Now, if the NBA decides to not even list Yao on the ballot, then it's possible Yao isn't voted to start. However, with all the votes from China, it still wouldn't be impossible if there were enough write-in votes for Yao, especially if no other center in Western Conference is having a standout enough season to that point.
Laker s, if Andrew ing Bynum starts in the all star game I'll never watch this again
You're not supposed to watch the NBA all star game anyway. You tune in to watch the pre-game/introductions to see Shaq dance or rap and then you turn it off.
The league isn't stupid, they'll want the best of the best there. This means they'll probably put Yao on the ballot (much like they did Hill and Mourning back in the day, even though they knew they'd be out) in order to allow the coaches to select the replacement. Inevitably, they'll pick an established star like Nowitzki or Stoudemire. Whichever doesn't start alongside Duncan will come off the bench alongside Gasol.
Contrary to what you may say, Bynum is currently widely considered to be the Lakers 5th best player and his numbers aren't likely to be All-Star caliber. He'll be in tough to make it.
I'd say the first 10 (according to my lists) for both teams are a lock. I say Billups because he has an inflated reputation and the coaches love him. The West has about 6 All-Star caliber PG's, so 4 making it isn't a stretch and wouldn't be unprecedented.
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