Duncan ahead of KG in the latest round of A-S voting

[Spurminator]

Oh, and do you all think Yao deserves to be starting? If not who should be?

Yao's not completely out of the question, but I'd give Camby the start.

[polandprzem]

Avery's gonna play Tim and Tony 45 minutes each.

[ShoogarBear]

Has anyone heard anything about getting tickets to any of the events? When do they go on sale? are they sold out? Will I have to sell a kidney to have enough for the tickets?

Oh, and do you all think Yao deserves to be starting? If not who should be?

I have some friends in Houston who were trying to get tickets as far back as last summer, but I haven't heard anything recently from them.

[Kori Ellis]

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 -- Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers lead the Western Conference, while Shaquille O’Neal of the Miami Heat and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference in votes received after the fourth returns of the 2006 NBA All-Star Balloting program.

Through the Balloting program, which concludes this Sunday, Jan. 22, NBA fans from around the globe are responsible for voting in the starters for the 55th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 19. The game will be broadcast live on TNT, Rogers Sportsnet, ESPN Radio and audio in several languages on NBA.com at 7 p.m. (CST). The All-Star starters will be unveiled on Thursday, Feb. 2, prior to the TNT doubleheader featuring Cleveland at Miami at 8:00 p.m. ET followed by San Antonio visiting Golden State at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Yao (1,990,303) and Bryant (1,891,204) lead all players in votes received. The Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady leads all Western Conference forwards with 1,571,867 votes, followed by the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (1,269,683). Bryant and the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash (1,515,474), the 2004-05 NBA Most Valuable Player, lead all Western Conference guards.

O’Neal leads all Eastern Conference players with 1,840,207 votes, followed by James (1,827,008). The Indiana Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal (1,067,619) is second to James among Eastern Conference forwards. The MVP of the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, leads Eastern Conference guards (1,743,700), followed by the Heat’s Dwyane Wade (1,256,071).

Fans have the opportunity to vote in NBA arenas, in 19 languages on the NBA.com Network, in approximately 130 Loews Cineplex Entertainment movie theaters in the United States and through mobile phones at t-zones using T-Mobile service or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. This year’s All-Star Balloting partners include T-Mobile, AOL, NBA 2K6, Xbox and retailers GameStop & Electronics Boutique.

NBA All-Star 2006 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game they love and features a full slate of community enhancing activities and fan festivals.

Following the completion of fan voting on Jan. 22 and the starting line-up announcement on Feb. 2, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Feb. 9, on TNT. Detroit’s Flip Saunders and his coaching staff earned the honor of coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars as the Pistons (31-5, .861) last night clinched the best possible winning percentage in the Eastern Conference through games of Feb. 5.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the fourth returns of the 2006 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:


2006 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING:

EAST FORWARDS
LeBron James (Cle.) 1,827,008
Jermaine O’Neal (Ind.) 1,067,619
Rasheed Wallace (Det.) 654,391
Chris Webber (Phi.) 490,928
Ron Artest (Ind.) 403,634
Grant Hill (Orl.) 392,219
Paul Pierce (Bos.) 349,539
Tayshaun Prince (Det.) 346,721
Chris Bosh (Tor.) 265,322
Dwight Howard (Orl.) 244,687

EAST GUARDS
Allen Iverson (Phi.) 1,743,700
Dwyane Wade (Mia.) 1,256,071
Vince Carter (N.J.) 1,065,464
Chauncey Billups (Det.) 519,936
Jason Kidd (N.J.) 484,711
Steve Francis (Orl.) 368,463
Richard Hamilton (Det.) 349,049
Gilbert Arenas (Was.) 326,325
T.J. Ford (Mil.) 150,705
Gary Payton (Mia.) 132,028

EAST CENTERS
Shaquille O'Neal (Mia.) 1,840,207
Ben Wallace (Det.) 970,379
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle.) 191,679
Andrew Bogut (Mil.) 145,101
Nenad Krstic (N.J.) 110,970
Samuel Dalembert (Phi.) 92,102
Jamaal Magloire (Mil.) 80,183*
Eddy Curry (N.Y.) 77,019
Jeff Foster (Ind.) 73,439
Raef LaFrentz (Bos.) 69,860

WEST FORWARDS
Tracy McGrady (Hou.) 1,571,867
Tim Duncan (S.A.) 1,269,683
Kevin Garnett (Min.) 1,203,726
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal.) 530,291
Pau Gasol (Mem.) 517,161
Carmelo Anthony (Den.) 343,038
Elton Brand (LAC) 317,426
Amaré Stoudemire (Pho.) 218,782
Shawn Marion (Pho.) 217,157
Lamar Odom (LAL) 179,681

WEST GUARDS
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,891,204
Steve Nash (Pho.) 1,515,474
Manu Ginobili (S.A.) 722,754
Ray Allen (Sea.) 558,611
Tony Parker (S.A.) 513,120
Baron Davis (G.S.) 313,780
David Wesley (Hou.) 239,468
Jason Richardson (G.S.) 217,459
Mike Bibby (Sac.) 196,892
Jason Terry (Dal.) 167,370

WEST CENTERS
Yao Ming (Hou.) 1,990,303
Marcus Camby (Den.) 694,979
Mehmet Okur (Uta.) 366,054
Chris Mihm (LAL) 179,308
Erick Dampier (Dal.) 176,393
Brad Miller (Sac.) 166,067
Chris Kaman (LAC) 109,480
Michael Olowokandi (Min.) 84,484
Lorenzen Wright(Mem.) 81,419
Kurt Thomas (Pho.) 81,094

[migs21]

LATEST RETURN OF ALL STAR VOTES:

Yao Ming (Hou.) 1,990,303
Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,891,204
S. O'Neal (Mia) 1,840,207
LeBron James (Cle.) 1,827,008
Allen Iverson (Phi) 1,743,700
Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,571,867
Steve Nash (Phx.) 1,515,474
Tim Duncan (S.A.), 1,269,683
Dwyane Wade (Mia.) 1,256,071
Kevin Garnett (Min.), 1,203,726

[T-Pain]

Yao's not completely out of the question, but I'd give Camby the start.

i always vote for Yao, hes the coolest

[angel_luv]

I would love for Timmy to get some rest, but I am also super proud he is doing so well vote wise. That's our guy!

[Solid D]

Amaré Stoudemire (Pho.) 218,782
Shawn Marion (Pho.) 217,157

[TDMVPDPOY]

When the final vote count comes out?

[GrandeDavid]

Dude, I'm tired of fans voting. Let coaches and players vote. T-Mac has been injured so much, missed lots action, but look how many votes he has. Yao? Please! Guy's soft as pie.

And, Kori, nice of you to point out that fact about All Star Game coaching. I had no idea about that rule.

[nkdlunch]

So who thinks all 3 spurs will be in the All-Star? We should get at least 2. TD, Parker deserve it and Manu should be there just cause we know he will kick ass in the playoffs.

[dknights411]

Is T-Mac even gonna be all right to go in the ASG? I honestly think he should sit out for the Rockets sake.

[Kori Ellis]

When the final vote count comes out?

The All-Star starters will be unveiled on Thursday, Feb. 2, prior to the TNT doubleheader featuring Cleveland at Miami at 8:00 p.m. ET followed by San Antonio visiting Golden State at 10:30 p.m. ET.

[1Parker1]

Yes, but it cannot be Pop this year because he coached last season.

I didn't realize that was a rule. I was looking forward to Pop coaching Tony in the All Star game...! Was this a new CBA rule, or has it always been around and I just didn't know it?