All-Star Balloting - Fourth Returns In

[MrChug]

Yes, one of those two will get in, I'm hoping Josh Howard. Voting is thrown out the window when it comes to the coaches, it doesn't matter. I don't remember how many votes they had but guys like Jamaal Magloire and Rashard Lewis have gotten in and I wouldn't say they had tons of votes.

Just comparing those 3 are tough though.

J-HO
PPG 19.3
RPG 7.0
APG 1.8
SPG 1.21
BPG 1.10
FG% .465
FT% .831
3P% .417
MPG 34.4

Boozer
PPG 21.7
RPG 11.6
APG 3.1
SPG .91
BPG .37
FG% .553
FT% .714
3P% .000
MPG 36.7

Marion
PPG 19.4
RPG 9.4
APG 1.8
SPG 1.94
BPG 1.44
FG% .511
FT% .847
3P% .308
MPG 38.6

If numbers are the deciding factor (considering the difference in team success is negligable), Josh doesn't have much of a chance I don't think.

[FromWayDowntown]

The coaches have to vote for 1 backup center, 2 backup forwards, 2 backup guards, and 2 "wild cards." You can do some of the math at this point.

For instance, Yao is going to be the starting center for the West, two of Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki will be voted to start at forward for the West, and two of Kobe/McGrady/Iverson will be voted to start at guard for the West.

Figure that Stoudemire will be the backup center voted by the West coaches. At the very least, whoever among Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki isn't voted to start will be one of the 2 backup forwards. Likewise, at least one of the backup guards will be Nash.

That gives you all-star cinches of:

1. Yao
2. Stoudemire
3. Garnett
4. Duncan
5. Nowitzki
6. Bryant
7. McGrady
8. Nash

Assuming that there's no great groundswell of support for Iverson as a West All-Star (which would make him a no-brainer, too, I think), you need one more forward, one more guard, and then two wild cards. Getting those slots will be amazingly difficult.

At forward you have a number of candidates with solid credentials, like Marion, Boozer, Howard, Anthony, Brand, and Randolph (to name a few). At guard you have, perhaps fewer candidates, but some strong arguments: Allen, the Iverson/McGrady loser, Parker, and D. Williams.

If you give a West forward spot to Josh Howard, you're telling either Carlos Boozer or Shawn Marion that this just isn't his year. I think I'd do that in a basketball sense, but are Howard's numbers sufficient to put him ahead of either Boozer or Marion? It's not like there's a monsterous disparity in records among those candidates and one could argue that each is about as valuable as the other to his team's success. Is Howard's 19.3, 7.0, 1.8 better than Marion's 19.4, 9.4, 1.8 or Boozer's 21.7, 11.6, 3.1? Difficult call, I think.

The same problems exist with Tony Parker's candidacy (or Manu Ginobili's, if you really want to be optimistic). Assume that Nash and Iverson/McGrady are the two backup guards -- can anyone truly justify sending Parker to Vegas in front of guys like Marion, Howard, Boozer, Randolph, or Anthony?

In the end, I think there are going to be a lot of guys who are going to throw down the "disrespected" card when the All-Star rosters are announced.

[Timmy!]

Marbury = 5th guard in the east!

[ponky]

At forward you have a number of candidates with solid credentials, like Marion, Boozer, Howard, Anthony, Brand, and Randolph (to name a few). At guard you have, perhaps fewer candidates, but some strong arguments: Allen, the Iverson/McGrady loser, Parker, and D. Williams.

If you give a West forward spot to Josh Howard, you're telling either Carlos Boozer or Shawn Marion that this just isn't his year. I think I'd do that in a basketball sense, but are Howard's numbers sufficient to put him ahead of either Boozer or Marion? It's not like there's a monsterous disparity in records among those candidates and one could argue that each is about as valuable as the other to his team's success. Is Howard's 19.3, 7.0, 1.8 better than Marion's 19.4, 9.4, 1.8 or Boozer's 21.7, 11.6, 3.1? Difficult call, I think.

The same problems exist with Tony Parker's candidacy (or Manu Ginobili's, if you really want to be optimistic). Assume that Nash and Iverson/McGrady are the two backup guards -- can anyone truly justify sending Parker to Vegas in front of guys like Marion, Howard, Boozer, Randolph, or Anthony?

In the end, I think there are going to be a lot of guys who are going to throw down the "disrespected" card when the All-Star rosters are announced.

Yup, there will be plenty of disappointment to go around...we should just take some spots from the East to appease! I really hope Marion doesn't make it...having a possible D'Antoni coached team with THREE Suns All-Stars would be too much...Nash/Amare making All-Star is also another reason I think Marion might not make it. He's already been an All-Star three times, hard to make a case for three Suns All-Stars when there are so many from other teams who are equally deserving and he's playing with two All-Stars, unlike Boozer or JHO. Actually, Marion's numbers are a little bit down from last year but maybe it has something to do with playing a minute less per game than last season.

[Phenomanul]

The coaches have to vote for 1 backup center, 2 backup forwards, 2 backup guards, and 2 "wild cards." You can do some of the math at this point.

For instance, Yao is going to be the starting center for the West, two of Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki will be voted to start at forward for the West, and two of Kobe/McGrady/Iverson will be voted to start at guard for the West.

Figure that Stoudemire will be the backup center voted by the West coaches. At the very least, whoever among Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki isn't voted to start will be one of the 2 backup forwards. Likewise, at least one of the backup guards will be Nash.

That gives you all-star cinches of:

1. Yao
2. Stoudemire
3. Garnett
4. Duncan
5. Nowitzki
6. Bryant
7. McGrady
8. Nash

Assuming that there's no great groundswell of support for Iverson as a West All-Star (which would make him a no-brainer, too, I think), you need one more forward, one more guard, and then two wild cards. Getting those slots will be amazingly difficult.

At forward you have a number of candidates with solid credentials, like Marion, Boozer, Howard, Anthony, Brand, and Randolph (to name a few). At guard you have, perhaps fewer candidates, but some strong arguments: Allen, the Iverson/McGrady loser, Parker, and D. Williams.

If you give a West forward spot to Josh Howard, you're telling either Carlos Boozer or Shawn Marion that this just isn't his year. I think I'd do that in a basketball sense, but are Howard's numbers sufficient to put him ahead of either Boozer or Marion? It's not like there's a monsterous disparity in records among those candidates and one could argue that each is about as valuable as the other to his team's success. Is Howard's 19.3, 7.0, 1.8 better than Marion's 19.4, 9.4, 1.8 or Boozer's 21.7, 11.6, 3.1? Difficult call, I think.

The same problems exist with Tony Parker's candidacy (or Manu Ginobili's, if you really want to be optimistic). Assume that Nash and Iverson/McGrady are the two backup guards -- can anyone truly justify sending Parker to Vegas in front of guys like Marion, Howard, Boozer, Randolph, or Anthony?

In the end, I think there are going to be a lot of guys who are going to throw down the "disrespected" card when the All-Star rosters are announced.

Good analysis

[spurschick]

Refresh my memory... do the players that participate in the Saturday night events, i.e. skills challenge, have to be from the same pool that make the All-Star team?

[ponky]

Refresh my memory... do the players that participate in the Saturday night events, i.e. skills challenge, have to be from the same pool that make the All-Star team?

not at all

[timvp]

The coaches have to vote for 1 backup center, 2 backup forwards, 2 backup guards, and 2 "wild cards." You can do some of the math at this point.

For instance, Yao is going to be the starting center for the West, two of Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki will be voted to start at forward for the West, and two of Kobe/McGrady/Iverson will be voted to start at guard for the West.

Figure that Stoudemire will be the backup center voted by the West coaches. At the very least, whoever among Garnett/Duncan/Nowitzki isn't voted to start will be one of the 2 backup forwards. Likewise, at least one of the backup guards will be Nash.

That gives you all-star cinches of:

1. Yao
2. Stoudemire
3. Garnett
4. Duncan
5. Nowitzki
6. Bryant
7. McGrady
8. Nash

Assuming that there's no great groundswell of support for Iverson as a West All-Star (which would make him a no-brainer, too, I think), you need one more forward, one more guard, and then two wild cards. Getting those slots will be amazingly difficult.

At forward you have a number of candidates with solid credentials, like Marion, Boozer, Howard, Anthony, Brand, and Randolph (to name a few). At guard you have, perhaps fewer candidates, but some strong arguments: Allen, the Iverson/McGrady loser, Parker, and D. Williams.

If you give a West forward spot to Josh Howard, you're telling either Carlos Boozer or Shawn Marion that this just isn't his year. I think I'd do that in a basketball sense, but are Howard's numbers sufficient to put him ahead of either Boozer or Marion? It's not like there's a monsterous disparity in records among those candidates and one could argue that each is about as valuable as the other to his team's success. Is Howard's 19.3, 7.0, 1.8 better than Marion's 19.4, 9.4, 1.8 or Boozer's 21.7, 11.6, 3.1? Difficult call, I think.

The same problems exist with Tony Parker's candidacy (or Manu Ginobili's, if you really want to be optimistic). Assume that Nash and Iverson/McGrady are the two backup guards -- can anyone truly justify sending Parker to Vegas in front of guys like Marion, Howard, Boozer, Randolph, or Anthony?

In the end, I think there are going to be a lot of guys who are going to throw down the "disrespected" card when the All-Star rosters are announced.

Nice job. I think the West will be:

C Yao Ming
C Amare Stoudemire
G Steve Nash
G Kobe Bryant
G Allen Iverson
G Tracy McGrady
G Ray Allen/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili
F Tim Duncan
F Dirk Nowitzki
F Kevin Garnett
F Josh Howard
F Carlos Boozer

Marion and Brand are having off years so I don't really think you have to add them to the mix. Carmelo was a shoe-in before getting suspended. Randolph's team is too bad to make it off the bench.

I would say both Josh Howard and Carlos Boozer should be locks right now. Both are on good teams and having great years. The Mavs deserve at least two all-stars, if not more. The Jazz deserve at least one all-star.

One thing to remember, though, is that the bench players' positions are a lot more flexible than the starters. I wouldn't be surprised if Boozer gets named in as the backup center if they want to free room for another forward. And if they want to stretch it, they could name Howard as the fifth guard.

That brings up the question of whether Stoudemire is really an all-star. He's a feel good story for how he's bounced back but his numbers are not overly impressive and way down from his previous numbers. If coaches think that Marion or even someone like Carmelo > Stoudemire, they can just bump Boozer to center.

Parker or Ginobili have a chance, but I can see the spot getting eliminated. Actually, the coaches could just name Carmelo as the fifth guard. Do Parker or Ginobili deserve a spot on the team? Tough to say but right now I'd probably say no. If the Spurs were a higher in the standings, that'd be a little different.

[exstatic]

I think if Melo wants to play in the ASG, he'd better get friends and family to stuff the ballot box, or Karl Rove to manage his campaign, after his little pussy fight in MSG. He's the stupidest mother er in the world. All he had to do to finally make the ASG was NOTHING, and he couldn't even get that right.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

He made a stupid rash decision and he should lose an ASG appearance over it? Its not like 15 games ( 3 times more than anyone else has ever gotten for punching another player ) isnt enough already.

He knows he made a mistake, he admitted it and is taking the punishment like a man and not appealing it. You know he would have easily knocked 3-5 games off the suspension if he let the union appeal, but instead he is taking it coz he knows he made a mistake.

Funny how anything decent Melo does goes unnoticed but his mistakes are put in the spotlight and never forgotten. No NBA team has ever not had a player make stupid mistakes. Even your precious spurs.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

At least Pop is smarter than some of the fans here. He knows players make mistakes and he won't hold it against Melo

[ChumpDumper]

Funny how anything decent Melo does goes unnoticed but his mistakes are put in the spotlight and never forgotten. No NBA team has ever not had a player make stupid mistakes. Even your precious spurs.

If a Spur sucker punched a guy and ran like a coward, I probably wouldn't want him to be on the Spurs team anymore much less the All-Star team.

Melo will have other chances.

[milkyway21]

[QUOTE]Guards:
1. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,536,556;
2. Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,331,511;
3. Allen Iverson (Den) 1,300,248*;
4. Steve Nash (Pho) 992,885;
5. Manu Ginobili (SA)376,185;
6. Tony Parker (SA) 350,257;
7. Chris Paul (NOK) 316,142;


gee, i think Manu will have the chance to play again...and probably Chris Paul of another team, w/ Tony losing a spot.
let's go vote more for Manu and Tony!!!

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

If a Spur sucker punched a guy and ran like a coward, I probably wouldn't want him to be on the Spurs team anymore much less the All-Star team.

Melo will have other chances.

People must be miseducated about sucker punches. If Collins wasn't expecting a punch for what he did then he is an idiot. He was looking right at Melo when Melo walked up to him. The only sucker part about it was the guy who got hit, he is a sucker for thinking he should be in the NBA.


And dont lie about not wanting a guy on your team coz of mistakes he made. Horry bites a guy and still is in a Spurs uniform, thats a more cowardly act that what Melo did.

Reggie grabbed a guys balls and yet half the Spurs fans probably would kill to have his rebounding off the bench.

People make mistakes and you can't judge them unless you have never made one.

[ChumpDumper]

You're right. I have never sucker punched anyone and run like a coward on national TV.

[Kori Ellis]

[QUOTE=milkyway21]

Guards:
1. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,536,556;
2. Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,331,511;
3. Allen Iverson (Den) 1,300,248*;
4. Steve Nash (Pho) 992,885;
5. Manu Ginobili (SA)376,185;
6. Tony Parker (SA) 350,257;
7. Chris Paul (NOK) 316,142;


gee, i think Manu will have the chance to play again...and probably Chris Paul of another team, w/ Tony losing a spot.
let's go vote more for Manu and Tony!!!

Voting for Manu or Tony doesn't help them win a spot at this point. Only the top two guards are picked by voting. The rest is just up to the coaches and they don't care about the standings in the voting.

I don't think Manu has any chance unfortunately. I think Tony has a slight outside chance.

[samikeyp]

People must be miseducated about sucker punches. If Collins wasn't expecting a punch for what he did then he is an idiot. He was looking right at Melo when Melo walked up to him. The only sucker part about it was the guy who got hit, he is a sucker for thinking he should be in the NBA

so then you approve of what Anthony did.

And dont lie about not wanting a guy on your team coz of mistakes he made. Horry bites a guy and still is in a Spurs uniform, thats a more cowardly act that what Melo did.

How is chump lying? Are you sure he wants Horry on the team?

Technically though, you are correct about the punch...a sucker punch is when you hit someone who isn't looking. What Melo did was just a plain move.

[ChumpDumper]

I didn't want Horry on the All-Star team after he punched David Robinson in the balls.

[MrChug]

Nice job. I think the West will be:

...Marion and Brand are having off years so I don't really think you have to add them to the mix. Carmelo was a shoe-in before getting suspended.

Well I have to disagree. I HATE SHAWN MARION. But to denounce them for having off years is one thing, yet to dismiss him even though he's having a BETTER year (by far) statistically than someone who you will put before him is way off. (See post #26). And to say that the leagues leading scorer would not get voted in by the coaches is just ludicrous.

[milkyway21]

Refresh my memory... do the players that participate in the Saturday night events, i.e. skills challenge, have to be from the same pool that make the All-Star team?

if i remember correctly when Denver hosted the All-Star games the other yr they didn't have a player on the ASG roster. Anthony was not selected but they participated in some events such as Rich Q in 3pt shoot out and won.

[timvp]

And to say that the leagues leading scorer would not get voted in by the coaches is just ludicrous.

Hey, I'm as big of a Carmelo fan as there is in San Antonio, but it's tough to put him on the All-Star team when he's going to miss something like 35% of the games. Same reason why Chris Paul can't really make it anymore because he missed too many games.

If we are going on averages, then yeah Carmelo should probably start.

[Kori Ellis]

I know McGrady is on fire lately. But if AI passes him in the voting then I would leave him off the All-Star team and do something like this:

C Yao Ming
C Amare Stoudemire
G Kobe Bryant
G Allen Iverson
G Steve Nash
G Josh Howard
G Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili
F Tim Duncan
F Dirk Nowitzki
F Kevin Garnett
F Carmelo Anthony
F Carlos Boozer

It would be fair, because two Suns, two Mavs and two Spurs would go. And people consider those three the best teams in the league.

(If you want Marion over Stoudemire, then slide Boozer to C and let Marion take the other F spot)

[ducks]

can kori vbookie who gets in the allstar game?

[ducks]

chargers have 9 players in their forum on the allstar game
and bears have 8 I think
who cares what is fair
let the best players go!

[Kori Ellis]

can kori vbookie who gets in the allstar game?

I'll look around and see if there's odds for it.