All-Star Picks

These would be my All-Star selections if it was solely up to me (which I'm petitioning to Papa Stern to happen). I am a firm believer in not missing too many games for consideration, so I am not up in arms right now that Melo is not on the team. Same goes for Mike Redd's situation.

Eastern Conf Starting Lineup:

G- Arenas
G- Wade
F- James
F- Bosh
C- D.Howard

Comments: No real surprises here. Sorry, but Shaq doesn't make my team for basically missing the whole season. Dwight has scuffled the last few weeks, and I considered Jermaine & Okafor instead, but I stuck with Dwight. Bosh barely made the team since he missed 12 games.

East Reserves:
G- Kidd
G- Billups
F- C. Butler
F- J. O'Neal
C- Okafor
WC- J. Johnson
WC- Carter

Comments: My last 2 spots came down to a 3-way battle between Vince, Joe, & Rip Hamilton; not much seperates them in my mind. You can make a good case for any of them, and I can't really quibble with the Coaches' pick of Rip. Again, like the cry for Melo, I think the complaints for Redd are overblown--Redd has missed 13 games as of right now & he is currently hurt at the time, so how do blame the coaches for leaving him off.

On the bubble: Hamilton; Deng; Jamison; Gordon

West Conf Starting Lineup:
G- Nash
G- Bryant
F- Dirk
F- Garnett
C- Duncan

Comments: Obviously, I disagree with the fans' pick of McGrady over Nash. Also, Yao's been out too many games & last I heard he will not be ready for action until early March. Duncan gets the nod for center, since he's basically a center.

West Reserves:
G- Iverson
G- McGrady
F- Josh Howard
F- Marion
C- Amare
WC- Brand
WC-Parker

Comments: Boozer would have been on my reserve list if healthy. I just decided to leave Melo off because he missed 15 games. If Stern wants to put him on as a replacement, I don't have big qualms, but for all the people who think he got robbed they need to settle down--dude missed 15 games, plain & simple. Tony Parker got my last nod just barely nudging out Baron, Deron Williams, & Allen. Parker's shooting percentage was helpful in my mind & being nearly as important as Duncan to the Spurs' strong record, but I think anyone calling for Ray Allen instead is justified. Although Brand has not been quite good as last year, he still is having a very efficient year (21ppg on 56%) & is an underrated defender.

On the bubble: D. Williams; Baron; Randolph; R. Allen; Okur; Camby; K. Martin