The 2008 Should Be NBA All Stars
Keep these NBA Players in Mind When Voting for All Star Game
Undeserving NBA players often slip into the All Star game over players who might be more deserving.
It's a common complaint that the NBA players who end up starting for the NBA All Star Game aren't often deserving of the honor. This will also most likely be the case for the 2008 NBA All Star Game in mid February.
According to RealGM, rookie forward Yi Jianlian - who's averaging 10.9 ppg and 6.1 rbpg for the 12-19 Milwaukee Bucks - currently has more votes than Caron Butler, forward for the 15-15 Washington Wizards, who's averaging a career-high 22.1 ppg to go with 6.9 rbpg and 4.5 apg and Josh Smith, forward for the 15-14 Atlanta Hawks, who's averaging 17.2 ppg, 8.1 rbpg and 3.1 bspg.
Forward, Shane Battier, who's averaging just 8.6 ppg for the underachieving 15-17 Houston Rockets, has more votes at this point than Shawn Marion, averaging 16.2 ppg, 10.1 rbpg, 2.0 spg for the 23-9 Phoenix Suns, and Josh Howard, averaging 21.2 ppg, 7.3 rbpg for the 21-11 Dallas Mavericks.
With that in mind, here's a look at which players are most-deserving to make the 2008 NBA All Star team.
Eastern Conference Starters
- C Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic - Howard might be the only truly deserving center in the East. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Emeka Okafor might get some looks, but ultimately, Howard should get it. He's led the Magic to a division-leading record and also leads the league in rebounds per game.
- F Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics - Garnett anchors the Celtics great defense and is a strong canddate for league MVP.
- F LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers - James is the one bright spot on a terrible Cavs team. They may not have a winning record, but rest assured they'd be at the bottom of the East without "King James".
- G Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets - Kidd's field goal percentage is awful (37% from the field) and his turnovers are higher than they've been since the 1995-1996 season when he averaged 4.1 per game, but he is one of the toughest players in the league and is averaging a near-triple-double (11.4 ppg, 8.8 rbpg and 10.7 apg).
- G Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons - The picking's slim for guards in the East. Chauncey Billups has been as effective and efficient as any. Among others who might be considered: Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat has been injured too often and his team is really bad; Michael Redd's team is struggling; Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics has regressed of late; Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks isn't even the best player on his team; and Vince Carter has been inconsistent.
Western Conference Starters
- C Yao Ming, Houston Rockets - There are a few things working against Yao. One, the Rockets are struggling this season. Two, Yao's numbers are down significantly. Three, he hasn't been the leader fans have hoped him to be. Yet, the center position is somewhat thin and in Yao's defense, he has had to carry this team without Tracy McGrady much of the time. Without both of its stars, the Rockets are an awful team. If Tim Duncan is considered a forward, Yao is hands down the best center in the West. Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets deserves the nod as the main back up, but he doesn't carry his team as much as Yao does. Chris Kaman, LA Clippers, and Andrew Bynum, LA Lakers, deserve mentioned as reserves, but they're not ready to claim the honor of All Star starter.
- F Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs - Duncan's doing what Duncan does best and should be recognized as one of the league's top players.
- F Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz - There are many other names that come to mind, including Dirk Nowitkzki of the Dallas Mavericks, Josh Howard (Yes, Josh Howard. He's had a great year so far.) also with the Mavs, Carmelo Anthony (incredibly turnover-prone and a bit one-dimensional) with the Denver Nuggets, David West with the New Orleans Hornets and Shawn Marion with the Phoenix Suns. Yet, Boozer has had a career year, averaging 23.5 ppg and 11.3 rbpg.
- PG Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets - Suns' guard Steve Nash will likely get the nod, but Paul is much more deserving. For starters, he's a superior defender, averaging 3.0 spg, he doesn't turn the ball over nearly as much (2.6 times per game compared to Nash's 3.6) and he's led his Hornets to a 23-11 record, despite them having arguably less talent than the 23-10 Phoenix Suns. Golden State Warriors' guard Baron Davis should also get a look.
- G Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers - With the help of center Andrew Bynum, Kobe has his Lakers (21-11) playing great. He's the NBA's third leading scorer, but plays fewer minutes per game than the rest of the top six scorers.
Don't forget to vote for the 2008 NBA All Star starters. Naturally, voters don't have to do any research to vote. However, it can be argued that letting the better players play might help the quality of the game overall.
