My Favorite Blank

They have just released the names of this years NBA All Star Game in New Orleans. I see a couple of players on the team that I voted for, but not as many as I thought would be on the 1st Team All Stars.

Eastern Conference NBA Starters

G Jason Kidd

G Dwayne Wade

F LeBron James

F Kevin Garnett

C Dwight Howard

Western Conference NBA Starters

G Allen Iverson

G Kobe Bryant

F Carmelo Anythony

F Tim Duncan

C Yao Ming

Is there any big surprises that you see with this years 2008 NBA All Star Teams? I think the one that stands out to me is that Tracy McGrady is not on the Western Conference All Stars. I think Tracy McGrady is the 2nd best player in the NBA next to Kobe Bryant and that’s a real shock he’s not on the team. You also have to figure that all the Asian voters that voted for Yao Ming would be checking McGrady’s name on the All Star Ballots. It’s hard for a Western Conference Center to get on the team as a starter, because so many people from the East vote on the NBA All Star Game and they love Yao Ming out there. Yao Ming is a great player in the NBA and I don’t really know of a center that is truly better than him. There is several that people will consider better, but I think you get into splitting hairs. Yao Ming’s biggest weakness is his floor speed. Opposing teams try to run up and down on the Houston Rockets and try to take Yao out of the defense for the Rockets. Allen Iverson got the place that Tracy McGrady deserved. No complaints with Iverson and he’s one of my favorite players. I really like to watch him play and I have followed Allen Iverson since his days at Georgetown.

I can’t wait to see who else gets selected on the squads for the Eastern and Western Conference teams. Josh Smith has been tearing it up in Atlanta and he’s the main reason the Atlanta Hawks are in contention for the playoffs this year. Josh has some help, but until the Hawks decide Joe Johnson isn’t the horse that can take you all the way; the better off they will be. Joe Johnson is highly over rated and its sad to see the media and announcers in these parts make up excuses for him every day. Atlanta just needs that 1 marketable player and while they are making every effort to have that with Joe Johnson, he’s just never going to pan out as the star of any playoff basketball team in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns did win the trade with the Atlanta Hawks and they got 2 first round picks and Boris Diaw who gave them great production from just about every position on the court. Joe is an ok player, but until he learns to play lock down defense, give 100 percent effort each night and quits taking plays off during the game, he could be a descent star in the NBA, but never a true All Star. Last year was a fluke and he only was on the team due to players ahead of him getting injured or deciding to take the All Star Weekend off.

Mr. MVP Steve Nash wasn’t selected as a starter on the team either, but Phoenix Suns fans can relax, because he will be in New Orleans representing the team from the desert. I just hope Josh Smith gets recognized for his efforts and is added to the Eastern Conference All Stars. There is no player in the league that has more athletic skill than him and that triple double he put up against the Denver Nuggets will not be his last.

Congrats to all of the All Stars and to their fans that root for them night in and night out. It should be a fun event as always and I really hope the dunk contest can come back and be as good as it once was. All Star Weekend is nothing without a good dunk contest on the Saturday Night before the All Star Game. Be sure to look for Al Horford in the Rookie Challenge and he’s my pick for the MVP of the game. Go Rookies!

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