LeBron James....Heat
Amar'e Stoudamire.....Knicks
Dwayne Wade.....Heat
Derrick Rose.....Bulls
Dwight Howard.....Magic
Ray Allen.....Celtics
Chris Bosh.....Heat
Kevin Garnett.....Celtics
Al Horford.....Hawks
Joe Johnson.....Hawks
Paul Pierce.....Celtics
Rajon Rondo.....Celtics
Coach: Doc Rivers.....Celtics
During the past few years it has been common practice to call the East "the weaker of the 2 conferences". It is difficult to argue when there are fewer teams with winning records compared to the West, but the coaches choices for the East All-Star reserves were limited. I hate favoritism in any aspect of life and would be quick to accuse the coaches of this, except the reality of it is that only the top 6 teams in the East have players that could be considered All-Stars.
Had Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer from the Chicago Bulls been healthy all year I would no doubt be up in arms demanding one of them replace Kevin Garnett. That however was not the case. As an Eastern Conference supporter it's a hard pill to swallow, but it's the truth, the talent pool of the East is concentrated on the top 6 teams. Maybe what everyone feared may become a reality, too many "Super Teams" can cause a massive gap in the competitiveness in the NBA.
I for one even blogged about how the "Super Team" would have little affect on things, I'm ready to rethink that theory. 7 of the 12 East All-Stars come from only 2 teams, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
Kevin Durant.....Thunder
Carmelo Anthony.....Nuggets
Kobe Bryant.....Lakers
Chris Paul.....Hornets
Yao Ming.....Rockets
Tim Duncan.....Spurs
Manu Ginobili.....Spurs
Pau Gasol.....Lakers
Blake Griffin.....Clippers
Dirk Nowitzki.....Mavericks
Russell Westbrook.....Thunder
Deron Williams.....Jazz
Coach: Greg Popovich.....Spurs
I must say that I have very little to complain about this years Western Conference All-Stars. Other than the fact that Rajon Rondo from the Celtics made the East roster and Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns is no where to be found for the West, all else is difficult to debate.
The Yao Ming situation has been an ongoing one since he entered the NBA. Having not played a full season due to injury over the last few years it's confusing as to why he is always voted in. It is almost a certainty he won't play, and has rarely played enough to earn the roster spot. Yao Ming will be replaced by a player chosen by NBA commissioner David Stern before the All-Star weekend.
It is clear that the West also has the majority of it's All-Stars from the top 6 teams, but it won't be long until we see players like Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors, Tyreke Evans from Sacramento, LaMarcus Aldridge from the Trail Blazers and Kevin Love from Minnesota make the team in years to come, all from lower ranked teams. All of which should have been considered for spots, more than I can say for the East.
The Yao Ming situation has been an ongoing one since he entered the NBA. Having not played a full season due to injury over the last few years it's confusing as to why he is always voted in. It is almost a certainty he won't play, and has rarely played enough to earn the roster spot. Yao Ming will be replaced by a player chosen by NBA commissioner David Stern before the All-Star weekend.
It is clear that the West also has the majority of it's All-Stars from the top 6 teams, but it won't be long until we see players like Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors, Tyreke Evans from Sacramento, LaMarcus Aldridge from the Trail Blazers and Kevin Love from Minnesota make the team in years to come, all from lower ranked teams. All of which should have been considered for spots, more than I can say for the East.
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