Should The Boston Celtics Have 4 Players in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game?
There has been a lot of controversy recently over who should be on the Western Conference team for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game.
One of the main discussions has been whether the San Antonio Spurs or the Los Angeles Lakers deserve to have three players represented on the squad.
Seemingly flying under the radar is the question of whether the Boston Celtics deserve to have FOUR players in the All-Star Game.
The Celtics own the best record in the Eastern Conference, and the second-best record in the league behind the San Antonio Spurs.
Known as the "Big Four", Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo have been a consistent force in the NBA since the 2007-08 season when Garnett and Allen joined the team.
Since then, the "Big Four" have lead their team to two NBA Finals appearances, including a championship in 2008.
They also came within a Game 7 loss, and some say a Kendrick Perkins knee injury, of winning the title again last season.
Last year, Garnett was voted in as a starting forward by the fans to the All-Star Game while Pierce and Rondo were selected as reserves by the coaches in the East.
In both 2008 and 2009, Garnett was voted in as a starter while Pierce and Allen were chosen as reserve All-Stars.
In this year's All-Star voting, Garnett and Rondo were both second in voting for forwards and guards, respectively, until overtaken by Amar’e Stoudemire and Derrick Rose in the most recent balloting returns.
Even if they both remain third in voting in the final balloting results to be announced on Jan. 27, both Garnett and Rondo are considered locks to make the team.
So is Paul Pierce, who is the Celtics' leading scorer, and currently fourth in voting for Eastern Conference forwards.
The question that remains, however, is whether Ray Allen will be chosen as an All-Star.
Like Pierce, Allen is also the fourth leading vote-getter in balloting for his guard position behind Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Rondo.
Allen is having a sensational year, posting nearly identical stats to his first year with Boston, the first of two years he was selected to be an All-Star as a Celtic.
He is averaging 17.3 points-per-game this season compared to 17.4 ppg in 2007-08, and 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, exactly what he averaged in 2007-08.
What really stands out, however, is Allen is shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from the three-point line, which are not only his highs as a Celtic, but for his career.
If Allen can maintain these averages for the rest of the season as well as raise his current free-throw percentage from 87.1 percent to 90 percent, he would enter the exclusive 50-40-90 Club.
Only seven players in the history of the NBA have shot 50 percent overall, 40 percent three-pointers, and 90 percent free throws in the same season.
Allen could be the eighth.
What's more, he is currently only 23 three-pointers behind Reggie Miller's all-time NBA record of 2,560, a mark he's destined to break this season.
Allen's stiffest competition amongst guards in the Eastern Conference includes Joe Johnson, Stephen Jackson and Raymond Felton.
But given the Celtics' winning record and his invaluable contributions to the team, with Boston being the favorites to repeat as Eastern Conference Champions, it would be difficult to argue that those aforementioned are more deserving to be a 2011 All-Star than Ray Allen.
