What's Wrong With The 2011 NBA All-Star Game And Who Will Win? I'll Tell You...

This year's NBA All-Star Game looks to be an interesting one, coming from Los Angeles, the city of all stars. My prediction is the West Coast will nail this one out, but before I get to that, let me elaborate on the few issues we are faced with for the 2011 NBA All-Star weekend and the process of the game in general.

The Biggest Problem With The 2011 NBA All-Star Game.

YAO Ming in Pain over the LA Lakers hardwood and set stage for the 2011 ALL Star game.

It's really does belittle me why David Stern has not intervened and set up some kind of limitations for fans who continuously vote injured stars into the All-Star team every year. There should be a rule in place that gives a minimum amount of games an individual has to play to be on the ballet and if that player is on IR they are automatically removed from All-Star Consideration.

You can name that after Tracy McGrady or Allen Iverson, your choice, but both of these stars have ruined numerous All-Star Games of the past decade while remaining more popular than healthy (honorable mention to Vince Carter).

Last year, in the midst of Iverson's retirement from the Grizzlies, and return to the Sixers stalled by injuries, he was voted into the All-Star game as a starter playing only 24 games, and averaging only 13.9 points per game. This is the second time Yao Ming has been voted into the All-Star game while being inactive (07', 11').


Yao Ming being on the All-Star ballot cost Andrew Bynum a starting spot in the 2011 All-star game being that he was the runner up in voting for the West and Ming does not qualify as a candidate. It's not a service to the fan, or players because the number one active center the fans wanted to see was Andrew Bynum, who did not get voted in by the GMs or Stern.

Keep in mind Bynum also was plagued by injuries which limited him to 18 games so far this season, so you can't feel too bad that he didn't make the game. You should have to play at least 20 games to be voted into the NBA All-Star Game. Players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and etc. would be voted in as reserves either way, giving hard working, healthy stars around the league a chance to be voted in.

Having players being chosen to replace injured stars who were voted in takes away the honor of being an All-Star because these players are given an asterisk next to their name in all All-Star memorabilia.

Perhaps if Yao was never voted in, than Tim Duncan would have been voted in as a starter and Kevin Love would have received more votes from GMs across the league. Instead he becomes this year's David Lee, the almost All-Star, that just made it because of an injury, but not because of the hard work and consistency displayed.

The Snubs...I.E: CB4 Over CB5???

Which Perennial Forward is more deserving of that All-Star Nod?

You can't have your cake and eat it too, yet that is exactly what Chris Bosh is doing. When Chris Bosh signed on to go play sidekick for the Two-Headed monster that is Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, which was sure to limit his production (as it has) and cut down his pay (not really, without having to worry about a state tax in Florida, Bosh is making just what he would've made in Toronto, but that's a whole other story), I was almost certain he'd have to part ways with his string of All-Star Game appearances.
 
Yet somehow, GMs became mystified by the "Big Three," (big two, and other guy) and voted in Bosh over Boozer although every thing about their seasons says otherwise. Maybe they didn't want to piss off the Heat and give them another chip on their shoulder, who knows, but let's break down the numbers and why exactly Boozer was snubbed, and Bosh was over-rated.

First of all, this notion that the Heat should have three players because they are dominating the league is terribly off. As of 1:09 P.M February 5th, the Miami Heat are one game better than the Chicago Bulls. So with that excused let's look into their individual performances and team contributions.


The Bulls are 23-7 with Boozer, giving them a 77 percent win percentage, not to mention, that they won a majority of those games without Joakim Noah, so they got back Boozer, lost Noah, and got better still. Bosh is 30-16 with the Heat while active which is a 65 percent win percentage and he is playing with two of the three best players in the NBA every night.
C

hris Bosh has 16 double-doubles in 46 games. Carlos Boozer has 20 double-doubles in 30 games. Easy math.

Bosh’s Numbers:  18.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, .493 FG percentage

Boozer’s Numbers: 19.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg, .544 FG percentage

As you can see Boozer is averaging more points and rebounds than Bosh, playing almost five less minutes a game and shooting 55 percent from the field compared to Bosh’s 49 percent.

It is hard for me to figure out on what basis Bosh was chosen over Boozer. Is it because he played 15 more games that Boozer, or because he drinks from the same cooler as Two MVP candidates?

Asides from the Boozer-Bosh debate, you might make a case for Tony Parker being that the Spurs are the best in the NBA and the Celtics had four players chosen while the Spurs have only two. However in a league with premium guards such as Westbrook, Paul, Williams and Nash, the only substitution plausible would be dropping Ginobli for Parker, but either way you'd have the same scenario with a Ginobli snub.

The Aldridge snub cries from Andre Miller and co. need to stop now. Miller was quoted on saying, "He ain't made nobody better. It's basically his rookie year, as an All-Star? LeBron James didn't make an All-Star team as a rookie," in reference to Blake Griffin. Maybe Miller feels this way because of his run in with Griffin (literally) that got him ejected in their meeting earlier this season, or maybe he's just oblivious to what is going on in the NBA.

Blake Griffin is the most phenomenal rookie to play this game since Larry Johnson thrashed the league so hard it was okay for him to run around looking like a black Ms. Doubtfire (for those of you oblivious to the monster that Larry Johnson was before chronic back injuries, go see his rookie highlights on you tube, and try not saying deja-vu). As long as Blake Griffin can stray free from injuries you can pencil his name in next to Barkley and Malone as a candidate for the most dominating power forward ever. That is why Lamarcus Aldridge is not an All-Star. Blake Griffin's team has suffered however, they've had tons of injuries, and still aren't too far off from the Blazers record.

As far as all the complaints about Kevin Love only having 11 wins under his belt, I pose one question. Who is the last person to average 21 and 16 and not make it to All-star weekend?

All in all, I'd say this year may be the most accurate depiction of what players are deserving to play in the All-Star game in recent memory. However...

Too Much Green...and I Don't Mean $

This may be the start of the game, but with Doc Rivers coaching dont expect this scenario late into the contest

There are so many issues with this scenario of four Boston Celtics being voted into the All-Star game as reserves. Only six times in the history of the NBA have we seen four guys be voted onto the All-Star team from one team. The 62' Celtics sent Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones; The 75' Celtics sent John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Paul Silas; The 83' Sixers sent Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney; The 98' Lakers sent Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel; The 06' Pistons sent Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace; and now The 2011 Celtics repeat history.

Two of those Previous five groups of four went on to win the NBA championship that season (62' Celtics,and the 83' Sixers) which proves they were worthy of the honor, but unless a team is a runaway favorite to win the NBA Championship they should never have four All-Stars. For you to have four of the best players in the game and not be far superior than the rest of the league speaks volumes. Maybe those four guys are not that great, or maybe there is a lot of competition meaning a lot more worthy All-Star candidates.

The Celtics have had a great start to their season however, not great enough to justify these selections. I am not saying that all four guys aren't All-Star quality, but not even the Bulls team that went on to win 72 games in a season had four All-Stars. The Celtics won 10 titles, in the sixties and seventies and they've only had four all-stars once. These guys are not great to the point where if one of them is left off the team it would be a crime, and I'm very shocked that the GMs voted all four of them in. Here are the numerous reasons why this isn't such a great idea for the fans, and the league.

The NBA is complaining about how poor small market teams are doing, and the ramifications they will face in the CBA however they feed into the big markets like Boston and continue to bury the smaller market teams into bankruptcy. Spreading the wealth and allowing a deserving Andrew Bogut (13.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 2.8 bpg), or a high performing Andrea Bargnani (21.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) or even the USA Team's own Danny Granger (21.1ppg, 5.8 rpg) into the All-Star game involves more markets, and increases revenue all around the NBA. Gives the fans something to watch for, a reason to invest, after the stamp of approval from the NBA.

The All-Star game used to be some of the most competitive games ever in the 80's, but in today's NBA, it's become like and AND-1 mix tape show. It is purely for fans amusement and should be treated so. No one outside of New England wants to see four Celtics and their coach face the whole Western Conference. To vote those four guys in, takes away from the fans enjoyment. Electrifying players such as Josh Smith and Luol Deng off the roster takes an element away from the show.

For those of you who are critical of the ideas I just put forth think about these facts. Three of the Boston's big four are in their mid 30's and wont want to clock major minutes in the All-Star game nor will they. Doc Rivers is coaching the game and will make sure none of his players are used heavily because all they are concerned about is the NBA finals. The All-Star game is a place where you get to watch a new group of guys play together. We see this big four play 82 plus times a season. We could spare another.

Once again, the four players that have made the team from the Celtics are somewhat deserving, that is not the argument. The argument is, is there anyone else more deserving or that the fans would rather see. In order to escape criticism these Celtics will have to win the NBA Championship to prove themselves worthy, otherwise like three out of the five previous teams that have sent four players and not won a title, question marks will raise around them.

And Why The West Will Prevail...

The Last Time the All-Star game was played in Los Angeles Kobe had to play Shaqs Shadow. Things have changed.

If it were down to the starting fives alone it would be tough for me to put my money on either side, but with a far younger and superior bench in the West, it should be a easy win for them in LA. We already discussed that Boston's big four wont clock many minutes, Bosh is still dealing with injuries, and Joe Johnson is having a rough year, which all just tips in the West favor. If you look closely enough at the West bench of Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, you could realize those five could even give the East's starting five a run for their money.

First time All-Star's Blake, Love and Russell will all come with a bunch of energy which should blow the East away as the game goes on. Also, don't forget Westbrook and Love both played at UCLA and will both be hungry to try to be a Cinderella MVP in front of family and friends. Somehow, we all know that in that Staples Center, with games of this magnitude, that man will always end up holding the trophy, and though all signs point to a Durant MVP, I have to believe the black mamba will have some tricks in store for another historic night.