Coaches' votes for reserves have been submitted to the league office. Leaks about who picked up enough support to round out the NBA All-Star rosters will start trickling in steadily.
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| Sorry, Baron Davis, but there are only seven reserves per roster. (Getty Images) |
Unfortunately, NBA columnists aren't privy to the luxury of non-disclosure, despite the fact our votes don't count. It's a no-win situation to unveil who would fill out our All-Star rosters because you're just going to disagree anyway. But it's in the contract, so it must be done.
Feelings will be hurt. Friendships broken. Nevertheless, these meaningless votes must be tabulated, if only to let these coaches know where they went wrong in their own ballots. As a bonus, I'll even unveil who assistant coaches should've voted into the Rookie Challenge.
Appreciate the lengths we go to inspire debate, not to mention compassion, because there's no way you can cut these rosters to 12 without feeling like you're seriously snubbing at least two players per side. To illustrate that point, scope the All-Snubbed squads. They go 10 deep with players who have had All-Star-caliber seasons but wouldn't be part of the festivities if I had final say.
Eastern Conference
Starters: F - LeBron James, Cleveland; F - Kevin Garnett, Boston; C - Dwight Howard, Orlando; G - Jason Kidd, New Jersey; G - Dwyane Wade, Miami.
F - Caron Butler, Washington: He should be a unanimous choice for his second consecutive All-Star berth, having become a superstar in every sense of the word. Taking over the go-to role after Gilbert Arenas' knee surgery, Butler is averaging career-highs in scoring (21.9), assists (4.3), steals (2.4) and free-throw percentage (91.5), ranking first among Eastern Conference forwards in the latter two categories. On his third team in his sixth season, Butler has taken his game to an elite level.
F - Paul Pierce, Boston: He has remained the Celtics' leading scorer despite the arrival of two perennial All-Stars, altering his game just enough to welcome them smoothly while remaining the guy you can't stop on the offensive end. He'll be included among the best of the best for the sixth time, earning this berth as a reward for putting his versatility and maturity on full blast (20.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.0 apg).
C - Chris Bosh, Toronto: Power forwards can now be placed at center on ballots, so I'm exercising that option to ensure I get the most quality on this roster. Bosh (22.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg) didn't need to make that hilarious campaign video clip to be on the team, though the effort was certainly appreciated. Besides Garnett, there's not a more dominant power forward in the conference.
G - Chauncey Billups, Detroit: Coaches could live without the constant reminders that there isn't an East point guard outside of Kidd who can adequately match up with Billups. He dominates games by controlling the pace, knocking down clutch shots and physically wearing down smaller foes. His stats (17.9 ppg, 7.1 apg) aren't eye-popping, but there's no question his impact is.
G - Ray Allen, Boston: He's shooting a career-low 42 percent from the field and has his lowest scoring average (18.0) since 1999, but the Celtics wouldn't have started out as fast as they did without him. He quickly established himself as a cold-blooded sniper in clutch situations by launching a game winner in Toronto in Boston's second game, and he came up with one big shot after another through the season's first half. Besides, if you leave him home, Boston's Three Party becomes a small gathering. Can't have that.
F - Antawn Jamison, Washington: His 24-point, 20-rebound gem in Tuesday's overtime victory over the Raptors came after all votes needed to be in, but it represented the type of season he's put together for the Wizards. Whatever they've needed, he has supplied. Without Butler (hip flexor) in addition to Arenas, Jamison just tightened the weightlifting belt, put another piano on his back and made sure his team protected its home court in a key conference game, leading by example for 52 minutes. His 26 double-doubles are second in the East behind Howard, as is his rebounding average (10.6).
