With All-Star reserve ballots from NBA coaches due Tuesday, there's some extra number-crunching and politicking on team charters and film rooms around the league. Coaches are instructed to rank their reserve choices 1-7 with two forwards, two guards, one center, and two wild cards. The last two spots should be awarded not based on position, but rather on who is having the best year and would contribute the most.
So ....
The top six spots in the East are pretty obvious to me, and there could be some healthy debate about how to fill out the wild-card spots in the West. The most difficult choice also is the most controversial, no matter which way you go: Western Conference backup center. I'm not here to dole out lifetime achievement awards -- that's what the Hall of Fame is for -- so my reserve ballot doesn't have the name Shaquille O'Neal on it. Sorry, Shaq, but it's time to step aside and make room for the yutes.
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| The West's young bucks deserve All-Star recognition ahead of Shaq. (US Presswire) |
Shaq was quite gracious on a recent trip to Madison Square Garden, saying he'd be grateful if the coaches voted him onto the Western Conference roster for the Feb. 15 game in Phoenix, but that he'd understand if they didn't. No doubt Shaq will get plenty of votes, and probably will wind up with his 15th All-Star appearance in his home arena. It'd be cool; I can't deny that. The lifetime achievement factor notwithstanding, the big fella has been putting up numbers lately, which is impressive considering the trouble the Suns are having. Plus, consider that upon being dealt to Phoenix last February, Shaq was worried that his ailing hip was close to finishing him off.
"I thought I was over," said Shaq, who has managed to remain viable at age 36 with the help of what he called "some weird ballet dancing type of exercises." He now believes he could play "five more years." (He wants another contract, and I can't say I blame him for trying.)
If Shaq promised to perform ballet exercises in front of a packed house at U.S. Airways Center on All-Star Saturday night, I'd vote for him in a heartbeat. Short of that, I can't, in good conscience, vote him in ahead of Pau Gasol or Al Jefferson, who can play either 4 or 5 for All-Star purposes.
So once again, Shaq, my apologies. Just take solace in the fact that I'm not a coach and have no chance of ever becoming one, so my ballot doesn't count.
"Hopefully I get voted in, but I'm not going to do any campaigns," Shaq said. "I'm not going to put on a cowboy hat. I'm not going to do none of that. If I get voted in, thank you. If not, I understand. I'm a very lucky player because I went through three different eras of the All-Star Game. I went through the Mike era, when it was Mike and Barkley and all those guys. I went through my era, where it was me all the time, and Kobe. Now it's the Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, Dwight Howard era. I've been lucky enough to go through all three of those transitions. If I get in, I'll be happy. If not, I'll still be happy."
Good. I feel better. Here are my selections for the most deserving All-Star reserves:
West
Forwards: Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks; Al Jefferson, Timberwolves
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| The Mavs would be in deep trouble without Dirk Nowitzki. (Getty Images) |
Guards: Chauncey Billups, Nuggets; Brandon Roy, Trail Blazers
Billups has singlehandedly transformed the Nuggets from a talented but chaotic team into a steady, disciplined one at both ends of the floor. Despite all the hype about Greg Oden, Roy is the Blazers' undisputed star. Only Dwyane Wade has been more efficient this season from the scoring guard spot.
Center: Pau Gasol, Lakers
This is Shaq's spot, and as tempting as it would be to reward him for his years of dominance -- not to mention the thrill of putting him in the same locker room with Phil and Kobe -- the nod goes to Gasol. You have to look past the obvious -- 17.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and .558 field-goal percentage -- and understand the breadth of his impact on the Lakers' lethal offense. On this team, he makes more sense as the backup 5 than Jefferson -- which is why I have Big Al at the 4. I know it's an unpopular choice, but you have to be especially mindful of avoiding popular choices with the reserves to make up for the fact that voting for the starters is an all-out popularity contest. Along those lines, Andris Biedrins also deserves consideration.
Wild cards: Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets; Deron Williams, Jazz
Anthony gets my vote based on his production (21.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg), 3-point shooting (.420), and clutch play (his 56.5 points per 48 minutes of clutch time is No. 1 in the league). The last wild-card spot is a tough call among Williams, Biedrins, David West, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Paul Millsap and even Kevin Durant.
Nash would be a great sentimental choice, but I've already stated my position on those. Biedrins, Millsap and Durant certainly deserve it statistically. But it comes down to Parker and Williams, and the nod goes to D-Will based on nothing statistical or scientific, but rather my view that he has surpassed Jason Kidd as the best pure passer in the league. And selfishly, I want to see what would happen if he was on the floor with Chris Paul for a few minutes instead of playing against him all the time.
My ranking 1-7 for the judges: 1. Nowitzki; 2. Anthony; 3. Gasol; 4. Billups; 5. Roy; 6. Jefferson; 7. Williams.
East
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| Paul Pierce remains the champ Celtics' leader on offense. (Getty Images) |
Pierce is a no-brainer, having proved his worth on the NBA Finals stage last June and continuing to be Boston's most difficult all-around player to defend. Granger has me convinced that he's much more than a marginal player putting up numbers on a bad team. He's fourth in the league in scoring (26.1) behind the Big Three (Wade, LeBron, Kobe), and only James has better efficiency numbers across the board than Granger among small forwards.
Guards: Joe Johnson, Hawks; Jameer Nelson, Magic
Whenever you hear the 2010 free-agent discussion, Johnson's name never comes up. I would put him right behind the obvious class of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. He's a brilliant player and clearly an All-Star, even though hardly anyone is paying attention. Nelson's resurgence -- raising his scoring average nearly seven points from last season and running Orlando's diverse offense -- is perhaps the biggest reason the Magic are among the elite. He edges out the Nets' Devin Harris because he's shooting better, turning the ball over less, and is the floor leader for one of the top teams in the conference.
Center: Chris Bosh, Raptors
Like most coaches, I'll invoke the clause allowing me to slide Bosh from the 4 to the 5 because he's hands-down the best choice here. In a perfect world, he would be starting over Kevin Garnett, but this is not a perfect world.
Wild cards: Ray Allen, Celtics; Devin Harris, Nets
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| Devin Harris is doing it all in his first full season with the Nets. (Getty Images) |
That leaves Harris vying for the final wild-card spot with the likes of Mo Williams, Rajon Rondo, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Vince Carter, and David Lee. Yeah, you heard me, David Lee. To me, it's between Harris, Williams, and Lee. If the decision were based on the most advantageous position, I'd take Lee, who has 33 double-doubles, is averaging 15.7 ppg and 11.5 rpg, and is fourth in the league in field-goal percentage (.570). But across the board -- points, assists, steals, turnovers -- Harris is having a better and more efficient year than both Lee and Williams.
Here's my order if you're scoring at home: 1. Bosh; 2. Pierce; 3. Johnson; 4. Granger; 5. Nelson; 6. Allen; 7. Harris.
There you have it. You might not agree -- and probably don't. But let the record show that my votes were e-mailed to the home office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before the 3 p.m. ET deadline. (Almost.)
