Ocean's 11? Nonsense -- stick with Mejia's 15 in Vegas

The fans had their say, choosing the 10 players they just had to see in the All-Star Game. They did a reasonably good job, too; I can cut them a little slack for voting in the league's most dominant center for the past decade, even though he has played only five games.

Here are the starting lineups:

West: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota; Tim Duncan, San Antonio; Yao Ming, Houston (injured); Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers; Tracy McGrady, Houston.

East: LeBron James, Cleveland; Chris Bosh, Toronto; Shaquille O'Neal, Miami; Gilbert Arenas, Washington; Dwyane Wade, Miami.

Allen Iverson deserves to be an All-Star, but Carmelo Anthony's five-week ban hurt his cause. (AP)

Now that's done, it's time for the coaches to do the right thing and reward the truly deserving for a great half-season. That doesn't always happen, because coaches are prone to sticking with big names, too, careful to respect the greater talents they run into on a nightly basis.

I don't have to draw up any defenses against these guys, so I can be a tad more objective -- and I'm all about making sure the most deserving players get to Las Vegas. That's especially complicated this season because so many of the NBA's brightest missed significant time with injuries -- and, in Carmelo Anthony's case, a league-imposed suspension he deserved.

The official announcement will be Feb. 1. Until then, here are my NBA All-Star reserves, starting in the West -- where the names are biggest and the snubs will be slightly more controversial.

Western Conference

Forwards: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; Carlos Boozer, Utah; Josh Howard, Dallas.

Center: Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix.

Guards: Steve Nash, Phoenix; Ray Allen, Seattle; Deron Williams, Utah.

Injury replacement: Allen Iverson, Denver.

Snubs: F Carmelo Anthony, Denver; F Zach Randolph, Portland; F Shawn Marion, Phoenix; C Marcus Camby, Denver; C Mehmet Okur, Utah; G Tony Parker, San Antonio; G Baron Davis, Golden State; G Kevin Martin, Sacramento.