All StarSnubs
The stars will be out in full force on February 20 for the NBA All Star game which will be held at Staples Center in Los Angeles and as there has been every year, there are some players that deserved to be but were left off the elite teamS.
The first NBA game was staged in 1951 in Boston and the participants are chosen in two ways. The fans get to vote for the starting line up and the reserves are chosen by the head coaches in each division.
As for the purists of the sport, the game itself is usually just an up and down exhibition with very little defense played until it gets testy in the last portion of the final stanza.
In 2003, the West put up 155 points in the game to set the record and in 1987; the teams collectively scored a record 303.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was selected 19 times. Shaquille O’Neal was selected 15 times and 2 players not named Michael Jordan won the MVP twice. Bob Pettit hit the hat trick, as did the great Oscar Robertson.
Take nothing away from the guys that made the All-Star teams this year but there were several players left off the teams that should have been selected by the coaches.
In the East Carlos Boozer could have easily been selected. Sure, he’s had his injuries but he boasts the best pure numbers of any power forward in the league.
Josh Smith has been a big reason why the Atlanta Hawks are so successful yet he’ll be watching the game on TV, if he watches at all.
Nets center Brook Lopez has been the cornerstone of the New Jersey franchise this season and should have made the team while the Bulls Joakim Noah was having a sensational year before getting hurt.
In the West, the disrespect continued.
Early in his career Zack Randolph made some poor decisions on and off the court but he’s been a model citizen the last couple of years and is very tough down low because he can go to either hand and has a tricky left-handed jumper.
He should have represented the Memphis Grizzlies.
The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were missing Andrew Bynum early in the year and he is still not 100%. If Lamar Odom had not stepped up and given them quality minutes, they would be nowhere near the top team in the West.
The thing about Odom is he is too unselfish. When he is aggressive and plays well going to the hole, the Lakers are nearly unbeatable. If he does well and the rest of the team just plays okay, the Lakers will about 95% of the time.
He would have been a perfect fit on this year’s All Star roster.
Few players in the league have aged with grace as well as Steve Nash. The two-time MVP has been the glue that has kept the Phoenix Suns together this year as they re-tooled early with the huge trade with Orlando. He still is a bear to guard when he penetrates and I wish I had a quarter for every time I’ve seen him shoot over a center or forward successfully.
Sure, it’s a thankless job for coaches to pick the cream of the crop, but this year, they made mistake after mistake.
