All-Star Starters Announced
CP jumped T-Mac at the last minute. Allegedly…The votes are in…
EASTERN CONFERENCE
G – Allen Iverson
G – Dwyane Wade
F – LeBron James
F – Kevin Garnett
C – Dwight Howard
WESTERN CONFERENCE
G – Kobe Bryant
G – Chris Paul
F – Tim Duncan
F – Amare Stoudemire
C – Yao Ming
* Dwight was the overall leading vote-getter, tallying more than three million votes. LeBron finished second at just over 2.9 million, and Kobe (2.8M), D-Wade (2.7M) and Duncan (2.5M) rounded out the top five. All of them topped the previous all-time high number of votes, a record previously held by Yao from the 2005 season.
* Bruce Bowen (1.3M) finished third among West forwards, ahead of Ron Artest, Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki. I love Bowen, but even I have to admit that’s ridiculous. This is by far his worst season as a Spur and he’s clearly closing in on the end of his career. He must have siphoned off Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and had a strong showing in the South American and European voting regions. But then how does that explain Luis Scola getting fewer votes than LaMarcus Aldridge?
* T-Mac had been in the top two for West guards throughout the early returns, but CP ultimately edged him out for the starting spot. Sure he did. This looks an awful lot like last year, when T-Mac had previously said he wasn’t sure about going down to New Orleans for All-Star, then conveniently lost out at the last minute to Steve Nash in the fan voting. The NBA never wants a situation where a voted-in starter bails on them, and T-Mac once again provided that threat since he’s been injured so much this year. So CP getting the starting spot works out for everybody. (Just so we’re clear, I am not in any way arguing that McGrady should be an All-Star this year.)
* Jamal Crawford finished ahead of Brandon Roy and Chauncey Billups in the voting. So did Rafer Alston, but we’ve all been over the Yao Effect in regards to his Houston teammates.
* Shaq‘s 1.8 million votes had him as the only West center within striking distance of Yao’s 2.5 million. Andrew Bynum finished third with just under 550,000. Greg Oden finished fifth, ahead of Al Jefferson.
* KG clocked 2.0 million votes, finishing ahead of third-place East forward Yi Jianlian (1.8M). Shawn Marion got more votes than Danny Granger.
* After D-Wade, A.I., Vince Carter and Devin Harris, your fifth-place East guard? Luke Ridnour. Not quite sure how that one happened. Ridnour didn’t play for the Bucks last year, so he’s probably not piggy-backing Yi Jianlian’s fans in China, unless the Bucks are still somewhat popular overseas. Can’t blame Australia: Ridnour’s 1.0 million votes far surpassed Andrew Bogut‘s 350,000-plus. And Luke’s hometown of Blaine, Wash., is home to about 14 people. So you may just have to applaud the Milwaukee Bucks’ PR team for this one, getting their own fans to stuff the ballot for Rid.
* No one even came close to Dwight in the East centers. Kendrick Perkins finished second with just over 620,000 votes, and Rasheed was third with 400,000-plus. And somehow, Brendan Haywood got more votes than Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
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January 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
fallinup says:
Voting is so….FLAWED.
Thank you once again, casual fan, once again. For making this Allstar game possible.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
fallinup says:
son of a funky monkey, someone at dime edit my damn typo!
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Big Sia says:
Basically the votes are set-up…. CP3 caught up to tmac in the last minute? Yi didnt get like 80 milllion votes minimum? bulllshit
On another note, in the east, anyone who follows the league knows VC has had a better season than AI and deserves to start. The numbers don’t lie, plus he’s been killing it for an upset squad. Start vince.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
tahir says:
what kinda justice is this? what do you mean rafer alston piggy backing chinese fans? so you are saying yao only has fans in china? pretty ignorant i would say when yao ming is the best center in the game right now, and no don’t tell me dwight is better then yao, just pickup any games from the past and you can compare yao and dwight stats when going head to head…
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Bruce Bowen!? Not even rangerjohn can make a case for that one.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm
jeremy says:
amare definitely doesn’t deserve it
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Ross says:
Amare and AI made the starting team? But why?
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Ian says:
fallinup
its flawed but the fans did good only amare and iverson shouldnt start
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
GEE...P.T.I. Pardon the Illness says:
Fans shouldn’t be allowed to vote on this. I say give them 1 contestant to vote to put in on dunk and three point contest and that is it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
chiaki says:
its good to have the voice of the fans be heard through voting.. but the outcome is just ridiculous.. people just vote based on fame of the players not on how well they work on the court..
there should be a change on the allstar voting..
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
this nonsense has got to stop. Fans should no longer decide the all-star team. YI ALMOST CRACKED THE STARTING LINE UP!!!
It seems like its just a silly game, but some contracts actually hinge on all-star status and can carry huge bargaining power.
It needs to be a combo of fan, player, front office and media. Period.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
control says:
Obviously this is a flawed system. These returns are just as bad as presidential returns in 2000 and 2004. Giving stupid people power is just irresponsible, and the general public is stupid.
There is no way AI should be starting the All Star game, he shouldn’t even be starting in Detroit. If Bowen gets even one coaches’ vote, the coach who voted for him should be banned from the league. That shit is crazy.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
um tahir,, even NBA guys will tell you dwight is abetter center than yao hence the record. Yao is a better outside shooter than dwight…thats about it. dwight scores more, rebounds more,blocks more, is a better over all defensive presnce and umm..has been out the first round. Yao is def not a big name in america compared to the figure he is in china
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
AB_40 says:
no tmac and yi thank you:D
shaq should be on the bench though and vc should also be there
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
TomGfromCanada says:
AI… what!
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Tahir — Obviously Yao has fans around the world, but a great deal of them are in China, and sorry, the only way Rafer gets that many votes is because he’s Yao’s teammate. It’s only natural, seeing as the Rockets are the most popular team in China (Battier and CHUCK HAYES have endorsements deals with Chinese companies).
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:41 pm
kdog says:
Definitely agree about Iverson. Carter has been better…
Who replaces Amare though? I guess Dirk is probably having a better year.
So, who gets the backup roles?
my picks:
EAST
Joe Johnson (G)
Vince Carter (G)
Tayshawn Prince (F)
Chris Bosh (F)
Kendrick Perkins (C)
Paul Pierce (X)
Mike Bibby (X)
WEST
Tony Parker (G)
Brandon Roy (G)
Pau Gasol (F)
Dirk Nowitski (F)
Shaquille O’Neal (C)
Chauncey Billups (X)
Carmelo Anthony (X)
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
tahir says:
talk about fame uMmm dude don’t put ur personal oppinion into it cause even in america if you go out and ask a common man or woman… they wouldn’t have a clue who is dwight…. on the other hand if you say any person u can name they would say lebron kobe or yao… go try it u’ll find out….
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:06 am
Mo says:
I thought it was Allen Iverson that leap frogged T-Mac last season. Also, the paper ballots weren’t counted until after 1/9 which was the last day for arena paper balloting. We last saw results on 1/8. Imagine if China were able to do paper balloting.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 am
Mo says:
So basically CP3 had from 1/8-1/19 (end of online voting) to catch up and pass T-Mac.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 am
Ian says:
have a mixed game dont know how but i woulnd mind seein duncan and howard on one team and lebron and kobe on the other.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:59 am
the Heckler says:
i dont have a problem with the fan voting. starting the all star game isnt a major feat. and everyone who the fans voted in, was going to go as a reserve (at the very least) anyway.
sure there are cases to be made every year for ‘this player’ or ‘that player’, but overall….who was elected by the fans (to start) who wouldnt have been elected by the coaches as a reserve?
maybe…only allen iverson. maybe.
i think it is a bit ironic that steve nash wont even get to start in his own home town asg. but since the game is in phoenix, nash will have to be there. meaning a player like brandon roy or deron williams may not even make it. not because they arent worthy, but because steve nash will get the hometown/homecourt treatment from the coaches. manu may make it. tony parker may make it. and with carmelo hurt and denver playing well….ya know chauncey will make it. thus leaving out brandon roy or deron williams in favor of steve nash.
the fans arent the problem. fan voting aint the issue.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 am
vinny says:
do AI an stat even belong in the all-star game period-let alone starting??
imhp-east-wade, carter, garnett, dwight and labron should start reserves-taking into account the teams record- paul pierce, joe johnson, tayshaun prince, mo williams, jameer nelson, chris bosh(even with only 16 wins)david lee-fuck it i’m a knick fan and hes averaging 15 and 11 and shooting 57%from the field
west-kobe, chris paul, tim d., Yao, and brandon roy should start- reserves- dirk, shaq, deron williams, chauncy, carmelo, al jefferson-22 and 10(dude play’s hard every night on a team thats playing a lot better now)and stat.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 am
the Heckler says:
why was bruce bowen even on the ballot?
did the nba put tim duncan down as a forward or center? every year that can’t make up their mind on him
jamal crawford got more votes than brandon roy cause he balled in NY for a few months before the trade. and i think his scoring numbers are better than roy anyway
the total tally for the fan voting is bogus anyway. the nba front office is shady. and they rig the ballot. chris paul suddenly overtook mcgrady in a week? no one believes that bullshit.
and that happened last year too. mcgrady was talking shit about the air in nawlins saying it aint safe yet. but he was the other leading guard in votes with kobe. i think iverson ended up starting in his place in the last week. nba is corrupt when it comes to this
how is the balloting really tallied anyway? how is anyone to know how many votes a player really received?
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:11 am
Austin Burton says:
@Mo — You’re right, I think it was Iverson, not Nash. My mistake.
@kdog — Perkins? Nah, I’d take Okafor or Ilgauskas or even David Lee (as a center) before Perkins.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 am
johnsacrimoni says:
Luke Ridnour is an outspoken Evangelical Christian. His high vote total was probably from a lot of Evangelicals.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:34 am
dagwaller says:
Not even going to comment except to say that it’s a vote – can’t really get upset.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 am
kdog says:
@ Austin – Yeah, I know, the East centers are few and far between.
Big Z is hurt, and Okafur plays for a crap team. I see Lee though and since the reserves can be assigned positions, I’ll replace Perkins with Lee. Has he actually started enough games to qualify as C?
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:57 am
Guitar Hero says:
AI over Harris and Amaré over Dirk is just ridiculous.
At least Puerto Rico voters didn’t get to put JJ Barea in the starting lineup.
Or DJ Mbenga’s countrymen.
If the Slovenian population voted more, maybe there would be a chance that Sasha would start over Kobe in the West. Nice.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:07 am
rick773 says:
I’ll just say in my own homeresque opinion if AI makes it so should D. Rose, Does he deserve it nah probably not but is he playing better and more important to his team than Bubba Chuck the answer should be yes
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 am
SJ says:
Granger BETTER make it on the East.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Celts Fan says:
Here are the backups:
EAST
Joe Johnson (G)
Devin Harris (G)
Danny Granger (F) (damn right SJ, glad someone finally said his name)
Chris Bosh (F)
Al Horford/David Lee/Okafur/Bogut (C) (can’t say I really researched that, but these guys should DEFINITELY be over Perk)
Paul Pierce (X)
Jameer (X)
Guys who can blame the fans/AI for missing the cut: Ray, Bibby, and Vince
WEST
Deron(G)
Brandon Roy (G)
David West (F)
Dirk Nowitski (F)
Shaquille O’Neal (C)
Chauncey Billups (X)
Carmelo Anthony (X)
Honorable mentions: Big Al, Paul Millsap, Tony Parker, LaMarcus Aldridge
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 am
Celts Fan says:
I do think letting the fans vote is kinda flawed, but this game is FOR THE FANS, so I guess it’s cool to let them pick who starts. It just sucks when a guy who CLEARLY shouldn’t even be on the team (AI) gets to start. Like someone said earlier though, most times, you’re only arguing dude shoudln’t be starting, not that he shouldn’t be on the team at all, so it all usually works out fine…
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:06 am
karizmatic says:
Yeah AI shouldn’t have made it, but I’d rather see him than Rondo or Bibby so I’m satisfied. I guess the NBA just figures it’s a game for the fans so let the fans see the guys that they want to see. But Wince has definitely played better.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:32 am
McLovin says:
Devin Harris should make it before Vince so no way Vince should even make the team this year cause 2 people from the nets are not going to make it.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:40 am
Marques says:
All it is, is a popularity contest. I wish the NBA would take it away from the fans. There is no reason why Gilbert Arenas should even be able to get a single vote. Let the players vote on it or the coaches. All star games are ridiculous now.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:53 am
the Heckler says:
celtsfan–
no steve nash on your list? the game is gonna be in phoenix. NO WAY the coaches wont vote him in on that principal alone.
chris paul was an automatic last year since the game was in new orleans.
remember, he was competing for that backup spot with: steve nash, baron davis, deron williams, tony parker and brandon roy….chris paul deserved to go, but since the game was in NO, he HAD to go.
shady principal….but there is NO WAY steve nash is NOT going to go off that same principal.
revise your list
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
QQ says:
What the….?
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
Casual Fans Killed The REAL Stars!
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
JCARR says:
WOw… some of those numbers are “shockers” and how does Haywood get more votes than Big-Z… haywood is out with an injury, i know that Big-z is out as well but he has played more than haywood… Big-z is also on a winning team.
GRANGER… is the biggest surprise of the year, and hopefully will make it in the east…. Shawn Marion ahead of him?
They need to remake the all-star ballot system!!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Gunner J. Matthews says:
Get rid of Iverson and put in Devin Harris and FIND A WAY to get Danny Granger on the roster
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
Celts Fan says:
@The Heckler – I made the list based on who deserved it, not anything else. Nash was given Shaq’s MVP 4 years ago, he can console himself w/ that while watching Deron do his thing from home. Honestly, I’d take TP over Nash this year too, so Steve’s only makign it, IF he does – and he shouldn’t – cuz the game’s in PHX. My list is only on merit though…
one omission, maybe it shoulda been Pau over West, but I like West’s game a lot more. Hindsight though, LA deserves 2 all stars, so Pau over West or Dirk (too lazy to look up the #s right now.)
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Melo2TDot says:
Carmelo needs to be in. i hate fan voting, its so off
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
the Heckler says:
fan voting is fine. fans got 9 out of 10. or at worst case, 8 out of 10.
if fans dont vote, who will? media? writers? the same fools who vote for mvp, hall of fame and shit like that?
those bums arent any better. they just as biased.
i guess you can have 50% of the vote come from fans, and 50% of the vote come from players.
I like that the coaches select the reserves.
as for fan voting…..8 out of 10 aint all that bad. stop your crying bitches
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Big Sia says:
If VC doesnt make the all-star team off 23-5-5 im never coming back
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Fan voting is flawed. I got an idea why don’t they create the ballot with only players who deserve to go based on teams wins and there stats. Then don’t allow any write ins problem solved. You can’t vote for someone who doesn’t deserve it if he’s not on the ballot.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Diego says:
Toughest slot will be backup center in the East. This is like whan Jamal Magloire got in a few years back with pretty unimpressive stats, because he was the only center left in the conference doing much of anything.
Shouldn’t be Horford. I am thinking David Lee will be the guy.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
QuEst?? says:
AI is starting bitchessss!!!hahahahah stop ur bitching AI deserves to start, if u dont like it vote more
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
haslem says:
this makes me realize how weak certain spots are in the NBA such as the center position.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
V says:
QuEst?? I totally agree with u hahaha face it ppl iverson is and always will be a starter. Man has ENOUGH fans
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
VCfanInToronto says:
AI should not even sniff the all-star team this year…VC should be starting instead…call me crazy but id pick vince over harris because hes had to hold it down in jersey when devin was on the sidelines but i think they both still make the team.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Mo says:
Also, people need to stop saying Paul HAD to go because the game was in N.O. last year. Paul was the best d*mn point guard in the league last year. The coaches knew that and that’s why they voted him in. He was playing better than every point guard in the league and add to that his team was best in the West at the time. Most people thought he should’ve been a starter last year so it was only expected that he’d be the first guard name called when they announced the reserves. He was tearing the league up before ASG break and he did it even more after ASG break. LMAO at people who say he only went because it was in New Orleans. Give me a break. I guess that makes some people feel better about their favorite player not making it.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Mo — Agreed. Now what about the idea that David West only made it because it was in New Orleans?
January 24th, 2009 at 6:50 am
jk says:
kill the voting. seriously why have it?
January 24th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
zaki_ffm@hotmail.de says:
we can talk on MSN about it….
January 26th, 2009 at 12:51 am
!!!!!!!!!!! says:
VC lost all cred in my book years ago he is a quitter…!!!
AI is getting his rep tarnished by Detroit trade & Detroit is a mess, Sheed plays when he feels like it and RIP been playing horrible. AI 0 minutes in 4th Quarter today and 6 minutes last game…those 3 point shots by Sheed and Affalo at end of game we laughable, did either hit rim???!!! AI has done more than enough in this league to deserve the start. He doesn’t look himself in Detroit, I miss him in Denver with Melo they should have given it this season but kept fat Karl so AI was the scapegoat.