East and West Starters for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game

January 30, 2009

Yep, the league finally released who their fans deem as the best in basketball today.

And although getting the nod for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona IS a big deal for up and coming stars in the association, it does not necessarily mean that the five guys starting for each of the two conferences are the best, although majority of the basketball fans who voted in for this thing believe so.

This 2008-09 NBA basketball season, that point is as evident as ever. I have two guys who were voted in as starters by fans who in my opinion, should not even be picked by coaches as reserves. But I guess the majority wins in this case and I don’t plan to stress myself ranting about those two.

Who were voted in to start 2009 NBA All-Star Gamethe league’s mid-season spectacle in Phoenix? Let’s start with the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference All-Stars. And while it has been common knowledge that the West is better than the East, this year, some of these guys did something about it.

Let’s start with the obvious pick. LeBron James. This guy is averaging 27.8 points a game to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to become one of the four best teams in the NBA at this point of the season, record-wise. Cleveland is also the ONLY team to stay undefeated at home so far and with the way LeBron has been playing, I’m not expecting these guys to lose a game at the Q anytime soon.

Then, we have Dwight Howard, this year’s leading vote-getter for the NBA All-Star Game. His play has been bringing back memories in Orlando when the Magic still had the privilege of a young Shaquille O’Neal. In fact, Howard’s similarities with Shaq is so eerily similar that basketball purists don’t mind calling him Superman after Shaq earned the ‘Man of Steel’ moniker years ago. The Magic, as of this writing, are 33-8, heading to the All-Star Game in Phoenix. The last time that happened was back in the 1994-1995 season, when the Magic was also at 33-8 heading to the All-Star break in Phoenix with a young Shaquille O’Neal. I told you it was eerie.

Next we have Dwyane Wade. Although I won’t be a Miami Heat fan anytime soon, I would have to admit that the guy has been having quite a run this year. And although his team’s overall record doesn’t show it, Wade’s performance this season could very well land him an MVP trophy at season’s end.

Of course, Kevin Garnett gets the nod again. Although some may argue that Chris Bosh should’ve taken his starting spot, I would have to disagree. KG’s numbers are down because he’s no longer the young gun who wants to fill-up the stat sheet every night. Although he’s still a cocky sonuvabitch, KG has matured through his years in the NBA and the Boston Celtics are flourishing because of it.

This one, though, I have a problem with. Taking the last starting spot for the East is Allen Iverson. And if you’ve been following our little space on the Internet for a while, you’ll know that I am a huge Detroit Pistons fan. But even I couldn’t agree to the fact that A.I. got the nod to start in the All-Star game. He hasn’t done shit in Detroit to earn the merit. And yes, I’m still pissed about the fact that we actually traded Billups for him.

That’s that. Now it’s time for you to find out who got the nod to start for the 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars.

And just like what we did for the East, we’ll start with the obvious pick in the wild wild West. And that my friend is none other than Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. He leads all Western Conference All-Stars in votes. And for a guy who just won the MVP award last season after scoring 81 points in a single game, I don’t need to explain to you why this guy will start in Phoenix.

Next we have this year’s fantasy basketball phenom, Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. CP3 almost got screwed when Tracy McGrady, a guy who has been missing games more than the fourth guy on the Bobcats bench depth chart, was leading him votes merely days before the voting ends. Luckily, something kicked some sense into the voting public, and they voted CP3 in right in the nick of time.

Of course, we will also have Yao Ming. And while his teammate Tracy McGrady continues to shit on what’s left of his career, Yao continues his strong play hoping that it’ll be enough to finally get the Houston Rockets out of the first round. Let’s see how Yao will be able to pull it off.

Next, we have Tim Duncan. TD, together with Yao, have become automatic shoo-ins for All-Star Game voting. And although some may argue that they are only getting all these votes the last few years by reputation, their play on that basketball court tells otherwise.

Last but certainly not the least, or in this case it probably is, we have Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns. He still got the invite despite the poor numbers he’s been putting up since Mike D’Antoni left the team. He looks lost in the halfcourt offense new coach Terry Porter is trying to establish in Phoenix and I have no idea why this guy still got the nod ahead of guys like Brandon Roy or Dirk Nowitzki for crying out loud.

There you have it, the five guys who’ll be starting for the two conferences heading to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. It’ll be a nice break from the usual basketball action we have this season but as far as I’m concerned, I’m looking forward to how Rudy Fernandez will perform in the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest more.

Yes, he actually is a participant.

Which team will win the 2009 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Boston Celtics 4.00

Los Angeles Lakers 4.50

Detroit Pistons 9.00

San Antonio Spurs 9.00

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more basketball betting odds. Want to watch the NBA live? Get NBA tickets online now.

Kobe Bryant LeBron James

Posted by sports rumors under NBA.