The month of February is just around the corner. And as usual, every hoop fan would love to see this year's National Basketball Association (NBA) All Star game in Phoenix, Arizona this evening of February 15 (morning of 16 Manila time).
Just unlike the past year, I have my take for the upcoming exhibition. However, I received an e-mail from NBA.com (and it's not spam; perks of having an account there) which announced their starting lineups (as follows).
East / Position / West
3 - Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat) / G / 3 - Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
1 - Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons) / G / 24 - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
12 - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) / C / 11 - Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)
5 - Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics) / F / 21 - Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
23 - Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) / F / 1 - Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)
And here also are the reserves
(Player, Team, Postion)
East
2 - Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks, G
14 - Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic, G
33 - Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers, G/F
34 - Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, F
4 - Chris Bosh, Toronto Rapots, F
34 - Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets, G
9 - Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic, F
West
41 - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks, F
32 - Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix Suns, C
7 - Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers, G
7 - Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets, G
16 - Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers, F/C
30 - David West, New Orleans Hornets, F
9 - Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs, G
So far, the west had a slight advantage. They had big men in the reserves which includes almost everyone's fave, Shaq. And I noticed there are at least three players whom are capable to play the center post in the West than the East (only Howard was the 'five' in their roster).
And I would think twice about including David West in the lineup. I thought it was supposed to fill in for Carmelo Anthony's. However,, the Nuggets forward was injured a month, an unfortunate incident to see if you're a Nuggets fan.
And talk about the starters, I never even thought of the Amare-LeBron matchup. Like imagine that 6-10 F/C from the Valley of the Sun going head-to-head with one of the superstars from downtown Cleveland. Sounds like it would create a mismatch there, especially at the center spot.
However, it was Yao who gained a lot of votes than Stat. Perhaps it's because of the massive Chinese fan base (whom, obviously, will vote for him), Even if at my sight he should be on the reserve list, too bad.
My prediction is it's a 60-40 chance in favor of the West; Kobe might win the MVP again, plus the chance that he could play again with his ex-teammate whom they made that 3-peat championship run on 2000-2002.
However, if the East prevails in the contest, it's either Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade or even LeBron James pitting for the prestigious individual accolade. Iverson's spot should have been laid for Harris or Nelson.. But The Answer has been aging and been part of the team already loaded with scorers. So it has been a cold hard fact to face: he might score much unlike those hey-days in Philly.
Many of this event (Oh, I wish I could post again) will come before the all star events starts.
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