NBA All-Stars 2012

As we may all know by now, the NBA All-Star starters were implemented last week. I'm not a really big fan of fan votes to be honest. Many people don't deserve to be a starter, let alone an All-Star, but their popularity and huge fan-base really carries them. Anyone remember when AI made it as a member of the Detroit Pistons?! He was horrible that year but yet his fans took him to the All-Star game.

"I flex my biceps" - TBJ

As for this year, I'll give the fans credit for their choices. The East is shaped up looking pretty darn good. Lebron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat were virtually no brainers here. Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose were also clear-cut choices for the respective positions. All four of these guys aren't only popular to the NBA fan-base but they are well deserving superstars. No one can argue about the choices here. The only tiny, little, minor knock I have against the fans was the choice of Carmelo Anthony. Yeah, we all know what he's capable of. He can probably do anything offensively possible. He's definitely a star player and a game changer but does he deserve the starting gig in what is a down year for the Knicks? He's not an all too bad of a choice here but I would've given it to Chris Bosh.

 For the West, I honestly think that this was the best starting 5 you could get. LA dominated the starting 5 with 4 players. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have created nice chemistry with each other and the Clippers are rolling! Chris Paul is my clear-cut favourite point guard in the West and he deserves this spot. On the other hand, Blake Griffin is a 50/50 toss up with Kevin Love. I don't mind Griffin as the starter. He's exciting and is quickly becoming one of the top tier players in the league. Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum were the other two LA stars. Kobe is scoring the lights out this season and has no signs of slowing down with the wrist injury. Bynum is playing great basketball right now and is showing why the Lakers should keep him and not deal him for Superman. The last spot was given to Kevin Durant who in my opinion, is playing on the best team in the NBA. Again, another no-brainer at this slot. You can't go wrong with the choices here. Good one!

The reserves were announced today and I think they're okay. The East looked like this: Chris Bosh(MIA), Joe Johnson(ATL), Luol Deng(CHI), Paul Pierce(BOS), Andre Iguodala(PHI), Roy Hibbert(IND), and Deron Williams(NJN). I love the new faces that the coaches selected. Deng, Iguodala and Hibbert are all making their first appearances and they absolutely deserve every second of it. Bosh and Joe Johnson were locks in my opinion because of everything they have accomplished this year. Deron Williams is an all-star caliber player BUT I think Brandon Jennings deserved this spot. Maybe I'm being a little biased but hey, he's playing too well. Maybe next year buddy. And sadly, Josh Smith got snubbed again. When will he ever be on the team?! It's taking way too long now! I swear he's going to be snubbed every year. It's actually a crime to keep him off for this long.

As for the west reserves, it ended up looking like this: Kevin Love(MIN), LaMarcus Aldridge(POR), Russell Westbrook(OKC), Steve Nash(PHO), Marc Gasol(MEM), Dirk Nowitzki(DAL) and Tony Parker(SAS). The West is looking good. Kevin Love, Aldridge, and Westbrook were easy choices to make. The tougher decisions lied around the others. I can see why Nash was voted in. Despite playing on an underachieving team, he has done everything humanely possible to keep them competitive. It doesn't seem he'll be slowing down anytime soon either. I'm proud of Marc Gasol being on this list. One Grizzly had to get it and I'm glad it happened. He stepped up in the absence of Z-Bo and Memphis is rollin'. Tony Parker personally suprised me. I actually haven't been following the Spurs all too closely this year and I was in shock to see his name pop up today. It's a good shock though. I didn't know he was putting up the numbers he was and the Spurs are atop the Southwest division. And then it comes down to Dirk. Sadly, the Finals MVP does not deserve a spot on the team. He hasn't been producing the way he normally has in past years. But on the other hand, it's hard to leave out a player like him.

Now....Close your eyes and let's imagine an all-star game without Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Can you?! NOPE! YOU CAN'T! It'll be weird without them. Their streaks are both over and its nearing the end of the road for some of the greats in our game. Time flies eh? AND I just want to say that Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings were definite snubs this year! There are many more but they were tough to include. Do you think the teams are as good as they get? We won't know until we actually watch but one thing is going to be certain. It's going to be a good weekend.