2008 All-Star Game Starters
EAST
Dwight Howard, C
Orlando Magic
2,066,991
2nd appearance
Kevin Garnett, F
Boston Celtics
2,399,148
11th appearance
LeBron James, F
Cleveland Cavaliers
2,108,831
4th appearance
Dwyane Wade, G
Miami Heat
1,608,260
4th appearance
Jason Kidd, G
New Jersey Nets
1,246,386
9th appearance
WEST
Yao Ming, C
Houston Rockets
1,709,180
6th appearance
Carmelo Anthony, F
Denver Nuggets
1,723,701
2nd appearance
Tim Duncan, F
San Antonio Spurs
1,712,800
10th appearance
Kobe Bryant, G
L.A. Lakers
2,004,940
10th appearance
Allen Iverson, G
Denver Nuggets
1,203,152
9th appearance
2008 Reserves
EAST
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. Sel.
Chris Bosh Toronto F 6-10 230 3rd
Caron Butler Washington F 6-7 228 2nd
Paul Pierce Boston G 6-7 235 6th
Chauncey Billups Detroit G 6-3 202 3rd
Richard Hamilton Detroit G 6-7 193 3rd
Joe Johnson Atlanta G 6-7 235 2nd
Antawn Jamison Washington F 6-9 235 2nd
Coach: TBD
WEST
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. Sel.
Steve Nash Phoenix G 6-3 178 6th
Chris Paul New Orleans G 6-0 175 1st
Dirk Nowitzki Dallas F 7-0 245 7th
Carlos Boozer Utah F 6-9 266 2nd
Amaré Stoudemire Phoenix C 6-10 249 3rd
Brandon Roy Portland G 6-6 229 1st
David West New Orleans F 6-9 240 1st
Coach: TBD
No real surpsrise .. for the most part i was right on the money on who should/would be chosen. However, they are a couple of decisions I don't agree with, and leading this pack is the non-selection of Baron "B.Diddy" Davis. WHAT??? How did the selectors manage to leave him off...to me it seems nothing short of crazy and delirium taking ahold of them. The player which should have been left off is Brandon Roy. Yes, he is having a great year but guess what Davis noto nly has better stats, on a way more competitive team, his team also has/had a better record at the time of selection. So how did the selectors manage to leave him out??? DUMBFOUNDED is what I am. In my point of view, even Deron Willaims could have been chosen over B-Roy, as with the case with B.Diddy, has the better stats and team(record)The biggest 'boo-boo' made on the East came in the form of Joe Johnson. Excuses can be made for why he made it but to leave off Hedo Turkoglu is easily the biggest snub on the East. Turkoglu is a 18-7-6 player, which easily outduels Joe Johnson's 20-5 line. He has improved tremendously and has been an incredible and integral part of the Magic organization.
Close calls/SNUBS:
Baron Davis & Hedo Turkoglu - MAJOR MISTAKE TO LEAVE THeSe TWO OFF.
Vince Carter - really didn't deserve it this year; way too shaky.
Marcus Camby - DEFINATELY DESERVED IT but didnt stand a chance against Yao and Amare.
Shawn Marion - not good enough this year.
Josh Smith - also a MAJOR SNUB!
Gerald Wallace - great player who would have a GREAT chance off making it, IF he played for a playoff contending team.
Andre Iguadala - same as Gerald, but to a lesser extent,
Al Jefferson - WONDERFUL PLAYER but, as it seems to be an unwritten rule/regulation, his team is WAY TOO BAD for him to have had a chance.
Surprises:
Joe Johnson AND David West - These were the only two I never really thought would make it or had a reasonable chance.
OTHER VIEWS HERE:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/allstar/rosters
http://community.foxsports.com/whoops.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/404.aspx
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Campion College's Xavier Thompson, gives us his formula for THE PERFECT TEAM:
STARTERS:
#C - DEFENSIVE, but with offensive capabilites and who is quick (can run the floor) - eg. Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby, Andris Biedrins
*PF - VERSATILE,with an array of offensive ways to score - eg. Chris Bosh/Carlos Boozer
#*SF - DRIVER-SHOOTER WITH DEFENSE, someone who is mainly a driver but can knock down the outside shot and has GREAT defense - eg. Gerald Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Manu Ginobli, Caron Butler, Ron Artest, Josh Smith
SG - OVERLOOKED THREAT, someone who is overlooked due to the stars at the PF, SF AND PG positions and who can easily and consistenly hit open jumpers - eg. Bonzi Wells, Deshawn Stevenson
#*PG - ASSISTING SCORER, a guard who has a pass-first mentality but who isn;t afraid to take over a game offensively (driving AND shooting) if needs be and who can also play defense - eg. Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Kirk Hinrich, T.J. Ford, Jose Calderon
BENCH - in order of their roles(places of the bench - eg. the first name would be the SIXTH MAN)
*SG - flat-out shooter with lots of range - eg. Kyle Korver, Cuttino Mobley
#C - very defensive, with different (bulkier) body type than the starting C - eg. Erick Dampier .... this ensures that if the oppsoing Centre is too big for the starter, you will have size on the bench.
#SF - defense-minded swingman who can hit open jumpers and 3-balls and who is POSSIBLY a better defender than the starting SF - eg. Bruce Bowen, James Posey...this ensures that if both the SF and SG of a team (eg. Boston Celtics with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce) need to be marked heavily, the back-up SF can fill in.
PG - experienced back up for the youthful starting PG to help guide and mold him, with decent defense - eg. Anthony Johnson, Sam Cassell, Brevin Knight, Derek Fisher
*PF - though a "TENTH MAN" when put on the court should be a main source of offense and also should be a player able to play SF if needs be - eg. Al Harrington
11th and 12th man should be a tall, oversized backup C and a SF/SG rookie.
* - Meant to be the main sources of offense
# - Meant to be great defenders
Additional talents that should be taught to players:
STARTERS:
C - should be taught/train to be able to guard all the way down to a tall SF (eg. Peja)
SF - should be able to guard all the way down to a PG
PG - should be able to guard SG's and SF's and VERY lacklustre offensive PF's/C's
BENCH:
SG - should be able to shoot from just below halfcourt WITH EASE
MINUTES ALLOCATION AND IDEAL HEIGHTS:
Starters:
C - 28-30 mins 6'11/7'0
PF - 35-40 mins 6'9/6'10
SF - 35-40 mins 6'5-6'7
SG - 20-25 mins 6'5
PG - 35-40 mins 6'3/6'4
Bench
SG - 20-25 mins 6'5
C - 15-20 mins 7'0
SF - 15-20 mins 6'8
PG - 10-15 mins 6'3/6'4
PF - 10-20 mins 6'8-6'10
With a line up like this you will have a VERY GOOD balance of offense and defense.
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Shaun Pollock
What a great cricketer he is! The Sports Chronicles would just like to say farewell to such a fantastic player and contributor to the sport of Cricket.
Team: South Africa -
Greatest Bowler in SA history with 391 One Day wickets and 400+ wickets in Test matches.
Will be remembered not only for his wicket taking but his knack for having a great economy rate.
Showing posts with label allstar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allstar. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Trade deadline needs for each team (Adapted from Msn Foxsports)
Now that we've survived a disturbing throw-back fashion statement from the L.A. Lakers, it's time to zero in on the NBA's next crucial event.
We're going to pass on All-Star Weekend, which has fallen under the purview of law enforcement. So with gimmicky skills contests out of the equation, I suppose we're left with to build the hype crawling up to the NBA trading deadline.
Scheduled to expire Feb. 21, the trading deadline has cobbled a fine history of underwhelming basketball around across the globe. But despite its potential for letdown, the NBA trading deadline has provided enough juice to move hotshots of the caliber of Baron Davis and Gary Payton.
Anyway, while the countdown continues and creative sharpies find myriad landing spots for Jason Kidd and Ron Artest, I've taken the liberty of identifying the immediate needs of every stinking (and non-stinking) team in the league:
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
# Boston Celtics: Their wish list begins with a back-up point guard capable of handling the ball and running an offense better than Eddie House and ends with a reserve center with more offensive skill than Scot Pollard. Gee, that could be anyone.
# Toronto Raptors: Since nobody seems to be giving away starting-caliber centers, it might be nice if the Raps could acquire a wing shooter who is also capable of guarding someone (yeah, that's a shot Jason Kapono).
# New Jersey Nets: They need to find a team within range of contender status that's still willing to give up a good young player or two for Jason Kidd.
# Philadelphia 76ers: It might help if the Sixers had the resources to acquire a power forward who is good enough to nudge Reggie Evans over to his proper role — backup power forward.
# New York Knicks: Short of hiring Harvey Keitel's character (The Wolf) from Pulp Fiction to clean up this mess, it might be interesting to see how much some other high-minded team might cough up for center Eddy Curry. Sure, 7-footers with skill are rare, but 7-footers with skill and an interest in rebounding don't reside in New York. It also could be worth a shot to bestow most of the inside minutes to a couple of power forwards (Zach Randolph and David Lee) who actually hit the glass.
Central Division
# Detroit Pistons: Personnel man Joe Dumars has done a pretty nice job of setting up the Pistons bench, although it might be swell to add another big capable of giving them more than young Amir Johnson has provided.
# Indiana Pacers: This is another team screaming for a backup point guard with enough quickness to get into the lane and keep the guy he's defending from doing the same.
# Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavs fans have been grouchy about adding another shooter, but it might be a fine idea to employ a guard with the ability to create a few scoring opportunities if LeBron James has to sit down. Can they tempt anyone by offering Larry Hughes at two years and $13 million?
John Paxson would jump at a deal for a big that could score. ( Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)
# Chicago Bulls: If any team was prepared to unload a low-post scorer, we no longer have faith that general manager John Paxson would have the chutzpah to pull off such a deal.
# Milwaukee Bucks: It would be tough to find any team with worse defenders at the forward positions, so the Bucks might be wise to sniff around the D-League for anyone hungry enough to guard somebody.
Southeast Division
# Orlando Magic: When your No. 2 rebounder is Hedo Turkoglu, the hole to be filled is big enough for you to be standing in.
# Atlanta Hawks: I've never been much for mathematics, but yet remain convinced that one rookie backup point guard plus two veteran backup point guards does not equal one starting point guard.
# Washington Wizards: Their challenge is to find someone willing to give them what Etan Thomas gave them or convince Andray Blatche that a commitment to the dirty work might be worth more than 18 minutes per game.
# Charlotte Bobcats: They could use help everywhere, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to remind their famous personnel guy that not every athletic 6-foot-6 player is worth trading tall prospects to acquire.
# Miami Heat: Man, what this team wouldn't give for a 7-2, 320-pound center who felt like dominating at both ends. That may be tricky to attain, so Pat Riley could consider upgrades for playmakers (ahem) Jason Williams and Smush Parker.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
'Melo would be happier with a pass-first PG. (Rocky Widner / Getty Images)
# Denver Nuggets: With plenty of double-team-demanding hotshots in their lineup, the Nuggets are advised to acquire a guard with the credentials to make their lives easier. Hey, we have a theme — pass-first point guards. We now advise moms and dads to pull their kids out of the tennis academies and have them study Steve Nash (on offense only).
# Portland Trail Blazers: They have plenty of guys to handle the point, so while the NBA's hottest team waits for Greg Oden, someone who bangs with more gusto than Channing Frye might be in order.
# Utah Jazz: The addition of Kyle Korver might persuade teams to think twice about zoning, so the next move would be a hypnotist to convince Mehmet Okur that he's a rebounding and defending beast.
# Seattle SuperSonics: Yeah, having a 6-foot-10 guard is really neat, but GM Sam Presti and coach P.J. Carlesimo should find a two-guard, then move Kevin Durant to small forward ... where he might stand a chance on defense.
# Minnesota Timberwolves: Here's another team with no center and a GM who (among other things) drafted Brandon Roy and traded him for Randy Foye. Maybe the rhyming confused Kevin McHale.
Pacific Division
# Phoenix Suns: The solid reserve play of veteran "big" Brian Skinner means the Suns' first priority should be a spot-up shooter with a reasonable chance to guard another team's back-up, spot-up shooter, right? Well, based on the recent scoring salvos against the Suns by Andrew Bynum, Chris Bosh and Al Jefferson (just for starters), it seems that Skinner either needs to play much more or Amare Stoudemire should look in the mirror. Oh, I would mention backup point guard, but only 24 or so other teams need one.
# Los Angeles Lakers: Well, they have a back-up point guard, so the pressing need is to resist the urge to deal Kwame Brown's valuable and expiring contract unless a real player is offered in return.
# Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have everything they need to thrive in coach Don Nelson's system. Unless defense is added to the system, I doubt there's any deadline deal that can get them where they want to be.
# Sacramento Kings: Trade chips Ron Artest (bone chips in his elbow) and Mike Bibby have been hurt, but they still should be more than enough to bring back a player or two who can REBOUND.
# Los Angeles Clippers: With high hopes for the returns of Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, now is not the time to make any deal that might harpoon their lottery status.
Southwest Division
Manu Ginobili and the Spurs just need to stay healthy. ( Rocky Widner / Getty Images)
# San Antonio Spurs: The defending champs have plenty of depth; they just need to keep the graybeards healthy.
# Dallas Mavericks: When a team's leading dime-dropper averages less than six per game on a team like this, the Achilles' heel in Dallas is obvious.
# New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have a decent starting lineup, but don't seem to have the resources to grab the kind of reserves they lack — a wing shooter and a serious rebounder.
# Houston Rockets: The league's most puzzling team didn't solve PG and PF issues by adding Mike James and Luis Scola, so the Rockets might as well take a stab another glaring weakness — perimeter shooting.
# Memphis Grizzlies: After trading down at the GM spot, should we even care what the guy who drafted Kedrick Brown at No. 11 (for Boston) might accomplish? We probably shouldn't, but Pau Gasol might.
by Randy Hill
Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7629258
We're going to pass on All-Star Weekend, which has fallen under the purview of law enforcement. So with gimmicky skills contests out of the equation, I suppose we're left with to build the hype crawling up to the NBA trading deadline.
Scheduled to expire Feb. 21, the trading deadline has cobbled a fine history of underwhelming basketball around across the globe. But despite its potential for letdown, the NBA trading deadline has provided enough juice to move hotshots of the caliber of Baron Davis and Gary Payton.
Anyway, while the countdown continues and creative sharpies find myriad landing spots for Jason Kidd and Ron Artest, I've taken the liberty of identifying the immediate needs of every stinking (and non-stinking) team in the league:
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
# Boston Celtics: Their wish list begins with a back-up point guard capable of handling the ball and running an offense better than Eddie House and ends with a reserve center with more offensive skill than Scot Pollard. Gee, that could be anyone.
# Toronto Raptors: Since nobody seems to be giving away starting-caliber centers, it might be nice if the Raps could acquire a wing shooter who is also capable of guarding someone (yeah, that's a shot Jason Kapono).
# New Jersey Nets: They need to find a team within range of contender status that's still willing to give up a good young player or two for Jason Kidd.
# Philadelphia 76ers: It might help if the Sixers had the resources to acquire a power forward who is good enough to nudge Reggie Evans over to his proper role — backup power forward.
# New York Knicks: Short of hiring Harvey Keitel's character (The Wolf) from Pulp Fiction to clean up this mess, it might be interesting to see how much some other high-minded team might cough up for center Eddy Curry. Sure, 7-footers with skill are rare, but 7-footers with skill and an interest in rebounding don't reside in New York. It also could be worth a shot to bestow most of the inside minutes to a couple of power forwards (Zach Randolph and David Lee) who actually hit the glass.
Central Division
# Detroit Pistons: Personnel man Joe Dumars has done a pretty nice job of setting up the Pistons bench, although it might be swell to add another big capable of giving them more than young Amir Johnson has provided.
# Indiana Pacers: This is another team screaming for a backup point guard with enough quickness to get into the lane and keep the guy he's defending from doing the same.
# Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavs fans have been grouchy about adding another shooter, but it might be a fine idea to employ a guard with the ability to create a few scoring opportunities if LeBron James has to sit down. Can they tempt anyone by offering Larry Hughes at two years and $13 million?
John Paxson would jump at a deal for a big that could score. ( Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)
# Chicago Bulls: If any team was prepared to unload a low-post scorer, we no longer have faith that general manager John Paxson would have the chutzpah to pull off such a deal.
# Milwaukee Bucks: It would be tough to find any team with worse defenders at the forward positions, so the Bucks might be wise to sniff around the D-League for anyone hungry enough to guard somebody.
Southeast Division
# Orlando Magic: When your No. 2 rebounder is Hedo Turkoglu, the hole to be filled is big enough for you to be standing in.
# Atlanta Hawks: I've never been much for mathematics, but yet remain convinced that one rookie backup point guard plus two veteran backup point guards does not equal one starting point guard.
# Washington Wizards: Their challenge is to find someone willing to give them what Etan Thomas gave them or convince Andray Blatche that a commitment to the dirty work might be worth more than 18 minutes per game.
# Charlotte Bobcats: They could use help everywhere, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to remind their famous personnel guy that not every athletic 6-foot-6 player is worth trading tall prospects to acquire.
# Miami Heat: Man, what this team wouldn't give for a 7-2, 320-pound center who felt like dominating at both ends. That may be tricky to attain, so Pat Riley could consider upgrades for playmakers (ahem) Jason Williams and Smush Parker.
Western Conference
Northwest Division
'Melo would be happier with a pass-first PG. (Rocky Widner / Getty Images)
# Denver Nuggets: With plenty of double-team-demanding hotshots in their lineup, the Nuggets are advised to acquire a guard with the credentials to make their lives easier. Hey, we have a theme — pass-first point guards. We now advise moms and dads to pull their kids out of the tennis academies and have them study Steve Nash (on offense only).
# Portland Trail Blazers: They have plenty of guys to handle the point, so while the NBA's hottest team waits for Greg Oden, someone who bangs with more gusto than Channing Frye might be in order.
# Utah Jazz: The addition of Kyle Korver might persuade teams to think twice about zoning, so the next move would be a hypnotist to convince Mehmet Okur that he's a rebounding and defending beast.
# Seattle SuperSonics: Yeah, having a 6-foot-10 guard is really neat, but GM Sam Presti and coach P.J. Carlesimo should find a two-guard, then move Kevin Durant to small forward ... where he might stand a chance on defense.
# Minnesota Timberwolves: Here's another team with no center and a GM who (among other things) drafted Brandon Roy and traded him for Randy Foye. Maybe the rhyming confused Kevin McHale.
Pacific Division
# Phoenix Suns: The solid reserve play of veteran "big" Brian Skinner means the Suns' first priority should be a spot-up shooter with a reasonable chance to guard another team's back-up, spot-up shooter, right? Well, based on the recent scoring salvos against the Suns by Andrew Bynum, Chris Bosh and Al Jefferson (just for starters), it seems that Skinner either needs to play much more or Amare Stoudemire should look in the mirror. Oh, I would mention backup point guard, but only 24 or so other teams need one.
# Los Angeles Lakers: Well, they have a back-up point guard, so the pressing need is to resist the urge to deal Kwame Brown's valuable and expiring contract unless a real player is offered in return.
# Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have everything they need to thrive in coach Don Nelson's system. Unless defense is added to the system, I doubt there's any deadline deal that can get them where they want to be.
# Sacramento Kings: Trade chips Ron Artest (bone chips in his elbow) and Mike Bibby have been hurt, but they still should be more than enough to bring back a player or two who can REBOUND.
# Los Angeles Clippers: With high hopes for the returns of Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, now is not the time to make any deal that might harpoon their lottery status.
Southwest Division
Manu Ginobili and the Spurs just need to stay healthy. ( Rocky Widner / Getty Images)
# San Antonio Spurs: The defending champs have plenty of depth; they just need to keep the graybeards healthy.
# Dallas Mavericks: When a team's leading dime-dropper averages less than six per game on a team like this, the Achilles' heel in Dallas is obvious.
# New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have a decent starting lineup, but don't seem to have the resources to grab the kind of reserves they lack — a wing shooter and a serious rebounder.
# Houston Rockets: The league's most puzzling team didn't solve PG and PF issues by adding Mike James and Luis Scola, so the Rockets might as well take a stab another glaring weakness — perimeter shooting.
# Memphis Grizzlies: After trading down at the GM spot, should we even care what the guy who drafted Kedrick Brown at No. 11 (for Boston) might accomplish? We probably shouldn't, but Pau Gasol might.
by Randy Hill
Veteran columnist Randy Hill is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7629258
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