East:
PG Dwyane Wade
Runner-up: Devin Harris
This Olympiad is averaging career highs in points and assists and has returned to his ridiculous pre-injury output. With no great alternatives at point guard in the Eastern Conference, "Flash" is an easy pick.
SG Joe Johnson
Runner-up: Vince Carter
Joe Johnson is averaging 25.3 PPG, good for fourth in the league, while hitting the second most threes at a phenomenal .455% clip. After Wade, no other guard in the Eastern Conference can dominate a game as effectively as Johnson, who also averages 4.9 assists and a career high 5.4 boards.
SF Lebron James
Runner-up: Paul Pierce
"The King" keeps a stranglehold on the title of "best player on the planet".
PF Chris Bosh
Runner-up: Zach Randolph/Kevin Garnett
Many Celtics fans will argue for KG in this spot, but in the end, his statistics do not match up. KG is averaging his lowest minutes per game since his rookie season. This can be attributed to his team's dominance and deep bench and not to a lack of personal talent. The decreased minutes have led to the lowest PPG and APG totals since his rookie year.
Although stats are not the only aspect of All Star Selection, they are still very important.
Player A: 25.5 PPG 11.0 RPG 2.2 APG 0.9 BPG
Player B: 16.2 PPG 9.3 RPG 2.0 APG 1.2 BPG
Player C: 20.5 PPG 12.5 RPG 1.4 APG 0.3 BPG
Which player would you choose to be the starter, backup, and all-star snub?
Player A is Chris Bosh. He has dominated the league at the offensive end. If Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard were not so dominate defensively, he would easily be the best big man in the East. To be honest though, if defense was heavily factored into all-star selections, Marcus Camby would have many more all-star appearances. To clarify, Player B is KG and Player C is Zach Randolph, my comeback player of the year so far.
C Dwight Howard
Runner-up: Rasheed Wallace
I don't think this pick needs much explanation. "Superman" has continued to improve, especially on the defensive end, and changes the game on both ends of the floor like recent great David Robinson.
West:
PG Chris Paul
Runner-Up: Baron Davis
With the early injury to Deron Williams and the diminished play of Steve Nash, this pick is even easier than it was last year. Chris Paul is the best floor general in the league for one of the league's most talented teams.
SG Kobe Bryant
Runner-up: Brandon Roy
Although usually an automatic All-Star Stater, I was presented with a conundrum when comparing Kobe's statistics with that of the surprising Stephen Jackson. This was eventually resolved by plugging Jackson into the small forward spot.
SF Stephen Jackson
Runner-up: Carmelo Anthony
This spot was determined by a close race between Stephen Jackson and Carmelo Anthony. I gave the spot to Jackson because he had a slight edge in points, assists, threes, and steals, while Carmelo had the edge in boards and defensive ability (although only slightly, Carmelo is no Bruce Bowen to be honest).
PF Tim Duncan
Runner-up: Amare Stoudemire
No I did not choose this pick out of habit. Timmy has very much improved his game in the absence of Manu and Tony Parker, and is putting up numbers that indicate he is still in his prime. The San Antonio offense usually runs through Tim Duncan, but is doing so even more now that there are less viable offensive options. Duncan is a great on ball defender, mostly due to his size and great footwork, and is a versatile offensive threat. Now that he is needed to carry his team, Duncan is averaging more boards, assists, blocks, and steals that the runner up for this spot.
C Al Jefferson
Runner-up Andris Biedrins
At only 23 years of age, Al Jefferson has continued to improve. The addition of Mike Miller and the improved health of Randy Foye have helped Al dominate in the paint for Minnesota, averaging career highs in FG%, FT%, points, assists, and blocks. Although the Chinese voting contingent will probably get Yao Ming this spot, I believe he is only the third best center in the Western Conference this year.
Yao Ming: 16.9 PPG 9.5 RPG 1.2 APG 0.27 SPG 1.55 BPG
Biedrins: 16.8 PPG 14.4 RPG 1.8 APG 0.91 SPG 1.55 BPG
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