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Host Harden Leads All-Star Reserves

January 24, 2013  ·  8:35PM


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While James Harden of the hometown Rockets will be in the lineup to serve as unofficial host for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, evidently the voters — fans and coaches — haven’t received the memo that the NBA is making a big splash in Brooklyn this season.

allstar-13-200Harden, who was traded from Oklahoma City four days before the season opener and made a splash by scoring 37 and 45 points in his first two games, will make his All-Star debut in his brand new home town.

Yet despite their being the hottest team in the league with nine wins in the last 10 games and currently holding down the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, the Nets were shut out when the reserves were announced for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game Thursday night.

A poll of the league’s head coaches added seven players to each team.

Chris Bosh joined teammates LeBron James and Dwayne Wade on the East team, making the defending NBA champion Heat the only team with three players that will take part in the 62nd All-Star Game, which will be played at Houston’s Toyota Center on Feb. 17 (TNT, 8:30 p.m. ET).

In the Western Conference, the Spurs’ old reliable twosome of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were voted in for their 14th and fifth times, respectively, while the vote split up potential duos from other teams.

Eastern Conference

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Chris Bosh, Heat — If they were the Three Tenors, LeBron James would be Pavarotti, Dwyane Wade would be Domingo and Chris Bosh will always be “that other guy.” Numbers aren’t flashy, but he sacrifices his game to make it all work. | Highlights

Tyson Chandler, Knicks — He averages a double-double of 12.1 points-10.9 rebounds, leads the league in shooting (.674) and defends the rim as if he were a hungry fat man protecting the last cheeseburger on the planet. Justice is done. | Highlights

Luol Deng, Bulls – Coaches love the lunch pail players, the guys who show up for work every night. He leads the NBA in minutes, is his team’s top scorer and top defender in a season when the Bulls are surviving without Derrick Rose. | Highlights

Paul George, Pacers — He’s not just keeping the seat warm for Danny Granger, but playing like the Pacers’ MVP. With six double-doubles in the last two-plus weeks, he closed fast and has led Indiana’s surge after a slow start. | Highlights

Jrue Holiday, Sixers – In a season when Philly fans search for rare and exotic sightings of Bigfoot and Andrew Bynum, the dynamic guard is the reason to go to the games. He’s the only player in league averaging 19 points and nine assists. | Highlights

Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers — Look past the Cavs’ 11-32 record at these more pleasant numbers: 20.7 points, 5.7 assists, 39.9 3FG%, 20.7 PER. And the kid is only 20. Are the coaches already buttering him up for free agency? | Highlights

Joakim Noah, Bulls — The numbers say it all — 12.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.1 blocks, 1.3 steals per game. The hyperactive one is having the finest season of his career and symbolizes coach Tom Thibodeau’s driven attitude. | Highlights

The lowdown: The pair of Bulls on the frontline probably squeezed Nets center Brook Lopez out of a spot. Deron Williams would have been everyone’s preseason pick, but struggling with his shot didn’t help. Maybe coaches also didn’t like his griping that led to his coach, Avery Johnson, getting fired. You could have made a case for Boston’s leading scorer Paul Pierce, but with Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo already voted in by the fans, it’s unlikely the coaches wanted to reward the 8th-seeded Celtics with a third man. Do you really see a group of coaches warming up to J.R. Smith? Brandon Jennings of the Bucks and Greg Monroe of the Pistons are just too far under the radar.

Western Conference

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LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers — The plan was to build Blazers into a playoff team next summer. But on a roster with less depth than a wading pool, L.A. scores (20.6), rebounds (8.6) and keeps them as a surprise club in the mix this season. | Highlights

Tim Duncan, Spurs — Oh, so you foolishly left him out of the All-Star Game for the first time last season? Well, the 36-year-old geezer responds by turning back the clock and turning up the heat to keep the Spurs as a real threat in the West. | Highlights

James Harden, Rockets – A bit ironic that The Beard’s first All-Star honor comes just when he’s shot 28-97 (.289) in his last five games. But he’s shown he can carry the mantle of the top dog and will represent the home team in Houston. | Highlights

David Lee, Warriors — Statistically, a no-brainer as the top PF in the West — 19.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists. His biggest challenge was probably splitting votes with teammate Stephen Curry on a Warriors team that has truly surprised. | Highlights

Tony Parker, Spurs – Coach Gregg Popovich keeps ratcheting up the pressure on him every season by raising the bar of great expectation and Parker goes right on clearing it. Seems the coaches understand just how hard that is to do. | Highlights

Zach Randolph, Grizzlies – You could make an argument for teammate Marc Gasol anchoring the defense. But flip the light switch every night and there’s Z-Bo with 16.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, which add up to a league-leading 27 double-doubles. | Highlights

Russell Westbrook, Thunder – The most polarizing player in the NBA has struggled all season with his shot, but ranks in the top five in steals and the top six in assists while churning away with fellow All-Star Kevin Durant to build OKC’s league-best record. | Highlights

The lowdown: As difficult as it was to pare down the list, imagine how much harder things might have been if Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Kevin Love were healthy/up to par. In many cases in the West, it became an intramural competition with Lee beating out Curry, Randolph elbowing Marc Gasol aside and Aldridge getting the nod over rookie Damian Lillard. The surging Nuggets were overlooked, maybe because they’re too well-balanced. The Clippers’ turbo-charger off the bench, Jamal Crawford, was also snubbed. But if anybody’s got a reason to complain here, it’s Curry.
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Posted in 2013 All-Star, HT News, The All-Star Debate / Comments (138) /

All-Star Reserves Named On TNT Tonight

January 24, 2013  ·  9:38AM

The San Antonio Spurs are so accustomed to flying under the radar by now that it’s surprising they haven’t changed the name of the team to the Stealth Bombers.

allstar-13-200So in a way, it’s business as usual as one of the biggest questions when the reserves for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game are announced tonight on TNT (7 p.m. ET) is whether the longtime partners Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will somehow get overlooked for their sterling work in the first half of the season.

The 36-year-old Duncan has been spry, spirited and splendid in his work at both ends of the floor and Parker continues to raise the level of his game with each season.

Yet the Spurs, who currently have the third-best record in the NBA, did not have a player voted onto the Western Conference starting lineup in the fan balloting. The reserves, seven for each team, are selected by poll of the league’s coaches.

Much of the focus in the Eastern Conference will be in the middle of the lineup, where Miami’s Chris Bosh hopes to join Heat teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the All-Star Game, but faces strong competition from Tyson Chandler of the Knicks, Joakim Noah of the Bulls and Brook Lopez of the Nets.

The 62nd NBA All-Star Game will be played Feb. 17 at Houston’s Toyota Center (8:30 p.m. ET).

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The Return Of The Dwightmare?

January 23, 2013  ·  9:32AM





HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Here we go again.

The Feb. 21 trade deadline is fast approaching and guess whose name is at the top of the list, just like last season? That’s right, Dwight Howard.  The formerly disgruntled Orlando Magic star has apparently been replaced by Dwight Howard, the disgruntled Los Angeles Lakers star. The Magic’s Dwightmare of a year ago now becomes the Lakers’ burden this time around.

And that means the wheels are turning in front offices around the league, what with the prospect of Howard becoming available before he becomes a free agent at season’s end, which for the Lakers could very well be mid-April.

These latest developments thrust other teams into the thick of the Howard sweepstakes, with prospective summer free-agent players Dallas and Atlanta joining the usual suspects (the Lakers and Brooklyn Nets) in the conversation. The Lakers’ pitiful season is what has reignited the Dwightmare dilemma … plus the fact that Brooklyn was his preferred destination all along.

And depending on who you listen to and what you read, there’s a dizzying array of possibilities being considered by the different sides in this saga.

RealGM.com’s Jarrod Rudolph reports the Nets are ready to finish what they started last season and finally bring Howard to Brooklyn, with Brook Lopez (and a third team needed to help facilitate a deal) as the return piece. Of course, there is the obligatory return volley that says Lopez is safe, from Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the best part coming at the end: “It’s not the same as it was last year,” said a Nets source. “We don’t need Dwight.”

Interesting. But that won’t slow down the stream of rumors suggesting otherwise.

With the Lakers stuck in the 12th spot in the Western Conference playoff chase, no one outside of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash should feel comfortable in that Lakers’ locker room.

And if Kobe’s words, tweets and facial expressions mean anything, something has to change. Because it’s clear, as ESPN.com‘s Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein point out, that the real crack in the Lakers’ foundation is the rift between its two biggest stars:

“Obviously, this isn’t working,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant told Yahoo! Sports after the Chicago loss.

“I’ve tried to go out of my way to get (Howard) the ball. Sometimes I end up looking like an idiot, because I get up in the air, I’ve got a shot, but I try to find him. But he thinks I’m going to shoot, so his back is turned. I’m trying to think about getting him the ball a lot — take care of him as much as I possibly can. It takes me out of rhythm a little bit, but I’m fine with that. If that’s going to help our team, I’m more than willing to do that.

“I’ve constantly tried to help him out, tried to talk to him,” Bryant continued. “Two o’clock in the morning, three o’clock in the morning. Texting him. Sharing reading materials. Anything to try and help him.

“He’s coming off a major surgery in a market where it’s just merciless; where there’s demands and responsibilities of athletes. It’s been tough on him.”

The blame in L.A. has been widespread, with both Howard and Gasol facing criticism for not battling through these tough times with the needed resolve. D’Antoni getting second-guessed with rising volume for not tweaking his spread-the-floor system to accommodate his marquee players and Bryant critiquing himself this week for missing too many shots on an 0-2 road trip that has spiraled into six straight losses away from Staples Center and three straight losses overall heading into Thursday’s game at Memphis.

If Lakers fans have to pick a side, Howard might as well start packing his bags now. In the past, they’ve chosen Kobe in landslides over former big man Shaquille O’Neal and ex-coach Phil Jackson, among others. Howard doesn’t stand a chance in winning over the fan base, the franchise and perhaps most importantly, the locker room.

It seems pretty obvious that Kobe and Nash have gone out of their way to make Howard feel as comfortable as possible and still these issues persist. With time running out on their season and that Feb. 21 escape hatch getting closer and closer, something has to give …

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Roaring Out Of The D-League

January 13, 2013  ·  4:02PM

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HANG TIME, Texas — After attacking the rim and filling up the basket last week in Reno, Damion James became the first player to get a call-up after the NBA D-League Showcase and will join the Nets on Sunday night when they host Indiana.

A 2010 draft pick by Atlanta, the 6-foot-7 James was asked what he could bring back to the NBA.

“Heart,” he said. “You can’t draft that. (I’m) a warrior. A lion.”

Here are two more fistfuls of players that might be ready to roar at the next level. They caught my eye, impressed scouts and execs at the Showcase and could make the jump to the NBA in the coming weeks, along with breakdowns from D-League experts Kevin Scheitrum and Anthony Oliva.

Travis Leslie, G, 6-4, 205 — An athletic specimen even by NBA standards, Leslie’s raw talent has grown more refined in the NBA D-League, with the Georgia grad turning into one of the league’s most efficient scorers and a far above-average rebounder for his position. Fast and explosive, Leslie belongs among the league’s elite. Played just one game at the Showcase and suffered a groin injury.

Chris Wright, G, 6-1, 210 — One of the few true point guards in the NBA D-League, Wright excels in orchestrating an offense and setting up his teammates for easy buckets. The Georgetown product is also a capable scorer who can hit from outside, though he does most of his damage by getting into the lane and finishing or drawing contact.

DaJuan Summers, F, 6-8, 240 — Summers has the size to compete in an NBA lane and the touch to spread out a defense. He does have difficulty creating his own shot, often relying on his teammates to set him up, but the veteran of 81 NBA games has shown a newfound commitment to rebounding in the NBA D-League.

Chris Wright, F, 6-8, 235 — Wright can get it done on both ends of the floor. Though he still needs work from 3-point range, his strength and explosiveness combined with a mid-range game make him a threat from 18 feet and in. A hungry rebounder and a sheriff in the paint, Wright can jump out of the gym.

Courtney Fortson, G, 5-11, 185 — Fortson surprised a lot of people when he left Arkansas early. Then he surprised even more people when, after going in the 4th round of the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, he earned two NBA Call-Ups. Fast as a rumor, he can get into the lane as well as anyone, though he can be prone to forcing shots once he’s there. Undersized at 5-foot-11, Fortson makes up for it with energy and athleticism.

Andrew Goudelock, G, 6-3, 200 — once near the top of the nation in scoring while at the College of Charleston, Goudelock is now one of the best pure scorers in the NBA D-League. Dubbed “Mini Mamba” by Kobe Bryant himself, Goudelock can stretch the defense and also slash and get into the lane.

Jerome Jordan, C, 7-0, 253 — Big and active, the Jamaica-born Jordan finished his career at Tulsa as the C-USA leader in blocked shots. Still in need of polish on the offensive end, despite a high career field goal percentage, the former Knick ranks in the top flight of big men in the NBA D-League.

Tim Ohlbrecht, C, 6-11, 255 — The 24-year-old center from Germany has proven to be tougher on the inside that many had originally thought. With Rio Grande Valley he’s starting to learn how to throw around his 6-foot-11, 255-pound frame and he’s developed into a solid rebounder and efficient scorer from the low block.

Shelvin Mack, G, 6-3, 207 — Back after a call-up to the Wizards — the team that drafted him in 2011 — Mack is back in the NBA D-League as one of its most dangerous point guards. Still evolving as a creator (though he’s made strides), the former 2-guard’s combination of athleticism, power and finishing ability can tie a defense into knots.

Luke Harangody, F, 6-8, 240 — The former Notre Dame star tore up the NBA D-League last year when he was on assignment from the Cavs, going for a double-double nightly. His skill has never been in question. But he’ll need to develop an outside game to make up for a lack of height and raw athleticism.

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Chocolate Thunder Still Wants Big Bang

January 9, 2013  ·  8:31PM

RENO, Nev. — Lovetron is now a distant world in a faded memory, and the interplanetary funkmanship of Chocolate Thunder has been in mothballs since the days of disco.

But the larger-than-life presence of Darryl Dawkins can still fill up an arena, even if there is less of it these days.

Credit zoomba, a popular and highly suggestive dance exercise that Dawkins says has enabled him to drop 50 pounds in the past 10 months.

“I always had the moves,” he said. “It was just time to use them to get rid of that extra size.”

Yet size, strength and aggressiveness are exactly what Dawkins — now a scout/consultant for both the 76ers and Nets — was hoping to see at the NBA D-League Showcase.

“The word that I got coming in here was that there were some big men who could play,” said Dawkins, who was 6-foot-11, 265 pounds when he jumped straight from high school as an 18-year-old to the Sixers in 1975. “My question is, when people say a big man can play these days, do they mean he’s out on the wing shooting jumpers like a ‘4’ or really playing the way a big man should?

“Look, I’m not running down the league or game in any way, but I think it would all be a lot better if we developed some big men who would take control of the lane on defense, take down all those little guards who want to drive through the lane, and would be able to finish on offense with dunks.”

It was, of course, the dunks that made Dawkins famous during his flamboyant 14-year NBA career. He rattled rims, bent imaginations and most notably brought down the house with his Chocolate Thunder Flyin’, Robinzine Cryin’, Teeth Shakin’, Glass-Breakin’, Rump Roastin’, Bun Toastin, Wham, Bam, Glass-Breaker I Am Jam that shattered the backboard at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium on Nov. 13, 1979.

“An accident, an old building, old rims, old glass,” he still insists with a sheepish grin.

Dawkins’ duties on Wednesday included serving as a judge for the Showcase Slam Dunk Contest.

“I’m telling these boys going in that they better not try to win without bringing something special,” he said. “I don’t go for plain dunks.”

Not when his repertoire included his self-named collection: Yo Mama, Spine Chiller Supreme, Rim Wrecker, Dunk You Very Much and Sexophonic Turbo Delight.

Dawkins, who’ll turn 56 on Friday, misses what he calls the days when the NBA was less about the business side and more about the simple fun. But it is the lack of dominant big men and the lack of consistent low post play that drives him crazy.

“I hear people saying that the game has changed,” he said. “Why’s that? Because big men grow up these days trying to just shoot like guards or small forwards. I watch teams like Miami where nobody has a real position and they’re able to win the championship. Look, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are great players. I’m not denying that.

“I listen to people say the game now is all about cutting and motion and moving — that’s getting back to the fundamentals. But I’m saying if you put guys like Moses Malone and Charles Barkley and Kevin McHale out there, you’re not just gonna dump that ball inside and beat everybody up to win games?

“Everybody’s here at the Showcase looking for talent. I want to see big men, the old-fashioned kind.”

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Jackson, Prokhorov… And Vodka

December 29, 2012  ·  2:02PM

The Nets have “firmly targeted”  Phil Jackson to take over as coach, Howard Beck reports in the New York Times. Which is how it should be. Jackson is the ultimate closer and not a developer and Brooklyn has enough pieces to plot a playoff run. The former Knick speaks fondly about the city and owner Mikhail Prokhorov has the kind of deep pockets required to even start a conversation.

There is no word from Jackson himself on whether the feeling is mutual. But there is the way-back machine and Jackson being asked about Prokhorov on May 25, 2010.

“I’d like to have a vodka with him at some point,” Jackson said. “He seems like a very interesting young man.”

The backstory is important. Jackson, who was still coaching the Lakers but about to become a free agent, was talking in Phoenix before a playoff game. He was clearly loving the chance to tweak L.A. management, a favorite pastime. It was Jackson doing serve-and-volley with the media and not caring if his wandering eyes were visible about 90 minutes before Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Jackson in a hilarious moment was specific enough, though, to say he had no desire to return to his previous life as Bulls coach. So saying he was intrigued by Prokhorov does, in retrospect, seems real and not just a chance to sweat the Lakers out for the extension that would eventually come.

(The best part was Jackson denying being flattered by the speculation surrounding various coaching vacancies, calling it “a distraction, I think, to other teams and I think a disservice to coaches that are really seeking jobs and have an opportunity to go to teams.” A high road he took, of course, about a minute after noting he would like to throw back some good stuff with Prokhorov. Classic Phil.)

As it turned out, Jackson returned to the Lakers for the attempt at the threepeat, left a year later with a very bad playoff ending, and the Nets hired Avery Johnson on June 15, 2010. And now here they are again, Jackson a 100 percent free agent, the Nets looking for a coach and with spending power and the roster to back up their pursuit, and with Prokhorov still “interesting,” even if the “young man” part is not as applicable 2 ½ years later.

As Beck reported:

Asked if he would be interested in a coach with 11 championships, Prokhorov smiled broadly as a dozen camera shutters snapped. He again pledged support for [interim coach P.J.] Carlesimo but said, “If it becomes necessary, you know who usual suspects are.”

When Jackson’s name was specifically mentioned, Prokhorov turned coy: “I never heard this name, you know.”

A person with ties to the search called Jackson “the No. 1 choice,” for all of the obvious reasons. He is the most decorated coach in N.B.A. history, he is available, and he has strong ties to New York, having begun his playing career with the Knicks and ended it with the Nets (then in New Jersey).

All other candidates are considered distant second choices, at least until Nets officials determine whether Jackson wants the job. That is an open question, even among Jackson’s friends. It is far from certain that Jackson will coach again, and if so, whether he can be lured to Brooklyn.

Prokhorov and the Nets obviously have to try. Talk to Jackson. Invite him out for a drink.

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Rondo Gets Two-Game Suspension

November 29, 2012  ·  6:20PM

There’s a reason why many NBA executives hesitate when they’re asked if Rajon Rondo is the point guard they’d trust holding their franchise in his hands.

It’s not about his ability to slash, drive and get to the rim to finish. It’s not about those quick hands that can disrupt plays. It’s not even about his streaky jump shot.

It’s all about Rondo’s personality, his composure.

Everybody wants their front line players to battle and scrap. But no one needs them crossing a line and picking fights that could be costly in the standings.

Rondo already missed the second half of Wednesday’s loss to the Nets and now with the struggling Celtics a game over .500 (8-7), he’ll miss the next two games after getting suspended by the league for fighting with Brooklyn’s Kris Humphries.

The Nets’ Gerald Wallace was fined $35,000 and Boston’s Kevin Garnett $25,000 for escalating the fight.

Rondo will sit out Friday night when the Trail Blazers visit Boston and Saturday’s game in Milwaukee.

According to ESPNBoston.com, Rondo did not seem to regret his action when he spoke to the media at Thursday’s practice, prior to the announcement of the suspension:

“I know I have to be out there for my teammates,” he said. “That’s the only thing about it. But I was sticking up for my teammates. I didn’t try to start a fight. I’m not trying to be a bully. I just didn’t think the play was fair that he made on Kevin, that’s all.”

Never mind the lame excuse that the snarling Garnett needs somebody to stand up for his honor. It’s not like this was the first time for Rondo. He was suspended for a game in the playoffs last season when he bumped a referee and was slapped with a two-game suspension for heaving the ball at an official in the 2010-11 season.

As long as he keeps piling up 10- and 20-assist games and triple-doubles, Rondo’s sheer talent will keep him in any conversation about the league’s best point guard.

But when it comes to being The Guy, temperament, composure, just plain cool in the heat of the battle matters.

It’s like the old saying about the lottery: You’ve got to play to win.

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Nets Flying Beneath The Radar

November 16, 2012  ·  9:59AM

 

HANG TIME, Texas -- Call it the luck of the Nets.

Just when it looks like they could really be building something, all everyone wants to talk about is their building, the futuristic and upscale Barclays Center.

And here in the early weeks of the 2012-13 NBA season, when a 5-2 start is enough to get Jay-Z’s toes tapping, New York and the rest of the league is dancing in amazement at the 6-0 start by the Knicks.

Yet for all that, maybe it’s quite understandable for the Nets to be uncelebrated, because theirs is a lineup that in a celebrity-driven league can go as undetected on the radar.

Deron Williams is a big-time name that belongs up on any marquee. But the trio of Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries has the bland aura of a buttoned-down law firm.

What matters, of course, is winning and the appreciation will overtake the image if the Nets continue to do that. For now, what’s changed is that the relocation to Brooklyn and the new digs has given them a bit of swagger, as was noticed by even the always-swaggering Celtics in Thursday’s loss.

But as was noted by our old friend Filip Bondy in the New York Daily News, there is still plenty of work to be done, especially at the defensive end.

“They have a lot more confidence,” Kevin Garnett noticed, about these new Nets. “They also got a lot of calls tonight.”

It was good to hear an opponent gripe about officiating, rather than smirk at another feeble effort from the home team. And here’s another change from the Jersey era: most fans actually cheered for the Nets in Brooklyn, instead of for the Celtics.

“It was a fantastic environment to play in,” Lopez said. “It hasn’t been like that here in a long time.”

Not everything is perfect. Avery Johnson has yet to completely trust his team’s defense, understandably. He ordered his players to foul the Celtics in the final minute, sending them to the line, rather than let Paul Pierce launch a possible back-breaking three-pointer. Boston missed four foul shots in those waning seconds, rendering the Net coach an accurate soothsayer.

“It was one of the bigger games that we had,” Johnson said. “To win a close game like that without Gerald Wallace means a lot.”

The Nets are now 5-2, while reminding nobody of Dave DeBusschere, Willis Reed, Charles Oakley or even Kenyon Martin. New Yorkers have always worshipped the fine art of stubborn resistance, from shot-blocking to sacrificing the body in the lane. We may have to make some new allowances for these Nets, who are doing things differently.

There will always be areas to improve and nits to pick. What would that matchup with Boston have looked like with Rajon Rondo in the Celtics’ lineup? How far to close that 30-point gap from their first run-in with the defending champion Heat?

It’s enough for now that the Nets are still upright in the Eastern Conference standings, ahead of both Miami and Boston.

Now a three-game road trip to Sacramento, the Lakers and Golden State might provide a few answers about what the Nets can be.

And who they are as well.

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All-Star Balloting Begins In Houston

November 13, 2012  ·  6:40PM


HOUSTON — Never mind the standings and the early season problems and the firing of a coach and the controversy over his replacement.

According to the 2013 All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint, Mike D’Antoni should have enough elite talent on his roster to get the Lakers into the Western Conference finals against the Thunder.

The Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Metta World Peace and Thunder with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin each have five players on this season’s ballot, which was unveiled at a tipoff ceremony at the Toyota Center.

The defending NBA champion Heat — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen Shane Battier — along with the Celtics and Nets all have five players on the Eastern Conference side of the ballot.

In keeping with league policy, No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Davis is the only rookie on the ballot.

For the first time ever, NBA fans will be able to vote via social media networks, including Twitter and Facebook, and Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ in China.

The balloting is now open and fans also have other digital methods of voting:

– on NBA.com/ASB

– through SMS voting by texting the player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (MYNBA)

– on NBA Game Time

– on NBA Game Time from Sprint

The All-Star ballot lists 120 players — 60 from each conference — with 36 front-court men apiece. Previously the ballot featured three positions with fans picking two guards, two forwards and a center.

Balloting will conclude on Jan. 14 and starters will be announced on Jan. 17 during a special one-hour show on TNT featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.

The 2013 NBA All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 17 at the Toyota Center in Houston and televised exclusively on TNT.

Now all D’Antoni has to do is pick up his All-Star pieces and glue them back together.

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We’ve Got Our Eyes On You

October 30, 2012  ·  12:58PM

 

On opening night everybody is undefeated and optimistic. But that doesn’t mean some players — young and old — aren’t more under the gun to step forward and establish their place in the league. So we present a couple of fistfuls of guys who need to hit the ground running:

Nicolas Batum, Trail Blazers – It’s been four seasons now of occasional flashes and teases. Now that Brandon Roy and Greg Oden are simply yellowed pages in the history books, it is time for Batum to be the twin support along with LaMarcus Aldridge that is a bridge to the future. Rookie of the Year candidate Damian Lillard might draw a lot of attention in the backcourt along with fellow newbie Meyers Leonard in the middle, but after getting his big paycheck, Batum must deliver the goods every night.

Michael Beasley, Suns — As Bob Dylan might have sung, how many roads does a man walk down before he’s considered a bust? This is already the third stop on the reclamation tour of the former No. 2 overall pick, and if he can’t succeed in coach Alvin Gentry’s offense-friendly atmosphere in Phoenix, what’s left? Beasley can score. He can rebound. What he has to prove is an ability to keep his head in the game and with the program.

Andrew Bogut, Warriors — There’s virtually nobody in the league that questions his ability as a passer, scorer and defender in the middle. The only question is his durability. It’s been four years since Bogut played more than 69 games in a season and twice he’s managed only 36 and 12. Coming back from a fractured ankle, he missed the entire preseason schedule and only practiced for the first time on Monday. The Warriors need him on the floor to even think of making a run at the playoffs. (more…)

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Posted in 2012 / Comment (1) /

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