Ron Campbell: With the NBA All Star Reserves days away from being announced, thehoopsforum decided to breakdown our reserve selections. Let start with the East, we already know Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett and leading vote getter Dwight Howard will start. Here are my picks:
EAST
PG Jameer Nelson
SG Joe Johnson
SF Paul Pierce
PF Rashard Lewis
C Chris Bosh
SG Ray Allen
SG Danny Granger
Possible replacement Devin Harris
On to the West where we know Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming will be the starters.
WEST
PG Chauncey Billups
SG Brandon Roy
SF Dirk Nowitski
PF Pau Gasol
C Shaquille O’Neal
SF Carmelo Anthony
PF David West
Possible replacement Al Jefferson, Tony Parker, LaMarcus Aldrige
Ron Campbell: I put Bosh on the team because he is averaging nearly 24ppg and 10rpg a game, and the East doesn’t have any other power forward/center besides Bosh who comes close to those type of numbers and plus the East has to be able to compete. Granger gets on the team because he is having a terrific season he is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.2ppg. Jameer Nelson over Devin Harris was a tough decision but I have to go with Nelson because he has made a number of huge shots this season, only Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics is the only point guard in the league shooting better from the field then Nelson at .504 Nelson is shooting .503 from the field.
The West was difficult because there are so many worthy players but I will start off by saying this after Amare Stoudemire’s 3 point 1 rebound performance in Boston in last week I don’t think he deserves to be on the team. I put Shaq on the team because he is a living legend he is having a good season and he has given the NBA a number of great seasons. Chauncey Billups is on the team because he has had a similar impact to the Nuggets as Kevin Garnett had with the Celtics last year, Billups has changed the culture in Denver. It was tough leaving off LaMarcus Aldridge but David West is averaging more points than rebounds then LaMarcus. Al Jefferson is averaging a significant amount more than both Aldridge and West but his team got off to a very slow start so I had to leave Al J. off.
Zoo:
Western Conference Reserves
SG. Brandon Roy - He has been the best player on the youngest team in the NBA and they are in solid position to make the playoffs.
SF. Kevin Durant - Although his team has the WORST record in the NBA there is no denying this young stud with 24.7 ppg & 6.6 rpg averages.
PF. Dirk Nowitzki - Still a deadly offensive force despite his team’s struggles.
C. Shaquille O'Neal - 17.9 ppg & 9.1 rpg would have some young players cashing huge checks. For the Diesel it is a nice ending to a legendary career.
PG. Chauncey Billups - The Nuggets sport the 3rd best record in the conference because of Billups ... PERIOD.
PF. Pau Gasol - He leads the Lakers in fg% and rebounds and has arguably been their most consistant performer.
C. Al Jefferson - I tried to leave him off in place of contenders like David West, Lamarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker. Then I remembered he is better than ALL of them.
Outside Looking in: David West, Lamarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker.
Eastern Conference Reserves
SF. Danny Granger - 26 ppg, 1 spg and 1 bpg. Yeah his team is not that good but he is.
PG. Devin Harris - He averages more points and assists than Joe Johnson and is playing with considerably less talent.
C. Chris Bosh - He is taking Toronto as far as their Euro legs can go ... 24 ppg and 10 rpg.
SG. Joe Johnson - The Hawks best player has them in position to scare the lights out of Cleveland or the Celtics in this years post season.
SG. Ray Allen - He is shooting career highs of 50% from the field and 93% from the line.
PF. Rashad Lewis - He is making a career high 3 three pointers per game and also has a career high in assists per game with 2.6.
SF. Paul Pierce - He is the leading scorer (19.1 ppg) on the team with the 2nd best record in the Conference.
Outside Looking in: Rajon Rondo, Mo Williams and Vince Carter.
Godfather:
Western Conference
PF: Pau Gasol – He is having a great year alongside Kobe Bryant.
PG: Chauncey Billups – Changing the culture Denver from no defense to defense
SF: Dirk Notwitski – He still puts up 25.8 and hulls down 8.5 boards per game.
C: Shaquille O’Neal – Shaq has not looked this good since his last title with Kobe.
SG: Brandon Roy – He is one of the better young players in the league.
PF: Al Jefferson – He is making the fans forget about the KG trade and looking forward to the future.
PG: Steve Nash – How can you leave Nash out in his home town.
Outside Looking in: Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Kevin Durant
Eastern Conference
PG Mike Bibby – His All-Star selection is way overdue.
SF: Paul Pierce – After LeBron James, he is the second best player in the conference and reigning Finals MVP.
SG: Joe Johnson – he is a top 5 shooting guard in the NBA and has bought the respect back to Phillips arena.
PG: Jameer Nelson – Dwight is superman, but Jameer is the closer.
SF: Danny Granger – Emerged as one of the better scorers in the league.
SG: Devin Harris – Having a break out superstar year
PF: Chris Bosh – This Raptor is having a monster year.
Outside Looking in: Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Moe Williams
| Name | Comment |
| Stu Parker | wow. after reading this blog....You are spot on. I do not deny Kevin Garnett's ability as a player but HATE the BS stuff he does...All negative crap. |
| | This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G. |
| | This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G. |
| Ra | This is blasphemy. I hope a Celtics fan did not write this article. |
| KWAPT | How old is that clip of KG? C'mon..of course that was a punk move, but what was that, 10 years ago? It's simple: KG is a fierce competitor who uses intimiadation and mental toughness to strike fear in the heart of his opponents. If he is on your team, you LOVE him. If he is not, you may loathe him. But either way, he is a great player. You cannot deny that. |
| Alex | Wow, now we are going to call an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member, an NBA Champion, a player that has more 20-10-5 seasons than Larry Bird, Defender of the Year (2008 and most likely, this year) overrated? Hmm, right now I'm kind of smelling a bit of jealousy mixed with stupidity in this article. |
| Tweedster | This blog is poorly written, scattered and incoherent. Thankfully, someone else already tackled the inconsistencies and leaps of logic. Check it out hear:
http://celticshub.com/2009/10/22/did-you-hear-kg-is-overrated/ |
| Tweedster | Some actual statistics, and not just conjecture and strange conclusions based on the number of 'chips KG has.
http://www.celticstown.com/is-kevin-garnett-clutch.html |
| SP | ron campbell must love the Lakers. Or the Cav's. Or the Magic. but he doesn't know @$@@ about basketball! |
| Ed The Sports Fan | I'm sorry, there's no way in life Allen Iverson isn't in the starting 5, especially ahead of Nash. Give a damn about MVP's, Iverson's done more with much much MUCH less and totally revolutionized the game. Other than that, I think your decade team is cool.
-Ed. |