Should the All-Star game be about the best players or who the fans want to see? This year's All-Star voting results thus far raise some serious questions at several positions. As much as it's nice to have the fans vote for who they want, I think it's embarassing when guys like Grant Hill & Vince Carter are leading vote getters based solely on reputation or star power. I love both of them, but they've been hobbled all year and neither has played at an All-Star level this year (or last for that matter). Year after year, the All-Star voting results reflect poorly on the basketball IQ of NBA fans. I think knowledgable sports fans have an obligation to vote for the best players at any given position, with some latitude given for home team bias when it is close. For example, Yao has now taken over the C lead from Shaq. As much as I love Yao and expect him to be the best center in the league one day, I think there's very little room to argue here on who is better now, Shaq or Yao. I think Yao is playing like the 2nd best center in the NBA, but that's 2nd to Shaq, and it's not close yet. Heck, most basketball people feel Shaq is the single-best player in the NBA (not IMO). Even taking into consideration that Shaq was injured for the first month or so, he's played enough of the season at a a high level tom get the nod. The Francis situation is more justifiable. Last year, Francis missed significant time before the All-Star game with injuries and was still voted in as the starter when I'm not sure he deserved based on his play up to that point. This year,you could make the case for Francis starting with Kobe just as you could for some other guards like GP and Nash. Still, I think Francis's star power and flashy game help him get more votes than he otherwise would have gotten. If you think I'm a Rockets hater, you're totally wrong. I'm as big a Rockets fan and homer as there is. My feelings on this issue actually stem from the days when I felt Hakeem was getting shafted for the starting center spot in the West (and All-NBA) by more popular players like David Robinson or Shaq. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and their vote, but I think we should be fair in handing out these great honors to the best players in the game. That being said, here's my All-Star voting sheet: East: G - Kidd G - McGrady F - Jermaine O'Neal F - Walker C - Wallace West Biased vote: G - Francis G - Payton F - Garnett F - Duncan C - Yao West Objective vote: G - Payton G - Kobe F - Garnett F - Duncan C - Shaq
I agree with you but think that Francis and Payton are having somewhat equal years. In my mind, that would be a toss up if this weren't a popularity contest.
shaq missed a substantial part of the first half of the season...he has not been nearly as dominating as in years past... francis is a legit all-star.
Does it matter? I was wondering who the lone fan was that actually took the All Star game seriously. The game is for the fans enjoyment alone, so let the fans get to decide who gets to start.
Yes, Francis and Yao are deserving All-Star starters. Yao is the best center in the NBA, and Francis is the PG in the Western Conference.
SF, yes. His game still has flaws but he has extensively improved his mental part of the game. He surpassed GP, SteveN, and others. Yao, no. Shaq still dominates.
Legit All-Star and legit All-Star starter are 2 different things. IMO, Francis is a legit All-Star starter while Yao is a legit All-Star reserve. Despite missing time and not being "as dominant" as last year, Shaq's still putting up like 26 and 13 vs. Yao's 14 and 8. He's also overtaken him in FG%. Believe me, I hate Shaq's game, but he's the best cneter in the NBA right now and deserves to start. I know it's apopularity contest, but I wish it wasn't. PS - GWB is not a legit president.
Francis vs. GP vs. Nash is close. Use whatever criteria you want: numbers, team performance, leadership, etc. As it's close, I'd put Stevie on my ballot even though I think GP's playing slightly better this year. Offensively, they're similar, but GP's assists and defense give him the edge.
Yao may not be as good as Shaq today, but he sure is more exciting to watch ! People want to see a good show, not someone who will run people over and dunk... As for Francis, he is clearly deserving...
Francis is definately deserving of the PG over Payton at the Allstar game. He leads Payton in Minutes, Steals, Rebounding, Scoring, 3pt shooting, Blocks. In fact he leads all PGs in Scoring, Rebounding, Minutes, 3pt Shooting, and Blocks. He just isn't the best passer or dribbler. He has bad Asst and TO numbers. As for Yao. He picked up alot of steam over the last couple months but I doubt he will be in the allstar game as the starter . He is hitting the rookie wall now and the vote will catch up to him in the next few weeks.
Please cut this off-topic crap out. I strongly disagree with this allegation, and would like to stick to basketball if y'all don't mind. Go Rockets. p.s. moonnumack - good job. Nash seems to outplay Steve, but that may be due to the good scorers and role players they have.
lol George Bush... OKAY. Steve Francis deserves it!!! What the HADES? Who else is there? Francis is the most athletic guard. He may not pass but he can jump the highest. He is the best dunker. He is the best rebounding point guard. Forget about assists. Steve is the most entertaining. He's the most popular. He deserves it. YAO...Chinese vote. But I'm glad he won...Shaq should be the All Star Starter...but Yao is more popular in China...
What comes around goes around. Wasn't it Dream that took Jabbars starting role. unfair. Then Robinson took Olajuwon's (unfair). Then Shaq took Robnison's (unfair, but deserved). Then Yao took Shaq's..... So goes the merry go round.
I really think that one reason that Yao is recieving so many votes is because he has excelled in nationally televised games. The Houston-Lakers game in which he hit 10-10 as well as the Houston-Dallas (30 points 16 reb 6 blks) and the Indiana (3? points, high numbers and Walton gushing over him) I think this really helped him outside houston.
If more fans wants to see Francis and Yao play then so be it. Yao is clearly not the dominant center (yet) compared to Shaq, but if folks enjoy watching him because (a) he brings an all-round atheletic game for a big guy, (b) he seems like a nice person, and/or (c) he'll actually show up at the All-Star game rather than stay home, then he should be the starter. If we wanted a game with only the best technical players, then the voting would be limited only to coaches, players and maybe sportswriters. But the All-Star game is for fans, and we get to vote by whatever measure we deem fit be it playing stats, shoe size, type of car the player drives, what charity he supports, the size of his nostril, the color of his dog, etc. Remember, it's for the fans. And in that vein, Shaq has told his fans to bugger off by not showing up after he got the most votes. Maybe, just maybe, that's why Yao deserves to start.
I think this question should be directed towards Carter. As someone has already mentioned, those ESPN/TNT games really did help. Besides, last time I checked the Lakers didn't have a winning record...
Nothing to blame here. This is to vote ur favorite player, not the best player. The issue about whoever is deserved to be in All-Star game or not is out of scope here.
