apparently they want size to compete with the west instead of talent. i know everyone is coming out to see ben wallace play defense in the all-star game.
I am not surprised - in fact I actually expected this to happen. The reason I anticipated this happening is because of who the East have starting for them as forwards - Grant Hill and Vince. Ben Wallace was chosen as a "forward" in this case. Also I expected the Eastern coaches to reward the Pistons for winning the title and choosing Ben seemed the most logical (although Rip would have made more sense had a true PF been voted as a starter instead of Grant Hill). In summarry, the Eastern conference coaches just evened out the size factor (kind of like a balancing act). Check out the forwards for both conferences.... East --------- West GHill --------- Duncan Vince -------- Garnet Jamison ----- Marion J. O'Neal ---- Nowitzki (Pierce and Lewis are twiners that can play both the 2 and 3 positions - a wash there size wise). With that alone you will see that the east is lacking for size that is why I believe another "big" was selected with the last two alternate slots. PS. I believe GHill somehow cost SF3 an ASG spot. I truly do believe that the coaches did not want to reward a mediocre Orlando Magic team with two AS. Of course a lot of other factors played a part but I believe the size issue and GHill factor played key roles.