Looks like Steve will be a starter in the all-star game

I think I voted 3 times. SF all 3, Kobe 2, and now that he is hurt Cassell 1. Yao everytime.

I don't consider Bibby or Payton more of an "allstar guard".

 

Why is gr-8 being bashed for this? Makes sense to me...


1) We do not think Steve has been playing all that well, or properly.

2) Many players would take starting an All Star game as affirmation that what they're doing is the right way to go. Steve seems to likely be one of those players.

3) We don;t want to add more bumps in the raod that JVG is trying to lead Steve down...towards becomeing more of a team player...and this affirmation might be a huge one.


All in all, I see gr-8's point. I don;t necessarily agree, but I certainly think it's a valid perspective.

 

And if he wrote it now he could add:

"Steve is an allstar starter"

 

This is a shame. The all-star game should be a showcase for the best and most deserving players. Instead it's become a competition to see which market can produce the most votes for their local players, deserving or not. And no, this sentiment does not mean I'm not a Rockets fan.

 

All three points could apply to Yao also.

Lets just not vote anyone in from our team.

 

Actually, on one of those NBA Fastbreak shows there was clamor for JJ...

 

I don't think number 2...that we have ever seen...applies to Yao. Do you?

 

Your point was, that an all-start berth is seen as an award for a player's good deeds, and thus, that player would have no incentive to change his ways right???

If thats the case, then why would this only apply to Steve and not Yao, who obviously, has just as many hurdles and bad habits to overcome???

By that theory, only 2 or 3 players deserve to be an all-star.

 

It's basically the AND-1 super bowl anyhow..... It's entertainment and promotion.....

 

"Steve seems to likely be one of those players."

This is the part I was referring to. Steve's...hubris, shall we say, sense of identity being tied up in his ability to take over games the way he always has, difficulty in accepting that he isn't quite as good as he thinks, as his sstyle fo play would have you believe...his slwoness at adjusting to a style more conducive to involving other players, etc. All of these can easily be linked to an excessive faith in how he has always played, in a fundamental belief that, when push comes to shove, his way is the best way. This is the kind of mindset which when affirmed by 'the outside basketball world' might very well conclude that what he's always been doing is, at the end of the day, the right way, sort of a sub-conscious " Yeah! Damn right! I AM that good!'

Yao, on the other hand, seems to suffer from something of the reverse...a sense that he shouldn't try and dominate...that he isn't as good as we ll believe he can be, that when push comes to shove he should rely on others...this is not the kind of mindset which would respond to 'affirmation' by saying " Yeah, damn right! I'm NOT that good!" Nothing in his demeanor suggests that an ego boost will serve as a bump in the road...


See what I mean? For Yao it will probably have no effect, or possibly even a positive effect. For Steve...playing as he is...it might very well have a negative effect.

 

It's the all-star game and Steve was voted in by the fans.

If the fans want to see him starting, why argue with that?

 

If the All-star game is a showcase for the best and most deserving, then there would be no point to have the fans vote. The fans vote for who they want to see and that's it. Cassell's numbers say he's an All-star, but the bottomline is that people would rather see someone else than him.

Steve got voted to start because the fans want to see him start. How is it a shame that the fans get what they want? They want to see exciting, popular players play on the same court at once, and Steve is the 2nd most exciting guard in the Western Conf. Why are ya'll trying to take that away from him.

Since when did we start bashing our own players when they make the All-star team? Sure his numbers are down, but the fans voted him, and it's not all Houston Rockets fans that are voting for him.

The fact that he is trying to change his game and is struggling for the most part and that the NBA FANS still voted for him to start isn't somthing we should bash.

Show some F#^&ING support for your Rockets!!

 

great quote from Shawn...

I think the same way

J

 

MacBeth,

You dont think Yao feels better about himself if he is voted on by the fans or selected by the coaches??

If so, isnt that the same thing as an "ego boost"??

If Steve is selected, its about rewarding bad habits and giving him incentive to continue those bad habits right??

If Yao is seleced, its about rewarding his good habits and giving him incentive to continue those good habits right??

So in the end, if both are selected, its in spite of Steve's play and because of Yao's play.

Just say it: Steve is a bad person. Yao is a good person and thats why he deserves to go and Steve doesn't.

 

Living in Houston we probably are just underestimating the amount of advertising exposure SF has and this is a popularity contest. How many Chinese Yao fans are also penciling in SF and the reverse are ignoring Cat for not passing to Yao.

So sorry, could not resist.....

 

Clearly I'm not explaining myself well...


I'm not talking about simply whether or not affirmation for bad play will be a bad thing, I'm talking about the nature of the problems with each player ( neither one of whom are bad people, IMO...) One of them has an excess of faith in his own talents, and this would be exasserbated by an ASG selection. Another is lacking in faith in his abilities, and an ASG will likely have no effect, or possibly a positive effect...in terms of the nature of their respective issues.


Remove the nature of their issues, and I see your point. But as I said, when you take that into account, there the paths diverge, as do the projected effect of an 'ego-boost' at this time. Point wasn't that Yao's ASG wouldn;t also be an ego-boost as well, just that an ego-boost wouldn't add to his problem as with Steve, but even possibly aid with it.

 

Mac Beth that would fly with yao except he has to be the most attention grabbing praised person on the planet. He already has an All Star STARTER nod.

You are underestimating the ego of SF. If you think an All Star selection, let alone a starter, is going to change that guy.... If anything, a NON selection would mess with him. And probably the team because of it.

I think Yao appears well adjusted enough in handling all that has been thrown at him that he wouldn'tbe seriously affected either way by the all star selection.

 

I've been voting for him. He is playing better than last year when he was the starter.

 

Dear God.