I guess I am in the minority in that I hope Kobe starts over Harden. The hate will only make him stronger. Although I'd like to see him rest I'm sure he'll end up with more minutes off the bench than the starters.
No worries guys..harden will start the all star game..bank on it..not that the allstar game means anything anymore..not sure it it ever did..slowly turning into the pro bowl..
So how come Dwight goes from being the top vote getter every year for the past 5 years to the worst vote getter in just one year....????
Multiple factors. He's been in less headlines (even the negative ones boosted his brand recognition). The rise of Gasol, Cousins, and especially Davis as arguably more deserving candidates from a pure basketball standpoint. Elimination of the center spot forces him to compete with Durant, Dirk, Leonard, etc rather than just having to beat out other officially recognized centers. He's been injured. Even Durant is getting nicked for that one this year in the vote count. As I mentioned above, the website voting interface has thrown him on Page 4 of the ballot because of his injury, so you even discover the button to vote for Joey F'n Dorsey before you get to him.
Butler should be on the team. Dude has been playing out of his mind. Though Wall and Wade lead the votes, Wall and Lowry should be the starters, with Butler and Wade close behind, since Miami has a not-so-great record. With Gasol, Cousins (and I guess Timmy would be a 5?) in front of Howard, Dwight wouldn't even be the leader in votes garnered at the center position. Pretty crazy.