I was watching this half-hour show of "1st and 10" on ESPN, and Skip Bayless and Steven A. were talking about who they had as their First All-NBA teams... SAS had the following list: C - Shaq F - Amare F - McGrady G - Iverson G - Nash I would have no problem with this list, except that I think Nowitzki should be in Amare's place, since Amare has been playing Center the whole season. Also, I think Duncan would cleary be up there if it wasn't for him missing all these games. Normally, you would have Duncan and either Dirk/T-Mac as forwards on that list. And I just can't ignore how GREAT Iverson has been this season, especially down the stretch here in the season, putting his team on his shoulders and securing the playoffs for them. To me, this gives him the nod above Lebron. No guard can carry a team on his back like AI can, he has proven it throughout his career, and doing it yet again this season despite injuries and all.
two first team players from SUNS, a little bit too much. Dirk should be in it. TMAC is shaky, LJ/AI may replace him, coz media just love both of them. mine: 1st: Nash AI/LJ/TMAC Dirk TD SHAQ
The only reason he puts T-Mac up there is because Tracy gave him a good interview. SAS admited himself that he doesn't like the Rockets.
He said he isn't a Rockets fan but a TMac fan. It doesn't matter if you like their team or not, if the player is putting the numbers up, he deserves to be there. Here's mine: Nash AI TMac Dirk Shaq
Maybe it's just me, but I've always believed that you pick the *best* players for awards like these. Rather than who has the guadiest stats. Tim Duncan belongs on the all-NBA team each and every year until he or the Spurs begin to really suck. Even missing some games doesn't take away the fact that he is, at the very least, the best power forward in the game today.
It's just you. It's not about who you think is the best player. You pick the player(s) who had the best year based on the basic stats, how much they make others better, clutch time performance and other measures you want to choose. It's a performance issue, not potential. You CANNOT put Duncan on the first team this year because he missed too many games. If (and only if) this team was chosen based on playoff performance along with the regular season, Duncan would still have a shot at first team. Some argue you should choose the 5 best players and ignore position. Most people disagree with this, but most also take the liberty to put players on the first team out of position somewhat. My team: C: Shaq. Missed games but his presence changes opposing teams games plans to such a great extent, his dominance this year is awesome to behold. I am NOT a Shaq fan or a Heat fan, just realistic. No player affects other teams more than Shaq. It's not even close! G: Steve Nash. Besides Shaq, name another player who has made a team so much better than they should be than Nash. Look what happened to the Suns in January when he was out. Without him, maybe they win 20 fewer games this year. He leads the break, finds the open man, takes it to the rack, drills the jumper and takes over every now and then when necessary. His only weakness is defense (and I know it's a big weakness). G: AI. I've disliked AI very much until this year. He plays with more heart than anyone in the NBA. His flaws are plain as day, especially the way he dominates the ball. But he is the heart and soul of that team and wills his younger teammates to play better (C-Webb is another story). He plays 43 minutes a game and shows NO SIGN OF FATIGUE! Despite his big flaws, AI belongs on the first team this year. F: T-Mac. Probably wouldn't choose him if I wasn't in Houston. But he has been great. I pick him over LeBron this year because there is a veteran savvy that LeBron doesn't have yet. He is a wild horse compared to T-Mac. He will probably surpass T-Mac for good next year or the year after. LeBron has MJ potential. F: Dirk. He can create his own shot , passes the ball well and rebound. I choose him over Amare because he also took over a leadership role and plugged that gaping hole when Nash left. Dirk grew up this year; Amare will eventually, but he clearly hasn't yet. Very Honorable Mention: Dwayne Wade. Nobody saw him getting so much better this year. I don't give all the credit to Shaq. I don't think Wade will ever have a better year. Watch him prove me wrong. Amare Stoudimire. Great raw ability and offensive passion. If/when he adds a consistent outside jumper like Moses Malone did, he will be unstopable! Kobe Bryant. Kobe is still great, though I hate to admit it. But he's not first team all-NBA this year, sorry. LeBron. Just imagine LeBron with the court awareness of T-Mac! A scary thought. Another scary thought: He shot 47.2% from the field. Ray Allen. Great year, though he hasn't finished as strong as he started. I've read the stories about how he's influenced the practice habits of the younger Sonics players. There aren't too many guys around with the character AND talent of this guy, but $79 million for 4 years, no way. Tim Duncan. Duh.
Duncan has missed like 16 games. Shaq misses that many almost every year, but no one seems to care (no comptetition obviously). Duncan has still led his team to the 2nd best record in the west. His stats aren't gaudy, but I still think he should be on first team. He obviously makes his teammates much better as well.
All NBA 1st Team: Guards: 1) Steve Nash 2) Allen Iverson 3) Tracy McGrady 4) Dirk Nowitski 5) Shaquille O'Neal All 5 are talented and extremely difficult to guard.
there is no argument that t-mac isn't a first team all-nba player this season. NONE. he's putting up monster numbers (FOUR nba players of the week), playing monster minutes and most importantly has led his team to 50 wins in the west. not a small feat especially considering his adaptation to a new coach and alot of change around him. then you look at how well he's played defensively and it's case closed. i don't need to hear people say, "well if i wasn't a rockets fan i might not pick him" F#$K that. he deserves it. as a forward, its him and nowitski. as a guard it's him and nash cause as amazing a player as iverson is, he is not tracy mcgrady. just ask yourself who'd you rather for the rest of this season. lebron has the best numbers in the league and he had a spot locked up for most of the year until his team dropped 20 of their last 30 games and missed the playoffs. i'm sorry but no matter how good you are you don't make the all-nba first team when your team chokes away a playoff spot. that's a requirement.
What, SAS did put Yao in the first team? He didn't select TMac as the MVP? He didn't select JVG as the COY? He didn't even mention Deke as the DPOY and Six Man? He didn't mention Bob Sura as the most improved player of the year? He didn't pick the Rockets to win the championship for this and next year? Man, I hate SAS!
