As a Rocket fan for almost a decade, I have always wanted all our Rockets voted to the all-star game. But it doesn't seem it can happen very soon. ... back to the reality ... Just wanna know about you all's favorite all-star teams for this season. Mine as follows: West: C: Hakeem the DREAM (Houston) F: Chris Webber (Sacramento) F: Tim Duncan (San Antonio) G: Steve Francis (Houston) G: Michael Finley (Dallas) (Dream's still the Mr. Everything among all centers in the league, though he's not likely to be voted this year. ) East: C: Alonzo Mourning (Miami) F: Vince Carter (Toronto) F: Grant Hill (Detroit) G: Sam Cassell (Milwaukee) G: Allen Iverson (Philly) How do you guys think???
C SHAQ F Webber F Garnett ***NOTE: Webber and Garnett have both played better than Duncan this season. G Payton G Kidd C Mourning F Carter F Hill G Allen G Iverson
Rocketability, You must be a Rockets fan! Neither Dream nor Francis deserve to playing at the mid season break. Here's my line-up: C: Shaq PF: Webber (maybe Barkley as a going away present) SF: Garnet SG: Finley PG: Payton I guess that I agree with Cabbage, but I prefer to pick by position not the 2 guard method of the all-star balloting. So Finley gets the spot (he's a bad ass!), and so does Payton (over Kidd) because he can pass AND shoot, AND play vicious defense. Stevie Wonder needs time. Payton sure as hell did. Shaq vs. Dream: Shaq can't shoot free-throws, but when you're that damn big, who cares! Webber is the full-meal deal, as is Garnett. Duncan's good, but the best player in the league? My ass! And that's all I have to say about that...
My west all star team is: C Hakeem Olajuwon F Othella Harrington F Shandon Anderson G Micheal Dickerson G Steve Francis Dont' care about the east.
c shaq pf barkley (going away gift from the fans) sf garnett sg kobe (who cares if he's played, the fans are the voters... mooooo ) pg payton edit: i just remembered that kobe probably won't be able to be voted for (didn't hardaway lose out on the opportunity last year or the year before b/c of injuries?) so sg = finley for a strict 2, jason williams for a loose definition... [This message has been edited by Achebe (edited November 28, 1999).]
Pass 1st, shoot 2nd, Finalfantasy is even a bigger Rockets fan (See his/her selection). But why don't you say I'm a Texas fan??? Mine is an all-Texas team. Hahhaaaa! For emotional reason, or something else, I chose Hakeem over Shaq, who is supposed to be the BEST center in the league right now, at least in this season. Yeah! And he doesn't make free throws. I chose the teams by position, too, different from the NBA.com ballot, which prompts you to select ANY 2 guards. And that's why I came up with Finley. He's an animal on the court! And YES, I'm a BIG Rockets fan. Who cares if none of the Rockets gets to the game in the mid season break. The Rockets are always my all-star team. thacabbage, We basically have the same team for the East. By the way, who's Allen you are referring to in the East team? Was it Ray Allen? If so, our choices were even closer. Sam and Ray are both Bucks.
I'd pick; Hakeem Olajuwon Charles Barkley Steve Francis Shandon Anderson Vernon Maxwell One of these people actually deserves it. (hint; He's the one that's not even on the ballot)
Rocketability, The comment I made about guards was directed at the Cabbage, not you...sorry for the confusion. But you're still crazy about Dream over Shaq! I'd agree with you if it were 1995 when Shaq and Dream were pretty evenly matched productivity wise. The clincher then was how Dream just looked so much more smooth than Shaq. [This message has been edited by Pass 1st, shoot 2nd (edited November 29, 1999).]
Shaq still can't shoot free throws, but you have to give the guy some credit. He has been dominating offensively and (surprise, surprise) defensively. He has really matured in his game, with new moves offensively and greater hustle. When Shaq showed up to camp fatter, (350?) I doubted he could do what he was supposed to do. He has slimmed up a bit since then. I think the fans will choose this lineup: PG: Payton SG: Kobe (sure he hasn't played, but fans will still vote for him) SF: Garnett PF: Duncan (I know Webber has played better, but fans will still vote for Duncan) C: Shaq The All Star game should be very good this year. The west (of course) will dominate). I hope they bring back the slam dunk contest, as we have a lot of high flyers now. P.S. I think the rockets should make a play at Shaq with Barkley and Mobley. After all, the Lakers need a PF, and Travis Knight can play center, as he has been tearing it up!
Coming to the Feburary, the starting line up will be the following Shaq Duncan Pippen Payton Kidd ------------------ Rockets' biggest problem is not player talent levels, it is the coach's ineptitude.
Francis3, Jason Williams does not deserve a spot on the all-star team yet. Here are his numbers straight from NBA.com: Field Goal % is .355 3 pt. % is .257 Free throw % is .778 Assists are 7.4 a game. Let's no forget about turnovers; he's got plenty of those. You've got to be talking about the unquantifiable element of fun to watch, which Jason Williams certainly is. But he's too damn out of control to make the trip at this point in his career. ------------------ "When everybody doubts us, we can do it. When every -body criticizes us, we can do it. But we have to work together." — Hakeem Olajuwon
Pass 1st, shoot 2nd: Something you should know about all star my friend. They dont care about stats. People want action. They want excitement. Who else is better than Williams. So I can sure bet you that he will be an all star and most likely starting. They want young, exciting players.
Francis, "Fun to watch", "exciting player" are key elements in the all-star game. So is "out of control"!!! I would also have given a vote to Jason Williams if Stevie wasn't a Rocket. By the way, having watched last night's game, I would love to give a vote to the Chuckster. Wouldn't it be nice?
Western Conference 5: Dream 4: Duncan (this year's MVP) 3: KG 2: Penny 1: Payton Eastern Conference (really weak) 5: Eldin Cambell 4: Shawn Kemp 3: Grant Hill (or Vince Carter) 2: Ray Allen (or Eddie Jones) 1: Allen Iverson or the All Rockets picks WC5: Dream WC4: Big Sexy WC3: Horry WC2: Mad Max (or Anderson or Dickerson) WC1: Francis EC5: Zan Tabak (pacers) EC4: Kevin Willis (raptors) or Otis Thorpe (heat) or Mark Bryant (cavs) EC3: Mirsad Turkcan (knicks) EC2: ??? EC1: Sam Cassell (bucks)
The west is a tough call but here goes: C Shaq F Garnett F Barkley (he still can kick ass at PF with roughly 15 and 13 a game plus he's my favorite player) G Payton G Finley The east ain't that hard: C Mourning (but he's nothing special) F Hill F Carter G Iverson G Allen The better backcourt seems to belong to the east because I left out Marbury, Reggie, Eddie Jones, Cassell..... but the better froncourt, far and away, is in te west with Duncan, Webber, Abdur-Rahim, Dream, Malone...
I believe my voting has gone something like this: EAST: F - P.J. Brown (shocker, eh?) F - Latrell Sprewell G - Mark Jackson G - Tim Hardaway (so I really like PG's) C - Alonzo Mourning WEST: F - Charles Barkley F - Karl Malone (like there was a chance I wouldn't vote for him!) G - Gary Payton G - Jeff Hornacek (you know I'm getting paid for that vote) C - Hakeem Olajuwon Shandon, please forgive me for not voting for ya! It was between you and Chuck, and well, it was kinda obvious who I had to go for. And, Steve, as stated above, I'm getting some serious cash for the Hornacek vote! Please note that these selections are based purely on the people I like the best, not necessarily the players doing the best this season (this does not apply to Mr. Malone, because, heck, he's now the THIRD LEADING SCORER IN NBA HISTORY!!). I have found that voting for the most deserving players never works, because about 98% of the fans around the world just don't understand this process. Therefore, I am allowing the fan in me to be seen, and I must do my best to have the members of the Utah Jazz (sorry, Bryon!) and Miami Heat chosen as starters. That is all. [This message has been edited by Jenna (edited November 30, 1999).]
The fans shouldn't get to vote. The coaches and GM's should not only vote for the reserves, but the starters as well. I came to this conclusion the 2nd consecutive season after Penny Hardaway was injured the entire year, came back for 1-2 games, started on the All-Star team, while a deserving Tim Hardaway got left off the starting squad. It's all about hype and the selections are a joke.
Veggie....you and I have found something to agree on. I still don't get how Rebecca Lobo was named as a starter to the WNBA All-Star team after playing a grand total of 42 seconds. It's just not right. This is why I fill out well over 2000 ballots a year now. Seriously, I spend half the game punching in those little dots. My mission to counter a stupid vote. If some little kid wants to vote for a player that has been hurt all season, I'm gonna vote for someone who is actually playing (and whoever pays the best...hehehe). In my dream world, the votes would go to the coaches, but I know there's no chance of that happening anytime soon...unless they fill out ballots by the hundred....
