Six Blazers Make 2012 NBA All-Star Ballot
by Ben Golliver on Jan 4, 2012 9:49 AM PST
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PrintSix members of the Portland Trail Blazers are listed on the 2012 NBA All-Star ballot and are therefore under consideration for the Western Conference team: guards Raymond Felton and Wesley Matthews, forwards LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Gerald Wallace, and center Marcus Camby.
Here's more from the team.
The Trail Blazers are the lone Western Conference team with six players on the ballot.
NBA All-Star Balloting began today at 9:15 a.m., Pacific. The 61st NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.
Here's the NBA.com page to register and vote.
Click through for the full Western Conference and Eastern Conference ballots.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
WEST GUARDS (24)
Afflalo, Arron, Denver
Billups, Chauncey, L.A. Clippers
Bryant, Kobe, LA Lakers
Conley, Mike, Memphis
Curry, Stephen, Golden State
Ellis, Monta, Golden State
Evans, Tyreke, Sacramento
Felton, Raymond, Portland
Ginobili, Manu, San Antonio
Gordon, Eric, New Orleans
Harris, Devin, Utah
Kidd, Jason, Dallas
Lawson, Ty, Denver
Lowry, Kyle, Houston
Martin, Kevin, Houston
Matthews, Wesley, Portland
Miller, Andre, Denver
Nash, Steve, Phoenix
Parker, Tony, San Antonio
Paul, Chris, L.A. Clippers
Rubio, Ricky, Minnesota
Terry, Jason, Dallas
Thornton, Marcus, Sacramento
Westbrook, Russell, Oklahoma City
WEST FORWARDS (24)
Aldridge, LaMarcus, Portland
Batum, Nicolas, Portland
Beasley, Michael, Minnesota
Duncan, Tim, San Antonio
Durant, Kevin, Oklahoma City
Favors, Derrick, Utah
Gallinari, Danilo, Denver
Gasol, Pau, LA Lakers
Gay, Rudy, Memphis
Griffin, Blake, LA Clippers
Harden, James, Oklahoma City
Hill, Grant, Phoenix
Ibaka, Serge, Oklahoma City
Landry, Carl, New Orleans
Lee, David, Golden State
Love, Kevin, Minnesota
Marion, Shawn, Dallas
Millsap, Paul, Utah
Nowitzki, Dirk, Dallas
Odom, Lamar, Dallas
Randolph, Zach, Memphis
Scola, Luis, Houston
Wallace, Gerald, Portland
World Peace, Metta, L.A. Lakers
WEST CENTERS (12)
Bynum, Andrew, LA Lakers
Camby, Marcus, Portland
Cousins, DeMarcus, Sacramento
Dalembert, Samuel, Houston
Gasol, Marc, Memphis
Gortat, Marcin, Phoenix
Jefferson, Al, Utah
Jordan, DeAndre, L.A. Clippers
Kaman, Chris, New Orleans
Nene, Denver
Okafor, Emeka, New Orleans
Perkins, Kendrick, Oklahoma City
EAST GUARDS (24)
Allen, Ray, Boston
Augustin, DJ, Charlotte
Calderon, Jose, Toronto
Collison, Darren, Indiana
DeRozan, DeMar, Toronto
George, Paul, Indiana
Hamilton, Richard, Chicago
Holiday, Jrue, Philadelphia
Irving, Kyrie, Cleveland
Jackson, Stephen, Milwaukee
Jennings, Brandon, Milwaukee
Johnson, Joe, Atlanta
Morrow, Anthony, New Jersey
Nelson, Jameer, Orlando
Richardson, Jason, Orlando
Rondo, Rajon, Boston
Rose, Derrick, Chicago
Stuckey, Rodney, Detroit
Teague, Jeff, Atlanta
Wade, Dwyane, Miami
Wall, John, Washington
Walker, Kemba, Charlotte
Williams, Deron, New Jersey
Young, Nick, Washington
EAST FORWARDS (24)
Anthony, Carmelo, New York
Bargnani, Andrea, Toronto
Bass, Brandon, Boston
Blatche, Andray, Washington
Boozer, Carlos, Chicago
Bosh, Chris, Miami
Brand, Elton, Philadelphia
Deng, Luol, Chicago
Garnett, Kevin, Boston
Granger, Danny, Indiana
Hansbrough, Tyler, Indiana
Humphries, Kris, New Jersey
Iguodala, Andre, Philadelphia
James, LeBron, Miami
Jamison, Antawn, Cleveland
Jerebko, Jonas, Detroit
Maggette, Corey, Charlotte
Pierce, Paul, Boston
Prince, Tayshaun, Detroit
Smith, Josh, Atlanta
Stoudemire, Amar'e, New York
Turkoglu, Hedo, Orlando
West, David, Indiana
Young, Thaddeus, Philadelphia
EAST CENTERS (12)
Anthony, Joel, Miami
Bogut, Andrew, Milwaukee
Chandler, Tyson, New York
Diaw, Boris, Charlotte
Hawes, Spencer, Philadelphia
Hibbert, Roy, Indiana
Horford, Al, Atlanta
Howard, Dwight, Orlando
McGee, JaVale, Washington
Monroe, Greg, Detroit
Noah, Joakim, Chicago
Varejao, Anderson, Cleveland
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So strange to see balloting this early. We’re only 5 games into the season!
"You know, when you are in the game, you hear 20,000 people behind you, you don't feel anything."
- Nicolas Batum on playing through his shoulder injury during the 2010 playoffs.
The All-Star game is as much about reputation as it is recent production
(see Allen Iverson’s 2010 All-Star start), so the whole problem of small sample size is much less of a problem.
by Greetings from the Lord Humongous! on Jan 4, 2012 11:05 AM PST up reply actions
So what you're saying is..
This will be the first game in history that features 6 on 6 basketball, with 6 Blazers starting in the All-Star game for the west!??
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 10:00 AM PST reply actions
i voted luke babbitt in the write-in
let’s rally up
by ktngo09 on Jan 4, 2012 10:01 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
Filipinos absolutely LOVE Basketball
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6812753/kobe-takes-manila-nba-not-invited
Johnson, Johnson, Smith, Smith, Thomas, Williams, and Babbitt: the Blazer's law firm.
Whut?
No Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady? Who are the billion people in China going to vote for now?
by jamon51 on Jan 4, 2012 10:04 AM PST via Android app reply actions
Yi
"What began as a credible protest against bank bailouts, crony capitalism and the like has, in large measure, been hijacked by crazies and criminals,"
by 92wastheyear on Jan 4, 2012 10:04 AM PST up reply actions
I left off Nic
LMA is the no brainer, gotta give him a vote.
Second vote was harder but I gave the edge to Wallace if for nothing else than him starting over Batum. Hard to get a reserve onto an all-star team if they don’t crack the starting five on their own team.
Batum being on the ballot
further reinforces his rep around the league
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
A quock glance at the stats...
… shows both Griffin and Love ahead of LMA in points and rebounds… I don’t see him ever starting with these two stat whores in the WC. Snub 2.0 is on.
LaMarcus
Probably won’t get the start this year, (or anytime soon with Griffin around) but the coaches vote in the rest of the team. LMA will be an All-Star this year.
I hope so.
I think your “shoo-ins” for a while will be Durant and Griffin, on widespread popularity. Those are your starters for years, likely.
Then we have Love, Gasol, Nowitzki, Randolph, and LMA fighting for the last 3 spots…
Tough titties, as they say. I think he’ll make it, though. He’ll just never start, unless he changes teams.
Don't forget about record
Record plays a huge part of making the All-star team, especially to coaches. We keep winning he is in no doubt.
Hot sauce in my bag.
Record completely betrayed us last season
Also Randolph tore an MCL. Still a chance that LMA misses it though unless he completely beasts out.
hopefully they'll put gasol in the center position
and there’ll be enough room for most of the other PFs
Pau has never been voted to start an AS game anyways
so the point is probably moot, at least ever since they removed the requirement for the coaches to also select a designated center.
Randolph is already probably out of the running because of his torn MCL
I’m betting love get’s in based on his pure numbers, meaning it’s between Gasol, Nowitzki and LMA for the last two spots. I think they’d put in LMA and Nowitzki because Gasol looks to be the third best player on his team considering how well Bynum has been playing.
by Jonathan Wright on Jan 4, 2012 2:27 PM PST up reply actions
The only way Lamarcus will ever get voted to start by fans is if he averages 35/15...
that’s why I really think that the coaches should pick the starters, but fans can still vote for the five players they want. It would be the best of both worlds.
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
To be honest, I'm not sure why it would be controversial
at all for Griffin to start over him unless the assumption is the Clippers will be absolutely horrendous, records-wise. Not only are his numbers way better, but he’s already outplayed him head to head in a W, and weren’t head to head matchups one of the most important criteria as determined by us last year?
I would say vote for Wallace over batum.....
unless we can rally the entire country of France to vote for him.
there's not as many voters in France as there are in China.
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
I haven't seen this much excitement
for a Blazers team in a while. Even though we are early in the season it has been incredibly fun. We should all keep level heads though, we all know the highs can be very high and at the same time the lows can be just as low. LA is a LA-Allstar for sure this year. Dues have been paid and the Chinese Don’t have any wildcards. I think Wallace could sneak in if we keep winning and stay in the news. People tend to forget about us up here until we force them. Wallace is a game changer and I think fans and coaches alike realize this.
Hot sauce in my bag.
Voted
Aldridge, Wallace, Camby, Matthews, and (looks around cautiously) Kidd.
by ICanCheerLouder on Jan 4, 2012 11:18 AM PST reply actions
I figure CP3 will get there without my vote.
But I give my nod to Kidd.
by ICanCheerLouder on Jan 4, 2012 1:05 PM PST up reply actions
I actually think Camby kind of deserves it this year.
The only centers better than him in the west are Nene and Marc Gasol.
"Brandon Roy has done this before."
Bynum is better than both.
He will be a starter.
by NEPBlazer4life on Jan 4, 2012 11:44 AM PST up reply actions
Doesn't feel like there's a way around that
between the L*ker hordes, and the fact that he’s been a beast so far. And it’s probably fair.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
yeah agreed
If Bynum’s knees hold out long enough and he keeps beasting he deserves to start.
It is our duty as Blazer fans to get at least 1 of these guys in. Hopefully 2.
Lets go to work!
Batum Shakalaka
waste of time trying to fan vote a Blazer in
unless you have tens of millions of people in your pockets
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
The only thing that matters...
…is winning in the playoffs. All else is vanity.
It's nice to see our players get recognition for their hard work.
And the fans would enjoy seeing a blazer representative at the all-star game.
by Jonathan Wright on Jan 4, 2012 2:30 PM PST up reply actions
this^
all-star game nominations should be based on post season results from the previous May
most players can pad their stats playing on a mediocre team
When reached 40+ years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
My list:
The starting five voted on by the casual NBA fan with no great knowledge of basketball will be:
PG: CP3
SG: Kobe
SF: Durant
PF: Griffin
C: Bynum
The 7 picks that will be voted on by knowledgable coaches will be:
Guards:
Westbrook (he’ll take all the shots in the game so why vote for anyone else)
James Harden—Whoa, Harden is listed as forwards??!! I don’t know then….throw a dart….Monta Ellis I guess.
Forwards:
I went a different route and chose Danilo Gallinari
Kevin Love
Center:
LaMarcus Aldridge (coaches can do that, right? Pick PF for a center? I’m pretty sure that’s what they did last year)
Wild Cards:
James Harden
Dirk Nowitzki
You’ll notice I left some people out:
Pau Gasol (the Lakers are not going to be #1 this year, so they don’t get to have 3 players at the All-Star Game)
Tim Duncan: Sorry Timmy, I thought LaMarcus should have been there last year in your place.
Ginobli: hurt
Randolph: hurt
Depending if Portland can hold onto a top spot, Wallace could slide in there. That would be sweet!
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
4 players from LA in the starting lineup
This is correct though.
"Brandon Roy has done this before."
LaMarcus Aldridge (coaches can do that, right? Pick PF for a center? I’m pretty sure that’s what they did last year)
Yao Ming was voted into the starting line-up last year, but he couldn’t play so they shifted Pau Gasol to center. So no, the coaches can’t actually do that. It was a special circumstance.
The only way that would happen this year is if Bynum gets hurt, which happens a lot but I wouldn’t count on it.
by Jonathan Wright on Jan 4, 2012 4:22 PM PST up reply actions
Err actually I meant to say they shifted Tim Duncan, not Pau Gasol.
Pau came off the bench.
by Jonathan Wright on Jan 4, 2012 4:23 PM PST up reply actions
this is actually not true, and jenstcy had it correct
the coaches have to list 2 guards, 2 forwards, 1 center, and 2 wild cars on their ballot for reserves. but they can take liberties position-wise. They don’t have to list someone at the same position on their ballot as they were listed on the fan ballot. a coach can vote Harden at guard or LA at center if they want.
However, as I’ve stated for awhile now, it would be in LA’s best interest to be listed as a center on the ballot. he won’t get voted in by fans, but it may convince enough coaches to vote him at center on their ballot who might otherwise not vote him at forward or wild card.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
Wow. Six players. Sort of reminds me of the Drexler era.
Proud to be a Republican.
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NBA needs to re-vamp fan voting.
some options:
1) do it NFL style, where players, coaches, and fans all count 1/3 of the total toward picking all the players.
2) let coaches pick all 12 players, then let fans vote for the starters from among those 12
3) reduce the number of players on the ballot considerably, only listing true AS-caliber players as options. should be a total of about 8 guards, 8 forwards, and 4 centers on the ballot per conference.
4) redefine the positions to reflect the modern game. should be Point guards, Wings, and Bigs. 1 PG, 2 wings, 2 bigs per starting 5. reserves would be 1 point, 2 wings, 3 bigs, and the last spot would be either a point or wing, like the current wild cards are now.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
While I wouldn't mind re-defining the positions as you said in 4
I’ve really done a complete 180 on the fan voting part of it. At it’s heart, the all star game is simply an exhibition, not like MLB where the outcome is actually meaningful, and if enough fans want to see a guy play in the all star game, he should play in it. As much as people rip on Chinese voters for constantly voting in Yao and/or T-Mac, I’d guess the vast majority of American voters base a similar percentage of their votes on things other than simply “who deserves it”, a la prez’s ballot below. If fans want to watch a bunch of “stars” start, I don’t see why that’s a problem.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that, since many of us would sincerely like to see all of the Blazers play in the all star game, but I see no reason why the views of a million Blazer fans should carry more weight than those of ten million Chinese fans. It’s not like they don’t watch the game as well.
Sure, there end up being some borderline cases, but I generally think the positives of fan’s having a say outweigh the negatives. Generally the coaches do a good job of making up for the rare egregious error, and the vast majority of snubs are simply a result of a glut of all star caliber players in a given year. LA’s omission last year wasn’t due to a terrible fan vote, but just pf the reality of having to squeeze 13 deserving all stars onto a 12 man roster.
good points
the worse part about LA’s omission last year was that it wasn’t due to a fan vote at all, but rather the coaches giving a completely undeserved career-based nod to Duncan. they should know better, especially when there was a wealth of well-qualified players (Love, LA, Griffin) to choose from instead.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
Dude, KG is a punk.
That really ruined it for me. :-P
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they're not.
Where's LBJ?
My guess for the starting lineup of the Eastern Conference All-Star Team is below.
C: Dwight Howard
F: Carmelo Anthony
F: LeBron James
G: Dwyane Wade
G: Derrick Rose
New Yorkers will vote in Anthony, who’s done his part so far for the struggling Knicks. It’s Melo’s teammate, Amar’e, being a bum.
"I Am Mine"
Here's my guess on how things shake out for the 2012 Western Conference All-Star Team.
STARTERS
C: Andrew Bynum
F: Blake Griffin
F: Kevin Durant
G: Kobe Bryant
G: Chris Paul
BENCH
C: LaMarcus Aldridge
F: Kevin Love
F: Dirk Nowitzki
G: Russ Westbrook
G: Tony Parker
F: Pau Gasol
G: Monta Ellis
Like the coaches did by naming Tim Duncan a center on last year’s roster despite being listed a forward on the fan ballot, I expect LaMarcus Aldridge gets in that way. With Manu Ginobili out, Tony Parker will pick up the slack by putting up bigger numbers. Even as a third fiddle, Pau Gasol is posting nice numbers and ought to make the roster again for his 5th time. Monta Ellis’ gaudy scoring numbers will get him the final guard spot, which went to Deron Williams — then of the Jazz — last year.
"I Am Mine"
With 48% TS
Tony Parker will have a whole lot of slack to pick up to have a legitimate all star shot, and it really would be a shame if Monta’s scoring numbers get overinflated to the point that he keeps guys like Lowry and Lawson (assuming they keep up their play) off the team. Heck, even Westbrook over Harden would be pretty bad at this point given how absurdly efficient Harden has been so far.
Not sure if Kyle Lowry and Ty Lawson can keep this up, but I think they both lose out to Monta Ellis ...
even if they sustain this. Scoring is a big deal when it comes to All-Star bids for guards, as is reputation.
Scoring is why I think Monta Ellis gets in, while reputation is why I think Tony Parker gets a nod. Parker’s potential All-Star bid also relies heavily on how the San Antonio Spurs perform as a team, for that’ll help his cause in the eyes of coaches. Not saying it’s right, but just saying that’s how it’ll go.
Regarding James Harden, his case rests a lot on how OKC does over the next several weeks. Harden won’t take Russell Westbrook’s spot as one of the two backup guards, but he could get in as one of the last two wild cards if everything goes well for him and the Thunder.
Oh, and if the coaches actually vote for a listed center in the center spot rather than a displaced forward — which is what it did with Tim Duncan last year — then I’m unsure who gets tabbed to backup Andrew Bynum. Perhaps it’s Marc Gasol, who gets an opportunity to prove himself as an anchor in the post with Zach Randolph shelved.
"I Am Mine"
Yeah, I would be shocked if OKC has two all stars
and Westbrook isn’t one of them. Doesn’t mean he isn’t more deserving of it, though.
you think anyone picking All Star subs looks at TS% ?
now that’s funny.
And big time scoring is generally the best way to get in, regardless of other factors.
Not saying this stuff is right, just saying it is.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
Well, he's also averaging 17, 6, and 4
as opposed to Westbrook’s 17 5 and 5 and in more minutes, just meant as a comparison of the two.
And I just don’t buy it with Ellis. If he were leading the league or top 3 or so, I’d understand the impetus, but 23.8 isn’t a super wow number, neither is 8th (especially being behind Andrea Bargnani). Heck Ellis’s scoring average is actually down from the last two years, neither of which gave him much buzz at all. If he does get in, I suspect it will be because he’s somehow maintained his atypically high 8 assists per game to go along with that scoring.
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