By DavidKaye
The All-Star starters in the West were announced yesterday, and to my dismay there were several glaring omissions. Yes, I understand that the voting procedure is a popularity contest, but please explain how the best player in basketball Steve Nash, his teammate Amare Stoudemire, and his former teammate Dirk Nowitzki will not be in the starting lineup for the Western Conference.
The Rockets' Yao Ming will be starting at center, his teammate Tracy McGrady and the Lakers Kobe Bryant will be the starting guards, and the Timberwolves Kevin Garnett and the Spurs Tim Duncan will be the starting forwards. Yao, who already received the most votes in All-Star game history in 2005, received 2,451,718 votes this year. This ranks as the fourth most votes received in All-Star game history.
It puzzles me that the best players in the West will not be starting next month in Las Vegas. It almost seems like a broken record when the same players in the West start every single season. Granted, if someone like Kobe or T-Mac deserves their spot over the rest of their peers, then they should be the players selected. Unfortunately, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady did not deserve to start. Instead, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Dirk Nowitzki should be starting in their spots.
Nash is without question the best player in basketball, and not to mention is leading his Phoenix Suns to the best record in the NBA. The 10 year veteran out of Santa Clara is averaging 19.5 PPG, 11.7 APG, and is shooting 53.6% from the field and 50 % from beyond the ark. Nash has guided his team on two 15 game winning streaks this season, and is the odds on favorite to win this season's MVP.This would be Nash's third consecutive MVP award. In my estimation, that deserves him a start in the All-Star game.
Nash's teammate Amare Stoudemire should be selected as the player to replace Yao Ming in the starting lineup. Even if Yao was healthy, Amare still warranted an All-Star start. Amare is averaging 18.7 PPG, 9.1 RPB, and is shooting a remarkable 60.5% from the field. It also doesn't hurt to be playing with the electrifying Steve Nash every night. Stoudemire's numbers are even more impressive when you take into account the fact that he only played in three games last season.
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki was also snubbed of a starting spot. The 7 footer out of Germany is averaging 25.1 PPG, 9.5 RPB, and is shooting 49.9% from the field, 41.8% from behind the ark and 89.8% from the line. Dirk's numbers alone do not offer a fair representation of what he brings to the court every night. His team has won 35 out of their last 40 games, and this has occurred due to the outstanding play and leadership of Nowitzki. He has made Josh Howard into an excellent player, and has made the rest of his teammates increasingly better. This is why he deserves the starting spot, but at this point, I think he will take a 35-9 record in what is a brutally tough Western Conference.
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