Let's all predict the All-Stars and see how people do. The bolded guys are the people being voted in, so you can't change them:


WEST:

Chris Paul
Kobe
Carmelo
Durant
YAO (but probably will be Gasol I'd guess.)

Deron Williams
Russell Westbrook
Manu
Dirk
Zach Randolph
Monta Ellis
Blake Griffin


EAST:

Derrick Rose
D-Wade
LeBron
Amare
Dwight Howard

Rondo
KG
Paul Pierce
Al Horford
Chris Bosh
Raymond Felton
Carlos Boozer

Good idea! Howl.

West:
Westbrook
Deron
Nowitzki
Rudy
Monta
Blake
Love

East:
Rondo
Bosh
Granger
Iggy
Bogut
KG
Felton

WEST:

Chris Paul
Kobe
Carmelo
Durant
YAO swap in Gasol seems a sure thing as you said, CW

Deron Williams
Russell Westbrook
Manu - The Spurs record keeps him ahead of Eric Gordon's numbers
Dirk
Kevin Love
Monta Ellis
Blake Griffin


EAST:

Derrick Rose
D-Wade
LeBron
Amare
Dwight Howard

Rondo
KG
Paul Pierce
Al Horford - If Boozer is in I'd say Horford is out
Chris Bosh
Raymond Felton
Bargnani

WEST:

Chris Paul
Kobe
Carmelo
Durant
YAO (Gasol)

DWill
Dirk
Westbrook
Manu

Kevin Love
Zach Randolph
Monta Ellis

BUT should we really be dismissing Tony Parker and maybe even Tim Duncan so quickly? The Spurs have hands down the easiest record in the league. I wouldn't be surprised if there are 2 or 3 Spurs up there.

Also, Aldridge has a good case for an all-star bid as well. Portland is a playoff team, and he is clearly their top player this year. And then obviously Blake G has a case to make it too. We also shouldn't forget about Steve Nash and his high FG% and 11 assists per game either.

I think Dirk/DWill/Westbrook/Manu are locks, but those last 3 spots are really dicey. The West bench is wayyyyy deeper than the East. Other than Rondo and Pierce, I think every guy I mentioned above deserves to be an All-Star more than any of the other East bench all-stars.



EAST:

Derrick Rose
D-Wade
LeBron
Amare
Dwight Howard

Rondo
Paul Pierce

Horford
KG
Ray Allen (how do none of you guys have him?!)
Joe Johnson
Steve Jackson

Maybe Melo will get traded to the East in time to balance this out a tad bit...

KLove is no All-Star. I guess... what I should say is Aldridge is an All-Star before Love, and there's NO WAY they both make it. (Griffin is an All-Star before both of them.)

Love continues to put up stats, but he can't play defense or ever limit any other PF he's playing against. How is he an All-Star? Just because he gets a lot of rebounds? He is a good offensive rebounder, but not a good defensive rebounder when there is traffic around him. And he gets a ton of hustle boards which inflate his stats. I laughed when against the Blazers tonight he sprinted after a ball bouncing out of bounds on the defensive end with no one else in sight from either team.

I was struggling with Felton versus Allen. In the NBA it is always safer to choose the guy who has been there before so I probably should have gone with Allen.

If Portland stays above 500 it will be tough for Love to edge Aldridge out. At this point with the Clippers continuing to beat good teams Blake Griffin needs to be a lock.

After watching the Wolves-Clippers 20 point loss blowout... no way Love makes the AS game over Griffin. There is just no way.

Love doesn't positively affect the outcome of games the way a real star player should.

sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page.../110120&sportCat=nba

Simmons' Picks:

WEST:
Paul
Kobe
Durantula
Melo
Gasolina

Dirk
Manu
Westbrook
D-Will
Love
Griffin
Duncan

Honorable Mention: Nash, Ellis, Aldridge, Odom, Z-Bo, Gordon, Kidd, Scola, Parker.

EAST:
Rose
Wade
Queen James
Amare
D-Ho

KG
The Truth
RONDO
Bosh
Horford
Felton
Ray Allen

Honorable Mention: Joe Johnson, Bargiani, Granger, Bogut.

Blake Griffin with 30 points, 18 rebounds, and 8 assists tonight.

He nailed a 3 pointer with 40 seconds left and the game tied at 105 apiece.

Good lord he's amazing.

The hell with position, which big man in the league would you take over Griffin? Seriously...Other than D-Ho, I can't think of any. Granted, if you actually watch Griffin play, he's still on a pretty normal learning curve defensively and it will be a few years before he gets both ends of the court down. Even as a very average defender (team and individual), I'd take him over Amare, Bosh, Love, Aldridge, etc. without a blink of an eye.

He is not only an all star, he's an MVP candidate.

daddyfatsax wrote:
I don't think that's much of a stretch at all. I mean, he just completely dominates games. The Clippers are playing well lately.

For big men, I'd take D-Ho and maybe Pau Gasol over Blake Superior. I think that's about it.

College Wolf wrote:
I would go:
1. Howard
2. Nowitzki
3. Blake

After watching 2 more Celtics games via free NBA League Pass this past week, I am 100% convinced Ray Allen should be named an All-Star. And look at his numbers. Shooting 51% from the field? Duuuuude, Ray looks awesome and is sooo efficient & effective this year. More of this to come in the Celtics thread later.

BonK wrote:
Agreed.

If I could re-do my picks above I'd put Ray instead of Felton.