Notes from TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com- Thursday, January 22, 2009: NBA All Star Game Starters Announced
TNT exclusively announced the NBA All-Star Starters. TNT will air the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February15. Final Fan voting follows.
NBA All-Star Eastern Starters:
F - Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
F - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
C - Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
G - Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons
G - Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
NBA All-Star Western Starters:
F - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
F - Amar’e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
C - Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
G - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
G - Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Smith on how many of the Eastern All-Stars he feels deserve to be starters: ”Four out of five, Allen Iverson shouldn’t be a starter.”
Payton on which Eastern All-Stars should not be starters: “(The fans) got three out of five right. Kevin Garnett shouldn’t be starting. Some guys out there are playing better than him and (Iverson), Devin Harris is playing better than (Iverson). (Chris) Bosh would take (Garnett’s) spot, he’s playing way better than him. We are talking about a guy consistently performing every night, (he’s not performing) the way he was.”
Smith: “You are comparing (Garnett) to himself and not to other forwards. As a team, if you take KG off the Boston Celtics and you put Chris Bosh on the Boston Celtics they are not 35-9.”
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade joined the studio show via satellite to discuss his fifth straight NBA All-Star selection.
Wade on recovering from injuries and returning to his former self: “Anyone who plays the game knows if you play injured, I had surgery on my left knee and my left shoulder, and you are one of those guys who guys look at on the schedule every night and say, ‘I want to play my best game,’ it’s going to be very tough. I had a bulls eye on my back. I wasn’t whole and my team wasn’t as good, so last year was very tough physically and mentally. I got my trainer Tim Grover, along with the Miami Heat staff, and really got my body healthy and got ready for the Olympics and had the opportunity to go and play with some unbelievable guys and really start to enjoy and love the game again and came back and finished it off this season so far.”
Wade on the differences between the 2006 Championship team and his current team: “The difference between teams, if you look at a team like Boston, they have veteran guys and they know what they are doing. With our team in 2006 we had a lot of veteran guys and we didn’t have to go over too much, coach gave us a game plan and we executed. With this young team it’s not that easy, we have to continue to tell guys what to do even within the game, and make sure guys are professional enough to bring it every night. I’m trying to lead as much as I can, of course my shot attempts are up but I have to for this young team to make sure that every night we are out there to compete. We’ve been doing a good job so far, and we’ve got 41 games more to go. Hopefully we can be better in these 41 and make a playoff push.”
Wade on what impact former Heat teammates Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton and former coach Pat Riley had on the team: “From Shaq (O’Neal), he was one of those guys who went out there and he showed by example, his dominance and his attitude. I thought GP was going to be a coach, he would pull you aside and even though he talked real fast you could understand what he was saying, he could pull you aside and let you know some things on the court. Pat Riley is the ultimate motivator and ultimate leader, with this knowledge. Have all that and then you get the opportunity to go be on the Olympic team and go and be around Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and others, I was excited to come back and help lead this team to do things this year that no one thought we could, and that’s to win.”
Wade on Payton’s assertion that Celtics forward Kevin Garnett should not be a starter on the NBA All-Star team: “I still talk to Gary (Payton) and I email him every time he says something crazy on TV, and that was one of those crazy moments. Chris Bosh is having an unbelievable individual season, but when you talk about KG and what he has to give up for those the other talent he has on the court, with Paul (Pierce) and with Ray (Allen) and other guys, he doesn’t have to score 20 and 12 like he used to. You can still see his dominance on the court, we just played him last night, trust me we see his dominance on the court. He’s still the favorite to start in the All-Star Game the next couple of games. But Chris Bosh can easily be right there, he has the talent, and he’ll be there for the future as well.”
Payton on Raptors forward Chris Bosh playing better basketball than Celtics forward Kevin Garnett: “(Kevin Garnett) can play at a high caliber, but this is what the fans are saying, this is their pick because he’s their favorite player. Chris Bosh is not as famous as Kevin Garnett right now, but I think Bosh is playing better basketball. We didn’t say he was a better player, we said who was playing consistent for the first part of the season.”
Smith on which player was left off the Western All-Star starters: “(Nuggets forward) Carmelo Anthony should be a starter. Being hurt he probably shouldn’t even be on the team now, but in terms of popularity and what he had done while he was playing, I thought Carmelo did a great job. I don’t think Amar’e Stoudemire should be starting.”
Payton on which player he feels should not have made the Western All-Star starters: “Tim Duncan shouldn’t be there. You guys are going by what the team is doing and by fans.”
Smith: “You don’t any credence for a guy on a winning team?”
Payton: “Not really, when you say All-Star. When you stay All-Star what do you mean?”
Smith: “An All-Star is a player on his team, that elevates his play and others play and makes the team in contention to be a playoff team.”
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming joined the studio show via satellite to discuss being an NBA All-Star starter.
Ming on being selected as a starter in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game: “This All-Star being in Phoenix reminds me of 2004 and the L.A. All-Star because I also had Shaq (O’Neal) stand behind me. It makes me feel a little nervous when you have the best center in the history as a back up for you, you don’t feel that comfortable.”
Ming on the Rockets play so far this season: “This record is a little behind what we thought, you have to make adjustments. During last summer we got Ron Artest and everybody thought we should play better than now, but the injuries really hurt our team. Actually, I feel we are pretty good, still 11 games above 500. We still have a hard situation, we still have Tracy (McGrady) and Ron (Artest) with injuries, so we are still looking for a championship but we have put work in everyday.”
Webber on former Heat center Alonzo Mourning announcing his retirement: “We talk about All-Stars, but there will very few defensive players like this guy. This is one of the few people that when I went to the hole, I really knew that I had to try to dunk because people make posters dunking on him. It was a pleasure to dunk on him because he was blocking 90% of them, a real defender.”
Payton on the retirement of Alonzo Mourning: “I played with (Mourning), been around him a lot, went to the Olympics with him. Zo is a fierce, fierce competitor. I liked the way he did it, he got hurt and he knew it was time, he was dealing with his kidney stuff and he would rather have his health than go on. He left in a good way, I’m very happy for you Alonzo.”
Smith on the impact Alonzo Mourning had off the court: “(Mourning) is going to be remembered far more for what he does off the court in Miami and his philanthropy throughout the area. He is going to be remembered way more for that, he put more effort in that then he actually did as a player and he’s a better person for sure.”
Webber on the philosophy of selecting All-Stars because they play for good teams: “If I’m on a 5-35 team, I work just as hard. I’ve been that guy on a bad team, I actually had to work harder, because when I pass the ball he doesn’t make the shot. You are really discrediting guys who are going to work every night.”
TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Magic center Dwight Howard who was the leading vote-getter amongst the All-Star field and was the first player in balloting history to crack the 3 million-vote ceiling.
Howard on his reaction to getting the most votes and being selected as an NBA All-Star starter: “First, I want to say thank God for everything going on this year, my team’s success and everything this year, thank God for it. And then the fans, you mean so much to me, thank you so much for voting for me, I would never think of this happening to me, especially right now. But thank God and thank you fans, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Final Fan voting: I highlighted some crazy voting by fans.
| Forwards | |
| Player | Votes |
| Tim Duncan (SA) | 2,578,168 |
| Amare Stoudemire (Pho) | 1,460,429 |
| Bruce Bowen (SA) | 1,392,398 |
| Ron Artest (Hou) | 1,362,565 |
| Carmelo Anthony (Den) | 1,337,519 |
| Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) | 1,107,926 |
| Pau Gasol (LAL) | 948,301 |
| Shane Battier (Hou) | 694,112 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) | 497,550 |
| Luis Scola (Hou) | 405,851 |
| Josh Howard (Dal) | 298,810 |
| Guards | |
| Player | Votes |
| Kobe Bryant (LAL) | 2,805,397 |
| Chris Paul (NO) | 2,134,798 |
| Tracy McGrady (Hou) | 1,678,516 |
| Manu Ginobili (SA) | 1,642,350 |
| Tony Parker (SA) | 1,084,361 |
| Steve Nash (Pho) | 677,211 |
| Jamal Crawford (GS) | 665,038 |
| Rafer Alston (Hou) | 550,199 |
| Jason Kidd (Dal) | 477,792 |
| Brandon Roy (Por) | 468,688 |
| Chauncey Billups (Den) | 466,073. |
| Centers | |
| Player | Votes |
| Yao Ming (Hou) | 2,532,958 |
| Shaquille ONeal (Pho) | 1,850,018 |
| Andrew Bynum (LAL) | 549,131 |
| Mehmet Okur (Utah) | 437,106 |
| Greg Oden (Por) | 359,318 |
| Andris Biedrins (GS) | 357,984 |
| Al Jefferson (Minn) | 310,643 |
| Tyson Chandler (NO) | 242,356 |
| Chris Kaman (LAC) | 231,928 |
| Marcus Camby (LAC) | 158,491 |
| Nick Collison (OKC) | 154,309 |
| 2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The final results of balloting in the Eastern Conference for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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January 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
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January 23rd, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I was watching the half-time show of the Celtics/Magic last night with Smith, Webber & Payton. I think that Kenny Smith is one of the best NBA analysts to date but sometimes he’ll say stuff that is just asinine.
I like the way that Webber emphatically disagreed with him on the philosophy of selecting All-Stars. He made a very good point. I also like how Payton disagreed with some of the things Kenny spoke of as well.
Mizz,
You think that you can find that half-time session on youtube?
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I’ll search for it brothaman.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
That’s why Kenny Smith is the best NBA analyst on the tube.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
This is exactly why I can’t get too excited about Kobe defending D-Wade in a regular season game. It’s all context. Do that when Wade has 4 guys to pass the rock to, and has essentially the same duties as you do — then we can talk. We’re not going to see that matchup until the All-Star game. We’ll see if either of them is willing to expend that level of effort defensively in order to prove a point.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
GN:
I think the philosophy of selecting All-Stars is always worthy of debate.
A couple of things:
When the game is played matters. In football, the award is for who has had the best season through Week 14 or 15. So the votes are going to look different. If football voting was closed in Week 9, Ed Reed doesn’t go to the Pro Bowl because he didn’t have more than 1 pick until Week 12. That he went to grab 6 more and lead the league would have been irrelevant. So when would Ed Reed be honored if the NFL voted as they do in baseball and basketball? At next year’s Pro Bowl?
In baseball and basketball, the mid-season game means two things: that the voting fans will consider not merely the first half of the season, but the last half of the prior season (especially the post-season) and the careers of the player. Fans in baseball and basketball are NOT purely voting for who is having the best half of a season. If they were, it would make All-Star voting among the most stupid activities we engage in. The All-Star vote, then, is larger than the 1st half.
It’s 2 parts first half, 2 parts last year, 2 parts beauty contest, 2 parts media hype, 2 parts career achievement. It’s all of these things and that’s why it is so nuanced. When you factor in all these pieces, Bosh has Garnett by only 1 measure (the first half of 2008-2009), and even here, Garnett’s value to the C’s (Kenny’s point) is at least as valuable and impressive as Bosh’s performance (Chris’ and Gary’s point). So, the decision of the fans seems to be very logical — if not correct.
————————————
re: Kenny’s point about Team Success vs. Individual Performance
The same principle can be applied to Hall of Fame selections. From a statistical standpoint, we all know that elite players on sub par teams have opportunities to put up huge numbers (regardless of the sport) because other players simply are not on their level. Similarly, we know that elite players on elite teams tend to sublimate aspects of their game in order to achieve a larger purpose.
As such, the STATISTICS of the player on a sub-par team are not necessarily the best measure of their performance. To me, it doesn’t qualify or disqualify a player — but it means you could have a team of All-Stars full of STAT MACHINES on crappy teams. I don’t believe that’s the concept behind an All-Star game. I don’t believe that would be much of an All-Star game. Neither would it constitute much of a Hall of Fame. You’d have guys with numbers (principally achieved during regular season games) who have largely (though not always) failed to get over the hump while facing the fire of post-season competition.
That’s not fair. I know its not fair. However, those are the politics of the game.
(Side note: I’ve always held that the reason the Knicks couldn’t win with Ewing was because he never made a public demands for better teammates. Jordan did it. Olajuwon did it. They had to. Ewing was never paired with another elite scorer in his prime. He played with an old Rolando Blackman and an aging Derek Harper. He played with a recovering Bernard King — and that was it. Still, his teams won games, but not the biggest.)
Kenny Smith won championships and played with elite players who sublimated their games every night for the larger good. Webber never won a ring and I think that shapes his perspective as much as Kenny’s experience. Payton didn’t win one until he was granted some charitable love from Riley and had a roster spot in Miami. I think that’s a factor for him as well.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
T3,
I’m not suggesting that Garnett shouldn’t be a starter. What I agree with Webber on is that a superstar on an inferior team shouldn’t be overlooked just because he’s on an inferior team. In the grand scheme of things, the fans’ vote comes down to a popularity contest. I have no problem with that because it’s a game for the fans. But that’s where the confusion comes into to play. If it’s a game for the fans and not the “All-Pro” NBA All-Star game, then the fans’ logic in voting shouldn’t be questioned.
If a player’s value is among the factors that a fan weighs in choosing that player for the team, I don’t have a problem with that. But how realistic is that when we have millions of young fans punching ballots who perhaps don’t understand that aspect of the game? And at the same time a player’s performance is what put fans in the seats every night and more often than not, I think it is the main reason why that player is selected. Kevin Garnett probably does deserve to start. But what Garnett has going for him is he’s a veteran, he’s an established superstar and he’s playing in a player friendly market (Boston). Chris Bosh, on the other hand, doesn’t have all those luxuries, so therefore he won’t get the recognition that a Garnett would.
I won’t say that if you put Bosh in Boston, they’ll be 36-9 but I do think they’d be close. But if you put Garnett in Toronto, are they better than 16-28? I’m not sure, especially with the outcome of Garnett’s last season in Minny(32-50).
I think that if a superstar on a inferior team is putting up the numbers AND working hard to keep his team in games, then he has just as much value as a player such as Garnett who now has a different role on a team full of stars. Where would that inferior team be without him? I think Webber has a pretty good point.
I think Kenny Smith is perhaps the best NBA analyst on TV and I probably didn’t use the correct word to describe some of his opinions (asinine). But he does sometimes allow his ego to guide him into linear perspectives quite a bit.
——————————-
I also agree with your assessment regarding Wade v. Kobe. It’s all circumstantial until the playing field is even. But what gets me is that some people, including media pundits, act as if Wade’s NBA title and MVP performance doesn’t mean a thing.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
http://temple3.wordpress.com/2007/06/01/goodnite-detroit-goodnite/
Put that in your “Way Back Machine” and smoke (Media and LeBron v. Wade)
—–
I hear you on the other stuff. BTW — I updated that McNabb piece a few times after you read it.
—–
Surprised you didn’t mention the Canada Factor for Bosh. Isn’t VC the only one to clear that hurdle?
January 24th, 2009 at 12:59 am
T3,
I’m diggin’ that article. How soon they forget, right? F*** that…..Wade is my guy.
———–
Will check out the McNabb piece once I put my girls to bed. I don’t think it could get much better than it already is. (lol) Looking forward to the addendum nonetheless.
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You know what? I actually forgot about the Canadian factor. Yup, VC pulled off the impossible.