███ Kobe, Wade lead headline All-Star starting five
NEW YORK (AP)
Lakers G Kobe Bryant and Heat G Dwyane Wade led all players in All-Star votes as the voting ended yesterday.
Kobe received 2.603.201 votes whilst Dwyane Wade got 2.434.412 votes from NBA fans all over the world. The Heat superstar is most likely to miss the game though as he is still dealing with a severe ankle sprain he sustained in the Heat's win over the Toronto Raptors.
Take a look below for the All-Star starting five for each Conference.
West
C Yao Ming (2.010.349)
F Tim Duncan (1.828.384)
F Kevin Durant (1.933.291)
G Kobe Bryant (2.603.201)
G Chris Paul (1.981.209)
East
C Dwight Howard (1.882.221)
F Chris Bosh (1.544.321)
F LeBron James (2.011.206)
G Dwyane Wade (2.434.412)
G Rajon Rondo (1.592.201)
███ Melo, Dirk, Amar'e and Rose amongst All-Star reserves
NEW YORK (AP)
NBA coaches have given their votes for the 2011 All-Star game reserves and there were a whole lot of surprises as four players will make their debuts at the All-Star game in L.A.
Andrew Bogut (MIL), Josh Smith (ATL), Stephen Jackson (CHA) and Al Jefferson (UTA) will appear in their first All-Star game. Take a look at your 2011 NBA All-Star reserves below.
East
C Andrew Bogut (1x All-Star)
F Amar'e Stoudemire (6x All-Star)
F Gerald Wallace (2x All-Star)
F Josh Smith (1x All-Star)
G Gilbert Arenas (4x All-Star)
G Derrick Rose (2x All-Star)
G Stephen Jackson (1x All-Star)
West
C Al Jefferson (1x All-Star)
F Pau Gasol (4x All-Star)
F Dirk Nowitzki (10x All-Star)
F Carmelo Anthony (4x All-Star)
G Manu Ginobili ( 2x All-Star)
G Brandon Roy (4x All-Star)
G Chauncey Billups (6x All-Star)
███ Three out of All-Star game
NEW YORK (AP)
The All-Star game takes place in Los Angeles this year and Hollywood is just the right place to get the cream of the crop together to play in the best game in the world: the All-Star game.
Unfortunately, like almost every year, not every star voted in can participate. This year, three guys will sit out because of injuries: Dwyane Wade is still dealing with a sprained ankle sustained four days before the weekend. Yao Ming, the top vote getter among centers in the West has broken his right index finger and will sit out to fully recover. Last but not least, Brandon Roy's chronic knee problems will cause him to miss his fourth All-Star game.
"I could play, but I have to look after my body and my knees need every free minute to rest right now", the Portland Trailblazer said.
The NBA has already announced the replacement for the three players: Whilst Gilbert Arenas will start in place of Dwyane Wade as the third best vote getter for Eastern guards, Wade's replacement on the roster will be Antawn Jamison. The strange thing may be that Jamison is now playing for the New Orleans Hornets in the West, but as he has yet to play a game for the Hornets, the ex-Cavalier is eligible to play for the East in the All-Star game.
Instead of chinese big man Yao, Al Jefferson will start for the Western All-Stars, as he got the 2nd most votes among centers in the West. Chris Kaman will be the replacement for Yao on the Western roster.
The replacement for Brandon Roy will be Grizzlies F Rudy Gay, who will be the fifth debutant in this year's edition of the All-Star game.
███ Pierce, Boozer among All-Star snubs
NEW YORK
Like in every year's edition of the annual All-Star games, there are also players who "should have been in" but did neither get enough fan-votes, nor were selected by the coaches.
In the 2011 All-Star game, there are once again a lot of players who would have deserved a place, but did not get voted in. The two most significant guys are Paul Pierce and Carlos Boozer.
Whilst Pierce (8x All-Star) has lead his Celtics to 2nd place in the East scoring 21.0 points per game on .443% shooting from the field, Boozer (2x All-Star) has helped the Bulls third place in the East with 23.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Another streak that has ended is Kevin Garnett's All-Star streak. Whilst his numbers have taken a hit year-by-year, he was still a fan favorite in recent years making the All-Star game 10 years in a row. This year, Garnett and Pierce will only send out Rajon Rondo to represent the current Eastern Champion.
More guys who had definitely deserved it: Mo Williams (22.5ppg/5.2apg), Zach Randolph (20.6ppg/10.4rpg), Joe Johnson (21.8ppg/4.8apg), Tyreke Evans (24.7ppg/4.5apg).
Guys who simply missed too many games: Deron Williams (missed 26 games), Monta Ellis (missed 22 games), Danny Granger (missed 16 games).
Guys who were just not good enough this year: Steve Nash (16.5ppg/8.4apg/.32% 3pt), David West (15.9ppg/5.4rpg), Jason Kidd (8.6ppg/9.3apg), Tony Parker (18.3ppg/5.5apg),
███ Rookies - Sophomores Game participants announced
NEW YORK (AP)
The Rookies - Sophomores game players were announced by the NBA yesterday. Take a look below for your players of Friday's All-Star weekend kick-off game.
Rookies
C Timofey Mozgov
F Blake Griffin
F Wesley Johnson
G Evan Turner
G John Wall
6 Damion James
7 Xavier Henry
8 Ed Davis
9 Tiago Splitter
10 Jordan Crawford
Sophomores
C Hasheem Thabeet
F Tyler Hansbrough
F Omri Casspi
G Tyreke Evans
G Stephen Curry
6 Darren Collison
7 James Harden
8 Reggie Williams
9 Terrence Williams
10 David Andersen
The biggest snubs might be the two top five picks Derrick Favors (NJN) and DeMarcus Cousins (SEA). Cousins already announced his displeasure with the player choices.
"I can't take that ... I mean you look at that Russian guy, he can't even walk straight ahead. It just shows how these guys up in their office want to make money by bringing in Euro suckers", Cousins is quoted. He also declared that he won't even show up for any further rookie presentations.
The NBA already announced that the would inquire these statements.