NBA 2012 All-Star Reserves

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Last week the 2012 NBA all-star starters were announced for the game in Orlando on February 26^th. Without much surprise the East consisted of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony at the forward spots, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose as the guards, and Dwight Howard at center. The West starters selected were Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum (first appearance). Now that the fan voting is done the all-star reserves get to be selected with the official announcement tomorrow. I’m going to give a list of the players who I think should be selected and why they deserve to play in the 2012 all-star game.

Eastern Conference Reserves

PG – Rajon Rondo: He’s the third best point guard in the east, but the second best on a winning team and is the leader of the Celtics (it shouldn’t be the big 3, it should be Rondo, Pierce and friends) so he certainly deserves a spot in the all-star game.

SG/SF – Andre Iguodala: The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the best teams in the league and give teams problems with their lock-down defense. Since someone from this team deserves an all-star selection, why not choose the 76ers leader on both ends of the floor. His scoring numbers may not look flashy, but Iguodala has been one of the best wing defenders in the league for a few years and contributes to his team’s offense with smart ball movement. He’s definitely playing like an all-star in my eyes this year.

SG/SF – Joe Johnson: The Hawks have surprised me this season since I thought they would plummet in the standings (especially after the Horford injury) but they have kept it together with the leadership of Joe Johnson. His numbers are about the same as last year but he has taken that leader role and has done a great job so far, as indicated by the Hawks record.

SF – Luol Deng: If the NBA rewards winning with all-star appearances then the Bulls should have 2 all-stars. Deng has been the second best player on the Bulls for the last few years (since Rose stepped in as the franchise player) and finally deserves some recognition for his hard work.

SF – Paul Pierce: Pierce is playing like his usual all-star self, meaning he’s destined to go to Orlando in a few weeks. The Celtics have struggled (especially due to injuries) but Pierce has stepped it up recently, especially when he led the whole team while Rondo was out by averaging 7 assists per game.

PF – Chris Bosh: Bosh was on a tear while Wade was out and gave us glimpses of his days as a Raptor. His scoring numbers have increased from last year and it also helps that his team stands 2^nd in the East.

C – Roy Hibbert: Indiana deserves a player in the all-star game, the only problem is who to pick. It’s really tough picking a player on such a well balanced team, so let’s go through the starters. Granger (the “franchise” player) has been shooting the ball poorly this year and is not looking like the leader on this team. George and Collison have both been solid, but not all-star worthy and West is nowhere near his old all-star form. I have to go with Hibbert since he’s been a dominant force on offense and defense. He’s averaging career highs in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage and is the second best center in the East. I think he should be a lock as an all-star and hopefully the GMs think the same way.

Western Conference Reserves

PG – Russell Westbrook: He is a top 6 point guard who is on the 2^nd best team in the league so I don’t think much needs to be said here. Side note: He can finally play shooting guard (his natural position).

PG – Tony Parker: Parker has really impressed me this year with his overall play. He has increased his scoring from last year and is averaging a career high in assists (career high after 10 years in the league!?). I believe he’s the best player on the Spurs right now who sit comfortably in 2^nd in the West. Duncan’s best days are over (averaging career lows in almost everything) so Parker should be representing the Spurs at the all-star game this year.

PG – Ty Lawson: The Denver Nuggets offense has been fun and exciting to watch, which is run by a 5’11 (he’s probably 5’9) point guard by the name of Ty Lawson. Lawson has been excellent this year and has raised his numbers across the board. He should get a free trip to Orlando to showcase his talent with the success he and his team are having. I would have considered putting Gallinari here but he’s likely out for 3-4 weeks.

PF – Paul Millsap: The Jazz have been surprisingly good this year (they were 2^nd in the West at one point) mostly due to their front court due of Millsap and Al Jefferson. Both of these guys are worthy of a spot but I would have to go with Millsap. Statistically they are about equal but Millsap brings up the energy level of the entire team with his hustle (3.3 o.reb/game) and hard work.

PF – Kevin Love: 25 and 14…enough said.

PF/C – LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge elevated his game to an all-star level last year, but was unfortunate to be the last cut in the West. This year he’s averaging 2 more points and is leading the Blazers to the playoffs. If 24 and 9 with a good team record isn’t enough for a trip to Orlando then I don’t know what is.

C – Marc Gasol: Gasol makes his 4^th all star game…wait Marc Gasol…what?? Yes, Marc Gasol has been the best center in the West this year (and has outplayed his brother) averaging career highs in points (15), rebounds (10), assists (2.7), and blocks (2.2). He has picked up the slack when Randolph went down with a knee injury and has emerged as the Grizzlies MVP. He has earned his spot in the all-star game. Side note: Hey Pau, at least one Gasol will be participating in the game!

Why Dallas must win

Tweet Lets examine this year in the NBA as a whole, starting of course with the decision.  Now, everything that needs to be written about the decision has been written, I will not waste your time by re-hashing it, I will simply skip right into the start of the regular season.  I found that with each night in the NBA, there was something compelling to watch, every game had some interesting sub-plot, or performance worth following.  We wanted to see how a team (Miami) with 2 out of the top 5 players (some may even argue 2 of the top 3) along with a top 25 player would co-exist.  We wanted to see if Phil Jackson could go for an impossible-seeming fourth 3-peat.  We wanted to watch young stars breaking out (Kevin Love 30-30 anyone?) Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, Steph Curry, Monta Ellis and a slew of other exciting players were putting up ridiculous numbers, making every night mean something in the league.  It was the first time, in a long time that every team had something going for them (except Cleveland, which is a whole other story).  It was the first season in over 20 years that games such as Knicks-Celtics or Bulls-Knicks mattered again, all the big market teams were going to make the playoffs, and the league never seemed healthier.
By the time the NBA all-star weekend and trade deadline passed, the general thoughts were that the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Heat, Thunder, or Spurs were on the short list to win the NBA title.  Few disagreed with this view.  These were the best teams on paper, had the most stars (old and new) and were playing championship caliber basketball.  Fast-forward to the start of the playoffs. Miami suddenly looked invincible as teams discovered that Wade and James could destroy them as scorers, passers, or defenders.  The Miami team suddenly looked like the juggernaut that everyone expected them to become, and fans everywhere feared that title 1 of 7 was on the way.
If this were a movie the script would be brilliant, picture it:
                                               

***cue the star-wars introduction***

...It is a period of great despair to NBA fans outside Florida

The Evil heat Empire has conquered the Bulls and is on the cusp of greatness

Emperor Pat Riley sits on his throne counting his NBA rings

while loyal servant coach 'Spo' leads the mighty heat onwards

It seems as if nothing can stop this Miami team However,

In a not-so-distant conference, a scrappy challenger to the Heat throne rises

Dirk Nowitzki, leads a group of unlikely heroes into Florida

Though they know the mission is unlikely, they also know that NBA fans everywhere are counting on them...

                                                              ***end of introduction***

Kinda catchy isn't it?

And on that note we get to the Dallas Mavericks.  They have made a habit this year of shocking everyone. No Caron Butler? No problem.  Too old? That's OK. 
This resulted in the unlikeliest of re-matches: Heat Mavs II.  On one side: Lebron, Wade, Bosh and the 'Heatles'.  Throwing a champiionship celebration before a pre-season game was played, arrogantly proclaiming that they would win 7 titles, and carrying themselves as if someone already crowned them.  On the other side: Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks.  Few people remember that Dirk was a free agent last year, lost in the hoopla of the decision was his loyalty to his Mavericks, who (at that time) did not look like getting to the finals.  He understood this.  He knew that if he left, the slim chances Dallas had would be reduced to 0.
So he went to the gym, he worked on his game, and he gave it his all hoping for the best.  Then something happened, and though no one knows how or when it happened, there is no question it did.  Dallas was tough, Dallas played D, and Dallas, most importantly of all: believed.  You can see it in their team huddles, they are united, they play hard, and they never give up.  A group that seems like its going for a 5th title rather than a 1st, they exuberate a quiet confidence which spurs them on.  In the book 'When the Game was Ours' an account of Bird and Magics impact of the NBA, Magic lamented that guys in today's league take things for granted and do not work hard enough.  Reading between the lines, it seems that if players (not just stars but everyone) started to care and busted their asses every day, that the league could return to the glory of the 80's.  There is no better finals match-up to drive that point home.  Hard work, toughness, and the hard path vs. talent, fame, and the easy path.  This is why Dallas must win.  To encourage players to work harder in the future rather than latch on to a winner.  If Dallas wins, there will be proof that if you work hard enough, and believe in your team mates, you can beat anyone.  Best of all, it would be ultimate karmic justice for 06' and for the decision.

Thoughts on the Celebration of Failure in Sports

Tweet I, like many of you (hopefully) reading this article am at work right now and the constant repetitive tasks i am assigned to do bring with them a time to reflect on what is happening in the world today. As I am a die-hard NBA fan, only one thing comes to mind; the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. But more specifically the way that this great series is being discussed in the media, on twitter, Facebook, and among my friends. In today's world of information where immediacy is the most important thing when it comes to reporting on anything, one spin on the NBA Finals and sports in general seems to be the most popular, "Athlete Fails" instead of "Athlete Succeeds" has become the go to story for any sporting event in the last year. After game 4 of the Finals, one in which Dirk (battling a three digit fever and cough) willed his way to a good not great performance to win the game and even the series at 2 games apiece, little was written about Dirk channeling his inner Jordan in the 4th quarter or Dwyane Wade throwing up a 32 point, 6 rebound performance on disgusting ( in a good way) 13/20 shooting. No, rather all the conversation after the game was Lebron's "passive" (Since Wade was feeling it, he was getting most of the ball and therefore taking away from lebrons offensive output. Not making excuses for 'Bron but if Miami had won the game this wouldn't have been as big of a deal) game.

The aftermath of game 4 is just one example of how we as a public crave stories about how world-class athletes fail and not how they succeed. Recently, this is most evident in the team everyone loves to hate (due to a poorly thought out decision by a 26 year old and his childhood friends...if some people say that they've never made a bad decision growing up, they're just lying. Only difference with Lebron and the decision is that it was televised for the world to see) the Miami Heat. People have written about the Miami Heat's failures this year with an almost manic glee as if Chris Bosh shooting 1/17 somehow made their lives better. Although Miami has been the center of this trend to acknowledge the failures and not the accomplishments of athletes, it has not been the only one. To bring it back to the finals, after game 1 where the Heat turned up their much talked about defense in the fourth to shut down Dirk (not really) and the rest of the mavericks (absolutely) people chose to write and talk about the failings of the Mavs' supporting cast and not how the big 3 (or 2.5 depending on how you feel about CB4), Mike Miller (playing with no thumbs), Mike Bibby (he's still playing?!?!?), Juwan Howard (ditto) and the rest of the squad shut down a Mavs team that scored so easily and efficiently on the defending champs that Bynum and Gasol still probably have nightmares of a 5'8 man from Puerto Rico.

I guess what I am trying to figure out (and a better writer would have done it much more eloquently) is why we, as a society enjoy tearing down public figures ( in this case athletes) more than building them up. I won't pretend to tell you when this shift in mentality happened (maybe after the steroids scandal in baseball where we learned that our heroes weren't so squeaky clean as we had imagined them to be) but only that it isn't for the best. I'm not saying to blindly accept everything athletes do and not hold them accountable for the stupid things they do (Plaxico, why do you need a gun in a club, and better question, who wears sweatpants to a club?) but the level at which they are being scrutinized for every little thing they do doesn't feel right. Let me put it this way, when you see the words Michael Jordan you think winning, greatness, shoes, and an inability to keep ones tongue in ones mouth yet Jordan was a compulsive gambler, a terrible teammate (punched lovable announcer Steve Kerr in a practice, Scottie Pippen never really bonded with MJ even though they played and won most of their careers together as evident by his Lebron comments right before the Finals started), and by all accounts from people who've met him, an all-around asshole but because back in the 90's, sports coverage was different, we never hear of Jordan's failures, only of his successes.

In my opinion we do this to make ourselves feel better. After all, no one wants to see LBJ, D-Wade, and CB4 keep winning (side-note: how fast and far did Charlie Sheen drop off?) so easily in life so we try and celebrate their failures because we think that'll make ourselves feel better. But in reality, unless you're a Dallas Mavericks fan or anyone from Cleveland, you shouldn't be cheering for Lebron to fail because him failing at his job wont make yours any more entertaining or wont make that exam you're studying for that much easier or that girl you've been wheeling that more in to you so that's why on Sunday I won't be rooting for Lebron and the Heatles to fail, i'll be cheering for Dirk and the Mavs to succeed. After all, seeing someone win and feeling happy is much better than seeing someone lose and getting a kick out of it.

Luka Milanovic
@Luka_M91 on twitter