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!

The Millennium NBA preview

Tweet With the NBA serving up an incredible Christmas day slate doubling as the opening day we at Millennium could not be more excited. So without further ado here are some of our thoughts on the upcoming season. I will lead off.

Daki:

The thing I am most glad about is the fact that the NBA will keep the momentum from last year's wonderful season going. Last year was the first time in a long time that both the regular and post seasons truly mattered. We had a star breaking out in Derick Rose, we had a true villain (Lebron and the heat), and we had some major surprises (Pacers, Grizzlies). Best of all, we had a group of guys who all won the ring that had eluded them for their entire careers (Kidd, Peja, Marion, Dirk, Terry, Mark Cuban). This year the only thing we know for sure is that Miami and Lebron are still very much the villains but we have no idea what teams will surprise us, what teams will emerge as contenders, or which player will emerge as the next star. Finding out these unknowns is what excites me the most about this season, along with an exciting Kings roster that should be fun to watch its really all I could ask for. Luka and Igor will cover most of the major story lines so I will explain my picks for MVP, the champion and rookie of the year awards. ROY: Brandon Knight (just a hunch). MVP: Kobe Bryant (I will wait for you to stop laughing). Phil Jackson has said numerous times that Kobe knows how to achieve and embrace being the perfect team mate, but chooses not to due to the pursuit of selfish accolades such as scoring titles. I firmly believe that Kobe is aware of his declining abilities and as much as he wants to pass Kareem on the all-time scoring list, I think he cares about winning just a bit more. This season the Lakers are a really popular pick to be a disaster and the only thing that will prevent that is if Kobe finally chooses to play the right way (making team mates better, passing to open team mates for game winners, rebounding, taking smarter shots). If he does decide to play the right way, look for a slew of stories around February about how Kobe "finally gets it" as well as a few "Kobe may not be the best player anymore, but you can argue he has been the most valuable" (I fully expect someone like Skip Bayless to do this). If Kobe instead chooses to keep doing things the way he always has we can safely assume that he desires to pass Kareem (in points) rather than Jordan (in titles). As for my title pick, I am taking Chicago over Memphis in 6.

MVP: Kobe Bryant
ROY: Brandon Knight
Champion: Bulls (with Rose winning Finals MVP)

Igor:

It doesn’t seem real that the NBA season is actually going to start soon since I pretty much convinced myself that it wasn’t going to happen. There are a few key things that I’m really looking forward to watching this coming season.

In the East the biggest story will be whether the Heat can “redeem” themselves from losing in the finals after everyone (including themselves) considered them the champions before the season started. One year of chemistry building between the big 3 (or 2.5) is crucial and I doubt that they will start the season off 9-8 like last year. The only problem is that they haven’t really added many pieces other than Battier, but he does not fix their lack of a center and point guard. Regardless they are still the favourites to come out on top of the East. The Knicks will be very fun to watch this year and could give the Heat some problems during the season. The additions of Chandler and Davis (once he heals) are important for their improvement from last year. As a Bulls fan, I’m interested in seeing how much Hamilton will help the team out and if Boozer can put together a solid year. Rose should maintain his great performance from his MVP year and with offensive help from Boozer and Hamilton, the Bulls look like a team that will go deep in the playoffs. After giving the Bulls a run for their money in the first round last year, Indiana should be the dark horse of the East especially after the addition of West. As crap as I think the Raptors will be this year, I will be closely watching Casey’s coaching and hoping to see some improvement on defense (already seen some glimpses of it during pre-season). Also keep an eye out for my friend Jan Vesely on the Wizards. Playing with John Wall will only be beneficial to his career.

The West is loaded with great teams and it will get very competitive down the stretch of the season. Here are a few questions to think about this season. Is there a new best team in L.A.? Will Rubio live up to the hype? Can Portland put it together after losing Roy? Will Memphis come out as a top 3 team in the West? Can the Mavs maintain their championship form? Most teams are interesting in the West, but my two favourite teams are the Warriors and the Thunder. Despite the Warriors’ struggles in the past few years, they are my favourite team to watch in all of sports due to their unpredictability and high pace. They can beat the best teams and lose to the worst teams on any given night. This is the year that Mark Jackson steps into the head coaching position and shows the league how to play “hand down man down” defense. Jokes aside I think he will be great for Ellis and Curry (since he was a great point guard during his career) who are probably the most talented backcourt in the NBA. If you’re bored at 10:30 any night you can’t go wrong with watching a Warriors game. With the addition of Perkins, improvement of Ibaka and Harden, and Durant and Westbrook entering their primes, this is the year of the Thunder. They have it all from lockdown defense to great offense and will be at the top of the NBA. Watch for them to storm through the West and win it all.

MVP: Durant                  

ROY: Kemba Walker

Finals: Bulls vs. Thunder

Winner: Thunder in 6 (Durant finals MVP)

Luka:

The NBA will finally make its long-awaited return tomorrow with 5 great games. During the lockout I always thought that the season would be cancelled since both sides seemed like they did not care about losing a season. It made me think that I would not care as much about the upcoming season. And yet, when the season was announced I immediately forgot about the whole lockout, and even stranger was the fact that I did not care. All I wanted to do was watch. It felt as if David Stern and Billy Hunter did their best men in black impression on me and the rest of the NBA's fans. And now with the opening less then 24 hours away there are a countless number of things in my head that I cant wait to see how they will play out.

Here are some of my thoughts/questions/things to look forward to about the upcoming NBA season (some of these are jokes).

The Dallas Mavericks trying to win back-to-back titles without their 2nd and 6th best players from last years run. The Heat being the only great team with seemingly no other teams at their level at this point. Hating the Miami Heat again. Watching Lebron's headband increase in size as the season progresses. People realizing that Shane Battier is old. Vince Carter and Tracy Mcgrady trying to out-suck each other in Dallas and Atlanta respectively (my money is on T-mac because I think he died 2 years ago). The Raptors being absolutely awful. Relictantly watching every Raptors game in the hope that they are not absolutely awful. My grades dropping because each team plays 66 games in 120 days!!! Kobe buying Vanessa a 4-million dollar ring for each women he cheated on her with. Kobe going bankrupt in 3 days. Baron Davis' rejuvination in New York. Brian "the custodian" Cardinal. Wondering how Calderon is making 10 million dollars this year. The Durant/Westbrook relationship. The Phil Jackson to the Knicks rumours that wont stop. Dwight Howard trade talks. The battle for L.A. The Indiana Pacers being a sneaky-good basketball team. Whether or not Memphis will be able to surprise people again (I think yes). Will anyone watch a Bobcats game? (Only if MJ suits up). Shaq recording a "tell me how my ass tastes" remix with Vanessa Bryant, Karl Malone, and Ruben Patterson. The Celtics relying on Keyon Dooling. Gregg Popovich ruining fantasy leagues everywhere by resting Parker, Duncan, and Manu more then people think he will. Lastly, seeing if this season can top last season.

Champion: Heat over Mavs in 6 

MVP: Carmelo Anthony

ROY: Kemba Walker