Officially Unofficial

Posted by Rob Mahoney on January 28, 2010 under News | 5 Comments to Read

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears have unearthed the All-Star reserves, with a few surprises.

Dirk Nowitzki’s exclusion was not one of them. His selection was never even debatable. But the Western Conference reserves will be Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams, and and Zach Randolph. Great picks all the way down the line, and particular kudos to the coaches for picking this crop over Denver’s Chauncey Billups. Billups is a fine player, but this just isn’t his year. Plus, I think there’s a very legitimate argument to be made for Tyreke Evans over Chauncey, anyway…but we’ll save that for another day.

In the East, the reserves will be Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, Gerald Wallace, Al Horford, Paul Pierce, and Derrick Rose. In related news, it really, really sucks to be David Lee right now. He’s doing just about everything humanly possible (ahem, offensively), and still can’t catch a break. Pierce is having an off-year, but his selection was more or less assumed. I just wish we could see Lee and Josh Smith in the game, but no such luck.

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  • http://yahoo Scomez

    Tyreke Evans over Chauncey…are you saving that for another day like…Fantasy day when overrated rookies and stat fillers on crappy teams get more attention than winners. I suppose you think AI is the greatest player ever? Chauncey, and Dirk for that matter, could average 35+ points, but it would be at the detriment of their team, which is what this is, a TEAM game. What an idiot…

    • http://www.thetwomangame.com Rob Mahoney

      @Scomez: All I said was that there is a legitimate argument to be made. But I do think that the race between Chauncey and Tyreke is closer than most people are willing to admit.

      http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=billuch01&y1=2010&p2=evansty01&y2=2010

      Statistically speaking, the two are very close. Similar scoring, similar defensive numbers. Tyreke the superior rebounder, Chauncey the superior distributor. Tyreke the more efficient scorer shooting-wise, Chauncey the superior scorer. I don’t think there’s a clear, correct choice either way, but Evans has had a stellar season and deserves a place in the conversation.

      And as for the way in which these players score, you’re honestly telling me that Billups, king of the unwise pull-up three pointer in transition, is some kind of team deferential martyr? The guy gets his. I’m not saying he’s selfish or he’s selfless, but he’s not somehow holier than Evans.

  • http://yahoo Scomez

    Ok, I’m sorry I called you an idiot, I was however and still am amazed at your comparison. I just think the focus on stats in the NBA has been overblown (Hollinger, whose Utah Jazz dominate the top of the rankings because Sloan likes to leave starters in until they’re up by thirty, blowing out of proportion the +/-).

    I think Chauncey has an understanding of the game in terms of when to be agressive and when to back off. He is, like Evans, a point guard (although both play off the ball at times), and he knows when to feed a hot player and when he needs to fill it up. But if your most prolific scorer is a point gaurd, you’re in trouble (in my opinion).

    Jennings is a similar example to Evans. They will put up nice numbers, but I’m waiting to see if they ever end up on a team that is actually well rounded and wins games consistently. It doesn’t mean they can’t, but they aren’t there yet.

    Chauncey now understands that winning is everything. Individual stats like AIs will be forgotten, but winners are remembered. Evans might get that and truly live by it one day, but that day is not yet here. That, as well as his leadership and TIMELY scoring, are what make Chauncey better. I don’t think Chauncey is the best PG or even close in the league, but he’s better than Evans and IMO deserves an All-Star nod over Gasol who has only played half the games (although is a great player that is overshadowed by Kobe). That’s a travesty.

  • Brayden

    It was a crowded field, but I’m a little sad to not see Chris Kaman in the mix.

  • Swilsin

    Wins and losses, year after year Chauncey has proven to be a winner, DWill is not better than CHAUNCEY. Detroit’s plight since Chauncey left shows all who was running that winning show and now in Denver he does the same. DWill and Chrissy Paul and their loser teams will be at home watching while Chauncey takes his team AGAIN toward the real prize: the NBA Championship.

    Tyreke is overrated on a poor team.

    Robby you sound bitter at Chauncey cuz Denver shredded your Mavs. Well, if they make it, Denver will send them packing/crying again this year too.

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