Last Saturday, the NBA announced the starters for the annual All-Star game that will be held, Feb. 10 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. There were very few surprises in the lineups, but a bit of an anomaly in the Western Conference choices.
The west is lead by Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs - all of whom are at least seven feet tall. That type of height is unheard of for a starting all-star squad - especially since one of the three big men must have the quickness to guard a small forward.
The guards for the Western Conference squad are the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and first time starter and Houston Rocket Steve Francis, who is making his all-star debut. The dynamic duo of Bryant and O'Neal are used to joining forces as they have combined to lead the Lakers to the past two NBA championships. But neither has played with a forward with the talent of Duncan or Garnett since last year's All-Star game.
Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson, whose team currently has the second-best record in the conference, will guide the West all-stars. The Sacramento Kings own the best winning percentage, but coach Rick Adelman is not eligible to coach the All-Star game because he did so last season. With the New Jersey Nets sporting the best winning percentage to date, their coach, Byron Scott, earned the right to coach the East all-stars.
Heading the list of starters for Scott's lineup in the East is Toronto Raptors' forward Vince Carter, who has topped the all-star voting for three consecutive seasons. He is the third player to do so, joining Michael Jordan, who has led four times, and Julius Erving, who led all-star balloting for nine seasons during his career. Carter received 1,470,176 votes.
Making his 13th All-Star appearance will be the Washington Wizards' Jordan, but this will be his first appearance in a uniform that's not from the Chicago Bulls. Although not quite at his career average of nearly 30 points per game, Jordan is putting together a formidable season, scoring 25 points a night. He is currently ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring.
Joining Carter and Jordan in the starting lineup will be hometown heroes Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo, both from the Philadelphia 76ers. Rounding out the starting lineup will be Boston Celtics' forward Antoine Walker, making his second appearance.
What if the playoffs began today?
Basketball fans in Los Angeles might have envisioned a foot of snow falling in June before they imagined a playoff scenario such as this. With a little more then half of the season complete, the Lakers, 29-12, would be the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs should they begin today. This coming from a team that experts predicted would cruise to their third straight championship.
But what could be even more surprising for the good people of Los Angeles is that the Los Angeles Clippers, a perennially unimpressive team which shares the Staple Center with the Lakers, are tied with the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final spot with a 22-22 record. The Kings would own the top seed with a 33-10 record, with the Mavericks on their heels at 32-12.
The Eastern Conference picture is almost as surprising as out west. The Nets own the best record in the conference at 29-14. The defending conference champion Philadelphia 76ers would barely squeak into the playoffs as the seventh seed with a 22-21 record. In a huge surprise, the Celtics would be the third seed, and the Detroit Pistons and the upstart Wizards would also make the playoffs. Such a scenario would leave out perennial playoff powers, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat.
