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NBA All-Star reserves were announced, completing the teams' rosters before the February 17 East-West matchup.

That brings the obvious questions: who doesn't deserve to be there that will be, and who deserves to be there that won't be?

First, I'm glad the fans got one thing right. They voted in Dwight Howard as the Eastern Conference starting center over Shaquille O'neal. Shaq's made this game 14-straight times until this year, including a few times where he definitely didn't deserve it, most notably last year. I like Shaq, but when you're past your prime, you can't just ride your fan-base into the game when you're playing awfully. I'm also thrilled to see a guy like Caron Butler make the East squad.

So, who doesn't deserve to be there? For the East, the glaring mistake seems to be Dwyane Wade. I like the player, I think he's good. But, other than good looks and high numbers, his team is doing miserably, which speaks nothing about his stardom. Is he a good player? Absolutely, but he's not doing the things he needs to be this season to be an All-Star.

Some are claiming Ray Allen as the biggest East snub, but I'm going to disagree. We all know it was Kevin Garnett who has transformed the Celtics, and while Allen's been a nice role playing shooter and scorer, he's no All-Star this season.

My Eastern conference pick is little known Jose Calderon, who has stepped in as a solid contributor in Toronto after the injury of T.J. Ford. Averaging 12 points and 9 assists on the season, Calderon is playing big in the minutes he gets, leading the Raptors into a battle for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Moving West, the story becomes more difficult. There are so many talented players that I think every player on the team has a case to be made. It's also nice to see lesser known guys like David West and Brandon Roy be honored.

Unfortunately, that leads to a long list of snubs, which includes at the top of the list Baron Davis, Manu Ginobili, and Deron Williams. They just had to draw a line somewhere. But, other than the obvious ones, how about Chris Kaman, who has broke out in a big way with Elton Brand out with injury in Clipperville? How about Kevin Martin, Sacramento's little guy who can score like a machine? How about Al Jefferson, the giant in Minnesota now that Garnett is gone who is tearing up boxscores nightly?

I guess I've answered my own question. These 3 guys all play for miserable teams. In that sense, the NBA seems to have gotten it right, but it's still fun to argue that these guys' performances could make them deserve to be there.

Labels: all-star, basketball, Dwight Howard, Kevdog, NBA, shaq, sunbs