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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

The Orlando Magic introduced sharp-shooter Rashard Lewis yesterday, after finalizing a sign-and-trade deal with the Seattle Supersonics to acquire the small forward. The Magic will pay Lewis more than $110 million over 6 years, while only sacrificing a future second round pick and a trade exception worth about $9 million.

That's right, the Magic lost no one to acquire what many thought was this summer's best free agent. That's fantastic. Kudos to Magic GM Otis Smith on this one.

Lewis brings a proven shooter, who really has flourished in the past 3 seasons in Seattle, averaging more than 20 points/game in that time, including over 22 points/game this season. Lewis will combine forces with young All-Star big man Dwight Howard down low to form one of the league's best inside-outside combinations in the league.

The Magic let veteran forward Grant Hill go this year, after he limped through a couple of injury riddled seasons for them, and just yesterday let Darko Milicic sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. While they could have used Hill to help this young team mesh together, Orlando will be sitting pretty with their upgraded squad.

While Lewis and Howard will form the core, don't forget about rising point guard Jameer Nelson, who will now have plenty of options to dish the ball to, former Sacramento Kings sharp-shooter Hedo Turkoglu, who filled in (sometimes brilliantly) for the oft-injured Grant Hill last season, and summer-league and former Duke stud J.J. Redick. Redick has been wowing folks in Las Vegas so far this year, convincing some that he may break out this season.

Either way, the Orlando Magic just got a heck of a lot stronger. Lewis feels they can compete for a championship this season--I don't think they are quite there yet. But they just got a heck of a lot closer. Solid young point guard, amazingly talented young big man, and one of the best 3-point shooters in the league is a pretty special trio. And Rashard is the oldest at 27. Give it a few years, but this could be the beginning of something pretty special.

Side note: doesn't Magic GM Otis Smith look like Stuart Scott (minus the lazy eye)?

Labels: Dwight Howard, Kevdog, NBA, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Stuart Scott