Letting Linsanity Sink In

There are two major reasons why we love to watch sports.  First, we admire the display of the world’s best athletes competing at the highest level.  The second – and much more powerful and impactful reason – is that we love seeing success stories, especially when the cards are stacked against them from happening.  As a whole, fans naturally root for the underdog and get caught up in the wave of Cinderella stories.  Much of the hardcore enthusiasm and pride instilled in sports fans comes from the inspiration and hope that a rare phenomenon gives them.

In the last week, we have been witnessing one of these phenomenons, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.  And it just so happens to be occurring within one of the most storied franchises.  I’m speaking, of course, of the one and only New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.  In the last four games without “superstars” (yes, I’ll keep calling them that) Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire (Melo with a sore groin, and Amare coping with his brother’s untimely death), the Knicks have gone 4-0 – in large part due to Lin coming out of nowhere to lead his team to convincing victories over New Jersey, Utah, Washington, and the Lakers.  In those 4 games, Lin’s point/assist log looks like this: 25/7 vs. NJ, 28/8 vs. Utah, 23/10 at Washington (against last year’s No. 1 draft pick John Wall, no less), and a whopping 38/7 against Kobe and the Lakers.  With each game, Lin is gaining tremendous confidence, and has electrified the Garden.

Blowing by defenses left and right, Jeremy Lin has taken the sports
world by storm, and has the Knicks finally playing winning basketball

Since sneaking in to the NBA after 4 successful years at Harvard,
Jeremy Lin has gone relatively unnoticed by teams league-wide

Stats aside, this hasn’t been a good story; it’s been a GREAT story. After going undrafted out of Harvard, and between bouncing around teams in NBA and spending time in the D-League, this guy wasn’t on ANYONE’s radar.  Before Tuesday – when his contract became guaranteed – he was sleeping on his brother’s couch at night to save money.  Even Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey couldn’t help but praise the guy and express regret for not giving him a chance.  Of all the point guards on the Knicks roster – Baron Davis, Iman Shumpert, and Mike Bibby – who would have ever thought that Lin would be the answer as the floor general? 

These days, everyone in the sports world is asking if Lin’s remarkable run can be sustained, and whether he’s actually for real or just a one-week wonder.  I’ll put my answer simply:  One great game is an aberration.  Two is a trend.  Three is reality.  And four?  Well, considering the competition and the spotlight, his performance is no fluke.  Plain and simple - the guy can play.  He's constantly beating guys like Deron Williams and John Wall off the dribble.  Although turnover-prone so far in his first few games playing big minutes, his playmaking ability is top-notch.  And hey, he can dunk!  To put it in perspective, he's SECOND in PER - right behind freaking LeBron!  How good can he be?  It's tough to tell; I'm not going to say he's All-Star material, but I would say he could be a solid backup point guard on a contending team.  But more importantly, he needs to be in the right system to be effective.  Even with his new-found confidence, I think the quality of his play is always going to be dependent on the team and playing style.

Here’s a crazy thought:  what if Lin keeps this up through the rest of the season?  Imagine this scenario if Linsanity continues:  he’ll land a big contract over the off-season after teams commence on a bidding war for him.  Next season, he’ll be put on the All-Star ballot.  If the Lin bandwagon multiplies by then, fans WILL vote for him - especially from China and Taiwan.  While still pretty crazy and farfetched, Lin being voted as a 2013 NBA All-Star starting guard is not completely beyond the realm of possibility.  I mean, we all remember how many All-Star votes Yao Ming got – and even Yi Jianlian almost got voted in when he was put on the ballot a few years ago.  But Yi was not causing nearly the stir that Lin is now.  How crazy would that be?

Carmelo Anthony's ball-holding ways will be tough to mix
with Jeremy Lin's free-flowing pick-and-roll offensive style

Okay, now that I have gotten all the praise out of the way – time to play Devil’s Advocate.  Realistically, the Knicks are still not a winning team.  Before Linsanity started, New York was off to a disappointing 8-15 start in a year they had higher expectations.  Mike D’Antoni was on the hot seat, and Melo and Amare’s superstardom has come into question (and rightfully so).   So while they are having success without those two, you have to wonder how their return will impact the team.  As I’ve beat to death over and over, Melo and Amare happen to be two gifted scorers with the same team-killing deficiencies.  Defensively, they are two of the worst starting forwards in the league.  On offense, the two scoring juggernauts and iso-happy games severely penalize the team’s overall ball movement.  Without them, Lin and the Knicks have been primarily running pick-and-roll plays, where Lin has been incredibly effective.  In that scheme, there has been a free flowing offense that we are used to seeing from D’Antoni-led teams.  But when Melo and Amare return, I just can’t see them letting Lin dictate the offense – especially Melo, who has never taken kindly to the idea of being a second fiddle.  Over his entire career, he has never given me any reason to believe that he can adjust for the betterment of the team – at least not yet.  And if Melo continues dominating the ball, Lin's play might suffer.The subsequent destruction of chemistry is my biggest fear for the Knicks as a team, in the aftermath of Linsanity. 

So if this fear is realized, and the Knicks struggle integrating his two stars with Lin, what does D’Antoni do?  Does he put his foot down and tell the team that Lin will be the team’s primary playmaker, and ask his two stars to put their egos aside?  Can he somehow integrate Melo and Amare’s scoring prowess without adversely affecting the team’s successful style of play lately?  Tyson Chandler has really stepped it up on both ends of the court, but will he keep it up?  I don’t see any positives from this happening, but for the sake of Knicks fans, I really hope I’m wrong.  Knicks fans have experienced far, far, far more disappointments and letdowns than success throughout their lifetime, so hopefully this can turn around their fortunes on a more permanent basis. They are long overdue for some optimism in the team.

Regardless of this particular team’s success, I think Lin has turned his own career around and will never again have to worry about finding a place to crash.  Whether or not he can sustain this run, he has instantly impacted the league and inspired fans worldwide in a way that few ever have before.  As fans, let’s not question him and just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Reaction to all the trades at the 2011 Trade Deadline

As a widely-expected lockout looms next season, NBA teams were very active on the eve of this year’s trade deadline.  LeBron James and Chris Bosh’s departures from Cleveland and Toronto, respectively, have affected more than just the franchises they abandoned.  Their exits have instilled fear in every GM in the league that has a superstar player with a soon-to-be expiring contract.  Consequently, no team wants to end up like Cleveland or Toronto.  One further aftermath of the LBJ/Bosh departures is the fluid movement of big-name players that want to team up with fellow NBA juggernauts.  As a result, NBA teams are going to incredible lengths to make moves.  Seven trades happened at the deadline, while two blockbuster trades happened earlier this week.

Here's a list of this week’s trades for your convenience (thanks, Henry Abbott):

·         Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.

·         Deron Williams to the Nets.

·         Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to Boston for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

·         Gerald Wallace to the Blazers for Joel Pryzbilla.

·         Kirk Hinrich to the Hawks for Mike Bibby.

·         Baron Davis to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.

·         Aaron Brooks to the Suns for Goran Dragic.

·         Shane Battier to the Grizzlies for Hasheem Thabeet.

·         Carl Landry to the Hornets.

·         Troy Murphy to Golden State for Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric.

·         James Johnson to the Raptors.

·         Semih Erden and Luke Harangody to the Cavaliers for Boston’s 2^nd Round Pick.

With all due respect to Semih Erden and Luke Harangody, let’s go over the biggest trades:

New York Knicks get:  F Carmelo Anthony, G Chauncey Billups, F/C Shelden Williams, G Anthony Carter, F Renaldo Balkman, G/F Corey Brewer

Denver Nuggets get:  G/F Wilson Chandler, G Raymond Felton, F Danilo Gallinari, C Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, 2014 1^st Round Pick

Minnesota Timberwolves get:  F/C Anthony Randolph, C Eddy Curry

I already talked in length about this trade, particularly how it affects NY and Denver.  As for Minnesota, I don’t know what they’re doing besides making friends with teams looking to get rid of huge contracts.  I know they want to clear cap space for future free agents and trades, but let’s be real:  nobody wants to come to Minnesota.  Since KG left town, they were doomed for years of futility.  Hopefully they can get good draft picks in the coming years and become relevant again.  The only good team they put together was in 2003-04, when KG, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell formed the NBA’s highest scoring trio and gave the Western Conference a real scare in the 04 playoffs.  Then reality hit, and Sprewell turned down a $21 million contract because it was “beneath” him and he thought it wasn’t enough to feed his family.  I still can’t get over that.

New Jersey Nets get:  G Deron Williams

Utah Jazz get:  G Devin Harris, F Derrick Favors, 2 first round picks and Cash

D-Will apparently fell out of favor with the Jazz front office

Unlike the Melo-to-Knicks deal, this was really unexpected.  While NJ is glad to finally land an All-Star, this is one risky move for the Nets.  Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov was clearly desperate to land a superstar after missing out on several big names (LBJ, Wade, Melo, etc.), essentially giving away promising future assets in the deal.  D-Will was noticeably saddened to suddenly be on a 17-40 team, and may very well be in trade talks by next year’s trade deadline.  I guess it was smart of New Jersey to see how things work out until then.  But if they end up keeping Deron through the 2011-12 only to see him leave the team, the Nets will be in an even bigger predicament before the team moves to Brooklyn.  There’s a lot of risk in giving up your future for a star player who might only be around for 1.5 years.

From Utah’s end, you have to wonder what made Utah give up on D-Will this early.  Even though it was clear he was not going to re-sign with the team, his contract isn’t up until next summer.  Clearly, he worn out his welcome with the Jazz front office, and was accused of being the main driver behind Jerry Sloan’s resignation.  The team was clearly struggling despite having a solid roster, and was on the verge of missing the playoffs. Now, they have some hope for the future with a very good point guard in Harris and promising young players.

OKC Thunder get:  C Kendrick Perkins, G Nate Robinson

Boston Celtics get:  F Jeff Green, F/C Nenad Krstic

I am completely baffled by this trade.  Either there’s some monetary reason for this, or something behind the scenes happened that prompted Danny Ainge to pull this off.  I just can’t figure out why he would do this at this stage of the season.  There's no possible basketball-related reason for this, which makes me think either Rasheed Wallace might come back and/or Ainge thinks Perk is leaving after this season (the latter being more likely).  With Perk, the Celtics had the size to go against any bigs they would encounter in the playoffs.  Don’t forget last year’s NBA Finals, where they arguably would have won the championship if he was healthy for Game 7 against the Lakers.  Now, suddenly they think they can win without him altogether?  I’m skeptical.   

If all their remaining bigs – Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal, Krstic – are healthy, they should still be favorites to win the title.  But look at those names I just listed – that is a BIG “IF.”  What made the Celtics so tough for teams like Orlando is their ability to guard dominant bigs one-on-one.  Now, if Shaq goes down and they were to play Orlando in the Eastern Conference Semis this year, who guards Dwight one-on-one?   They shut down last year’s lethal Magic team by NOT double-teaming Dwight, and thus staying home on the shooters.  No other team, other than the Lakers, could have contained their deadly outside shooting game.  Luckily for them, the Magic don’t look so hot these days.  With Atlanta and New York getting better this week (I’ll get into those trades later), Orlando may not even get home court advantage in the first round.  Still, they may face the Lakers in the Finals.  Without Perkins, I’m not so sure they can beat them - unless Shaq gets 10 years younger. 

Let’s get away from Perkins for a second:  the loss of Nate Robinson should not be overlooked, either.  Nate made the Celtics backcourt very tough to deal with.  Having him back up Rajon Rondo has been extremely effective; when teams backed off of Rondo and dared him to shoot, Doc Rivers brought Nate in the game to be a scorer.  Having both pass-first and shoot-first point guards gave Boston a variety of options as far as how they ran their offense, confusing most defensive units in the league.  Now who backs up Rondo?  I don’t like this trade at all for Boston.

Without Perk in the middle, guys like Dwight would have a much easier time against Boston

From OKC’s end, this is a great trade.  Jeff Green is a decent player, but is very inconsistent.  With great upside coming out of Georgetown, he and Kevin Durant were supposed to take the reins of the franchise.  But with Westbrook emerging as the clear 2^nd-fiddle behind KD (and perhaps the real leader of the team), Green became expendable.  Perk will give a great boost to the Thunder defense, which has slipped considerably since last season (their suffocating D really gave the Lakers fits before going out in a very close six-game series).  The team desperately needed a big, physical presence in the middle.  Now they got one, and they have no real gaping holes heading into the playoffs.

So – great trade for the Thunder, and a real head-scratcher for Boston.

Portland Trailblazers get:  G/F Gerald Wallace

Charlotte Bobcats get:  C Joel Pryzbilla, F Dante Cunningham, 2 1^st round picks

Wallace's versatility and athleticism will fit in nicely with Portland

What a great trade for Portland.  With Brandon Roy’s health issues, the team needed help to finish the season strong.  Currently a 7^th seed, the Blazers should be a tough out for whoever they match up with in the playoffs.  All-Star snub LaMarcus Aldridge has been a beast of late, and Wallace should compliment him nicely.  His talents have been a little forgotten in Charlotte, but he still is a tremendous high-flying athlete that plays terrific defense, and he rebounds well for his position.  Since he doesn’t need the ball to be effective, I see him fitting in fairly seamlessly in Nate McMillan’s schemes.  If Brandon Roy can somehow get healthy by the playoffs, their starting lineup will be comprised of this:  Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby.  I don’t care who they play; that is a scary lineup for anybody to go against.  Of course, it’s the Blazers, and health is always an issue.  I won’t put money on them to get past the 1^st round, but if they’re healthy then I really wouldn’t be surprised if they upset anybody in the playoffs.

As for Charlotte – well, they are just another seller in today’s NBA market.  MJ’s tenure as owner isn’t going to draw any more positive reviews in the near future.  Much like the other small market teams of the league, they need to get lucky in the draft to make any noise.

Atlanta Hawks get:  G Kirk Hinrich, F/C Hilton Armstrong

Washington Wizards get:  G Mike Bibby, G Jordan Crawford, G/F Maurice Evans, 1^st Round Pick

This was clearly a reactionary move by the Hawks after seeing New York – a team on their heels in the playoff standings – land Carmelo Anthony.  Bibby has clearly lost a step, both offensively and defensively.  He’s also been somewhat of a no-show in Atlanta’s playoff appearances the past few seasons.  In Hinrich, they get a younger but very solid point guard, and an overall improvement at the position on both ends of the court.  He is a very underrated defensive player.  When he was in Chicago, then-coach Scott Skiles got fired in part because he consistently benched Derrick Rose in favor of Hinrich for defensive purposes.  In addition to Hinrich, Armstrong will provide some size and depth on the thin Hawks bench. 

I’m not really sure why the Wizards even got Hinrich in the first place last summer, knowing they were drafting Wall.  But Bibby gives them veteran experience – something they sorely lack and part of the reason why they are basically win-less on the road.  In trading Hinrich, they acquired a long-term prospect in Jordan Crawford and they have yet another 1^st round pick this year to boot.

Cleveland Cavaliers get: G Baron Davis, 1^st Round Pick

Los Angeles Clippers get:  G Mo Williams, F Jamario Moon

Poor Baron Davis.  First, he ditched a fairly good Golden State Warriors team to sign with his hometown Clippers in hopes to play with Elton Brand.  Then, Brand screws him over by signing with Philly.  After a few Clipper-like seasons at the bottom of the standings, Blake Griffin gets drafted.  Then, Griffin busts his kneecap and sits out an entire season.  This year, Davis struggled early on with injuries and was out of shape.  Owner Donald Sterling even expressed frustration with Baron not being in playing shape.  But after all that, Davis got healthy and the Clippers finally appeared to be coming together as a group.  Davis got to throw one jaw-dropping alley-oop pass to Griffin after another.  Griffin even had Davis assist him in his final dunk of this year’s Slam Dunk contest. 

Baron's days of posterizing opponents is sadly over

Now?  He got traded to the NBA’s worst team.   Tough break.  I think he’ll suddenly have a myriad of season-ending “injuries” and get bought out this summer.  It’s too bad, because Baron is one of my favorite players to watch when he’s engaged.  The last time we saw him at his best was when he spearheaded the demolition of the 2008 1^st seeded Dallas Mavericks in the greatest playoff upset in NBA history.   Only sometimes showing flashes of his unbelievable skill set, he may be one of the NBA’s biggest underachievers.  If injuries and motivation weren’t an issue, he would be a perennial All-NBA selection.  As depressing as it is to say this, it’s hard to see that version of Davis ever showing up again.

Cleveland made this trade primarily for the draft pick.  The Clippers, still hoping to make a playoff push, acquired Williams and Moon to help make it happen.  It’s hard to see how, mostly because Mo gets injured seemingly as often as Davis does.  But maybe playing on an exciting team (yes, playing with Blake Griffin automatically makes you a de facto exciting team, regardless of your team record) will rejuvenate him.  I can’t see it happening, though. 

Every year, you see at least one lose-lose trade for both teams involved.  This was it.

One reported trade – O.J. Mayo to the Pacers for Josh McRoberts and a 1^st round pick – fell through right at the deadline.  With Mayo already having had a rocky season so far, this does not bode well for Mayo or Memphis as a team.  Plus, with Shane Battier coming in, Mayo’s minutes are a lock to diminish significantly.   Things have already been interesting in Memphis after Mayo got suspended for 10 games violating the NBA’s drug policy and got in a fight with teammate Tony Allen.  Think he’ll be a distraction now that he’s staying put?  It remains to be seen whether they can squeeze into the playoffs with a disgruntled Mayo in the Grizzlies locker room. 

So who benefited the most from this year’s trade deadline? 

Winners:  Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers

Losers:  Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers

TBD:  Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets

My Thoughts on Melo Trade

All-Star weekend, as far as I’m concerned, lived up to expectations.  When that happens, it’s hard to forget the weekend.  Thanks to the long-anticipated trade of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks – where he wanted to be all along – All-Star weekend has been forgotten and all eyes are on the new-look Knicks as well as Thursday’s trade deadline.  After months of negotiating, the trade finally happened.  It’s hard to envy the front office of NBA teams who have deal with this crap.  I can’t imagine the long hours they all put in to make everything work, both numbers-wise and team chemistry wise.  Luckily, trades talks rarely last this long, and are never as long as it takes Brett Favre to make decisions. 

First, before breaking down the trade – I gotta point this out:  I guess Knicks fans forgot all about Melo’s sucker punch on then-NY PG Mardy Collins 5 years ago.  Shouldn’t NY fans be more skeptical about picking up a hit-and-run type guy, after having guys like Anthony Mason, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, and many of the tough guys in NBA history?  Maybe Melo’s gotten tougher over the years to fit that bill. 

On to the trade – let’s start with Denver’s side:  in losing both Melo and Chauncey Billups, they gained a whole lot more than what they would have gotten had they lost Melo for nothing as a free agent this summer.   That, in itself, is a victory.  If you look strictly at Points in vs. Points out in the trade, Denver actually got more (53.4 vs 48.3 PPG) in return for their trade.  Obviously, that’s a glass half-full approach on Denver’s end (not to mention one of the many examples of using stats to sell a positive outlook).  Nevertheless, with a projected starting lineup of Felton, J.R. Smith, Chandler (I think Gallo will be traded), K-Mart, and Nene, the Nuggets are still 7^th or 8^th seed-playoff quality team.  Losing a superstar is never good, but they really did the best that they could, given the circumstances.  In other words, they’re much better off than Cleveland and Toronto were after losing LeBron and Chris Bosh.

 Will they keep this lineup together?  We’ll see by Thursday’s deadline.  There’s lots of reports out there, involving shopping Nene, that may essentially blow up the team.  So, there is no point in analyzing their outlook for the rest of the year until after Thursday.

So, let’s talk about the new-look Knicks.  Some argue that the Knicks gave up way too much in the deal, considering they theoretically could have risked waiting until the summer to sign Melo.  But according to sources, Knicks GM Donnie Walsh became increasingly convinced that Melo became increasingly concerned about his financial security with the looming salary cap cut-backs as part of the upcoming new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  That’s a valid concern, and New York decided to give in and make a move for Melo right now.  Plus, I trust Walsh’s judgement on this a whole lot more than I would’ve trusted former awful GMs Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas, who outright destroyed the franchise for a decade.

On the positive side, let’s be clear on this:   this was a good move by the Knicks and great for the NBA from a marketing standpoint (for obvious reasons). In terms of basketball, this move needed to be made.  The Knicks had a relatively easy 1^st half of the regular season, yet are only two games above .500 into to the All-Star break.  The trade talks were clearly getting to the team, as the players who overachieved to this point (e.g. Chandler, Felton) were slowly-but-surely slipping.  With Melo, New York will have new life and the Garden will see a buzz it hasn’t seen in a long, long time.  You HAVE to be happy if you’re a Knicks fan. 

Can Amare and Melo co-exist?  This remains to be seen.

Landing former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups should not be overlooked, either.  Chauncey has always been a great leader, and will gladly welcome playing in the D’Antoni system after playing for more controlling coaches like Larry Brown in Detroit and George Karl in Denver.  He is clearly an upgrade, in the short term, over Ray Felton.  I just wonder if he’ll be happy in NY, as he wanted to retire in Denver.  The Nuggets front office admitted that one of the hold-ups to the trade was trying to avoid including Chauncey in the deal.  Head coach George Karl even said that he was more sad about Chauncey leaving than anything.  Although he is 34, his game has aged in a positive manner and is still a very effective point guard. 

Amare struggles guarding good bigs like Gasol

As exciting as this trade is, you need to play devil’s advocate.  This trade was good, but are the Knicks going to be that good?  We all know that both Melo and Amare Stoudemire are two of the best scorers in the league (Amare at #2 in NBA with 26.1 PPG, Melo at #6 with 25.2 PPG), and arguably the most gifted scorers at their respective positions.  But the question of whether they fit together as teammates drives the biggest skepticism thereof.  This is a legitimate concern, as these two guys aren’t exactly known for their play without the ball, particularly on defense.  As I’ve pointed out before, Amare is just plain awful at guarding elite 4s and 5s.  For a guy with his caliber of talent, he is an average rebounder at best.  He’s picked up his efforts in terms of help defense, as he ranks 3^rd in the NBA in Blocked Shots.  But in terms of one-on-one defense and boxing out, he should be better than he is.

Even on offense, there are valid concerns.  Can two guys that score 25+ PPG co-exist?  They both need the ball in their hands to be effective, and a lot of pressure will be on D’Antoni and Billups to facilitate the offense and preserve team chemistry.  Remember that the Nuggets were not an elite team with the Allen Iverson-Anthony combo, despite the two of them being top 5 in the league in scoring a few years back.   They ran into a lot of problems in the playoffs as well, as there was a struggle between the two in terms of deciding who should have the ball in closing moments.  I can’t anticipate that this situation will be much better playing with Amare.  And, as dynamic of a duo as they are, they are still only the 4^th best duo in the league in my opinion, behind the Lebron/Wade, Durant/Westbrook, and Kobe/Gasol combos. 

Is there reason for hope?  Of course.  Will the Knicks be title contenders this year?  Of course not; just look at how long it took Miami to start gelling as a team with their three-headed monster.  They probably won’t make much ground in the playoff race, and will probably extend a 1^st round playoff series (either vs. Chicago or Orlando) to 6 games at best.  In the short term, things might not pan out that quickly.  But the bottom line is that the NBA is a star’s game; you acquire the star and figure out the remaining pieces from there.  Donnie Walsh and company will spend endless hours trying to add pieces to the puzzle over the next several seasons. 

I still don’t think the Knicks will threaten to overtake Miami, Chicago, or even Orlando (if D12 stays) in the next couple years – especially if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement drastically decreases team cap space as expected (and thus essentially ruling out the possibility of picking up either Deron Williams or Chris Paul in 2012). In summary, this trade makes them good – but not great.  But if you’re a Knicks fan, you should be ecstatic that this team will be relevant again.  In the Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas eras, the Knicks were doomed to several years of futility.   

My All-Star Picks

As an avid NBA chat reader, I remember ESPN's David Thorpe in a chat of his own answering a question regarding the seemingly superior Phoenix Suns trainers - given their reputation for helping keep older and historically injury-prone players (e.g. current Grant Hill, Shaq from 08-09) freakishly healthy. He responded by saying something along the lines of this: "Trainers are not unlike NBA players; some are better than others. Just because Mugsy Bogues and Shaq are both in the same profession, doesn't mean they'll produce the same results."

David is right on. This same logic goes with any occupation. Every profession has elite, average, and below average personnel. But obviously everyone in the NBA meets the standards of the being an NBA player. Similarly, every team has physical trainers that meet the standards of being a trainer (whether they have degrees, had specialized training, etc.), but clearly some are more skilled than others. For whatever reason (ahem, location), the Suns happen to have an All-Star team of trainers.

That said, I think of NBA All-Stars as the Phoenix Suns trainers' version of NBA players. Like the Suns' trainers, All-Stars should meet that elite level and have something to show for it - just as Phoenix has the health of Grant Hill and Shaq to show for their reputation. As Charles Barkley says, every NBA player is good. But only a few have something to show for it, whether they are reversing a franchise's losing history or helping continue a winning tradition. The obvious means for measuring that, of course, is team success. To an extent, good players on bad teams get shafted with this logic. But coaches have a long-standing tradition of voting for players on winning teams.

Assuming the starters will be those who are currently leading vote-getters, here's what you get:

This particular All-Star lineup favors the winningest teams, especially in the East. The one exception on the list is none other than Blake Griffin, whose performance on the NBA's worst franchise CANNOT be ignored. He represents all the hope that's left in the Clippers franchise. With each passing day he seems to get better, and so does his team. Anyone who gives that much hope to the Clippers should automatically be an All-Star, regardless of their current record. I do think they will climb their way back up the standings, though. Whether they make the playoffs, I'm not sure. I don't see it happening, though I am rooting for them. Griffin NEEDS to be on national TV during the playoffs. Has to, at least to make the first round watchable.

I'm sure some of you are going to accuse me of being a Celtics fan (I'm not). But can you ignore what any of those 4 have done? Which one would you take off the All-Star team? Pierce has been a steady, consistent scorer and remains their go-to guy. KG, as we all know, is their irreplaceable anchor on D. Rondo started the season storming out of the gates, greatly boosting the C's to a terrific start and breaking team assist records left and right. And the guy who most consider to be the 4th best player on the team, Ray Allen, may be their most valuable player in clutch situations. The C's would not have won many of their close games this season without him.

The other eyebrow raiser I should address is choosing Lamarcus Aldridge. Portland deserves at least one All-Star every year they are devastated by injuries (seemingly every year, now), yet manage to have a winning record. L.A.'s numbers may not blow you out of the water (21 ppg, 8.8 rbg, 1.2 apg), but he commands double teams and is undeniably Portland's No. 1 guy while the Blazers stay afloat in the playoff race.

Notable Snubs:

West - Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Luis Scola, Kevin Love, Monta Ellis

East - Al Horford, Andrew Bogut, Gerald Wallace

D-Will, Nash and Parker are perennial All-Star point guards, but can you really replace anybody on that list for them? The Spurs may deserve 3 All-Stars with their record, but it's harder for teams to have more than 2 All-Stars in the West. However, of all the snubs, one of these two is going to be the likely Yao Ming replacement in the starting lineup. My money is on Parker, given the Spurs' record. I know some of you will point out that Kevin Love should be on the team if Griffin makes it, but unfortunately there's not enough room for both of them. You gotta go with the guy that's reversing the Clippers' fortunes.

Between D-Will and Steve Nash, it seems unfair to cut either one of them in favor of Griffin or Aldridge.  Based on the way Utah's played of late, however, I'm not sure if anyone on that team deserves to make it. AK47's struggles have been a disturbing trend the past couple seasons, and Al Jefferson's arrival hasn't lived up to expectations.  Either Jerry Sloan or Deron Williams needs to be held accountable for AK47 and Jefferson's lack of production and involvement in the offense.  In the case of Griffin and Aldridge, their teams have no business making any noise in the regular season with a much weaker supporting cast (and with the Clippers, team reputation).  Utah kind of has to get punished, being a team that has high expectations.  I fully expect the coaches to vote D-Will in, just because of the numbers he's putting up (21.9 ppg, 9.4 apg).  But my selections are mostly based on team success versus expectations.

On a side note, is this the most polarized the league has been in years or what? So many teams having double-digit streaks, whether they're winning or losing. The East is very polarized, given that only 6 teams are above .500. The 7th and 8th seeds -- Charlotte and Indiana, respectively -- are currently 7 games below .500. 7!! The East is arguably more shallow this year than any other season. For every ridiculously good team, there's a ridiculously bad team. We might be witnessing the most lopsided NBA season to date. It's only going to get worse, as superstars on mediocre teams (e.g. CP3, Melo) will want to jump ship to a contender and team up with other great players. This spells trouble for a LOT of teams. With a probable lockout looming, contraction may become more of a reality than you think. Anyway, I'll talk more about this on another post as the season goes on.

The point is, there are not too many stars from winning teams to choose from in the East. I do think either Stephen Jackson or Gerald Wallace should be on the team, but only because there are not too many deserving players remaining in the conference.

Altogether, I think this is one of the more difficult All-Star selection processes there will ever be. Lots of great teams loaded with great players. There are many deserving guys that will get cut, but not ALL great trainers are able to work in Phoenix either, right?

Interested in seeing who all the NBA gurus out there think should be showcasing their skills in LA on February 20th!