13 Comments

1. 

   i wana hear who they replace yao, honestly this was a snub i agree on tim duncan should not be in it, but if LA gets snubbed fro the replacement, omg no joke stern has an issue with the blazers and you know a lot of fans are gona be in a uproar

   by jamie (guy) on 2/4/2011 11:27 AM
2. 

   I agree that Aldridge should have made it, but I could also make a case for him not making it. Coaches get to see this guy up close. It goes beyond stats. They see an athletic 6-11 guy who makes little impact on the defensive end, and only gets the rebounds he wants to get. A lot of those rebounds come on the offensive end. He doesn't draw fouls, because he isn't assertive, and settles on jumpshots. All these thing add up to the perception of being soft.

   by Brian Johnson on 2/4/2011 12:40 PM
3. 

   He is a bigger Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Sorry for the spelling.

   by Brian Johnson on 2/4/2011 12:41 PM
4. 

   Brian, that's crazy talk. Have you actually watched LaMarcus this season? I think some of your points would have been valid a year ago, but this year? No way.

   by caseyholdahl on 2/4/2011 12:42 PM
5. 

   Brian, I think I accidentally deleted your comment. My bad. For everyone else, here was Brian's comment:
   
   "Wow, I really appreciate you getting back on that. I agree that there has been a noticeable difference since Brandon has been out. But for some reason this guy always leaves me wanting more. I still think he deserves to make it though. The position statistically, seems down this year, and is there for the taking. Seriously though, you could not tell me the guy makes an impact on defense!"
   
   I can't argue that it would be nice to get more out of LaMarcus, but I think we're currently seeing that.
   
   And as far as defense, LaMarcus is at least an above average defensive PF, certainly better at this point that all the PFs that made it ahead of him. I know they're not the end all/be all of defensive, but he is averaging over a block and a steal a game. I'm sure the team's +/- against is much, much better with LaMarcus on the floor than when he's not, but that probably speaks more to our lack of a legitimate backup PF (Dante, god bless him, is trying his best).

   by caseyholdahl on 2/4/2011 12:59 PM
6. 

   Hi Casey,
   
   Love the blogs. I must say that I'm with you as far as not dwelling on the snub. To be perfectly honest, I see it as even almost right now because I was surprised when Roy made it in his second year in the league. He deserved it (like LA this year), but I felt about the same as I did this year with LA on his chances of making the team.
   
   I'm not too upset because for the first month or so of the season, it was the same old thing, or even a step back from last year if I remember correctly. If he'd played the way he's playing now from the jump then I would have been more upset I think. Also, Blake Griffin is having one of the best rookie seasons I've witnessed, his numbers are better than LA's, and he's making the Clippers relevant...the Clippers! You can't be upset with that selection. Plus, Griffin's highlights are unreal.
   
   I wouldn't have been surprised if Kevin Love was picked over LA or if he's taken to replace Yao. Yes, his team is losing, but like it was mentioned in the video he's on pace to do something only 2 other people have done. That's something that you can't ignore, no matter how many games his team is losing.
   
   The selection that bugs me is Tim Duncan. I understand that the Spurs have the best record right now, but I think Duncan comes up behind Love and Aldridge as far as impact and effectiveness this year. I don't have a problem with rewarding winning teams, but I would have had less of a problem with Parker on the team. LA has won the battle with all of the other power forwards. I'm surprised that it seems as though that's something that was ignored. I feel like that's a really valuable stat when trying to figure out who is more deserving.
   
   I've heard rumblings of Nash being Yao's replacement. I can't say Nash isn't playing like an all-star, but shouldn't they replace Yao with another big man?

   by ChrisRozwod on 2/4/2011 2:34 PM
7. 

   I feel that Aldridge is definitely an allstar, but so is Kevin Love... I know Love is playing in garbage minutes and often the Wolves have already lost, but he is arguably putting up the biggest stats in the League. I think Aldridge and Love are more deserving than Duncan and Griffin. I know you can make great cases for both Griffin and Duncan, but Duncans stats are not close to Love and Aldridge's and Griffin gets way to much attention because he plays in LA.

   by Correy on 2/4/2011 2:54 PM
8. 

   If Lamarcus Aldridge really is an All Star he will find him there next season with a chip on his shoulder. He is playing like an All Star, but i want this to p1ss him off and see what else he can do with a full season like this. One thing is for certain, he is capable of putting up huge numbers, and he's changed his game for the better.. All Stars do that!

   by Strobes503 on 2/4/2011 3:19 PM
9. 

   Definitley feel bad for LA- he deserves to be there- hopefully will get picked to replace Yao- but if not he will be rested after the break.
   
   

   by RedRudy5 on 2/4/2011 3:51 PM
10. 

    I feel even worse for LA now that Love was picked over him to replace Yao!!

    by RedRudy5 on 2/5/2011 10:32 AM
11. 

    stern is a piece of garbage he don't know talent if it smacked him in the face, LA should have made it over love griffin and duncan, duncan only got in because of his name, and i cant help but think his coach didnt help out, but as for tim duncan... garbage.... Love hes ok but the only reason he looks so good is because the rest of t-wolves suck.... griffin well he has shown that the only thing he can really do is dunk, nothing allstar if you ask me specially if your comparing to LA, LA is the true allstar here but stern is to stupid to know what an allstar really is.. I say get rid of stern and the nba will be alot better (take out the trash) As for LA that sucks hopfully next year.... but I for sure am not watching the allstar game this year now that LA got screwed........

    by branden6 on 2/5/2011 10:48 PM
12. 

    One thing on Love, rebounds cant be faked. Sure, where else are the points going to come from if not Love or Beasley, but if he wasnt a great rebounder the other team wouldnt be letting him get 15 a game. I dont care if he is on a bad team, hes putting up Moses Malone numbers (as is the popular comparison). Griffin, though, is a rookie and LeBron didn't even make the all-star game his rookie season. Tim Duncan definitely shouldnt be there. Life time achievment? Then give him an LTA award, the All-Star game is supposed to be for current all-stars. Thats why Love should get it, he's putting up All-Star numbers this year, but if you take his whole career into account then he hasnt been an impact player that whole time (I know LMA hasnt either but its more of a point against Duncan than Love.) The one thing I have to fall back on is that LMA should win Most Improved Player Award no problem, if not then the league is broken.

    by J Danger on 2/6/2011 9:46 AM
13. 

    See, I think rebounds CAN be faked. Case in point: in our last game against the Timberwolves, Love was credited for THREE offensive rebounds on missed tips with 12 seconds to play and the Blazers up 13. In essence, those rebounds meant absolutely nothing (not to mention he didn't convert any of those 3 rebounds into points). I'm guessing that, with as bad as the Timberwolves are, that Love has had many of those instances where he's getting meaningless rebounds in garbage time minutes.
    
    Again, LaMarcus, Love, Griffin, West, et. al. deserve to be all-stars. All have had great seasons. But great seasons are not created equally.
    
    By the way, there's no way LaMarcus will win MIP.

    by caseyholdahl on 2/6/2011 11:11 AM