The 2010 NBA All Star Game

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NBA All Star Rosters:

West Starters

C - Tim Duncan
PF - Amare Stoudamire
SF - Carmelo Anthony
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Steve Nash

East Starters

C - Dwight Howard
PF - Kevin Garnett
SF - Lebron James
SG - Dwayne Wade
PG - Allen Iverson

Notes: Reserves will be announced on Friday.


T-Mobile Rookie Challenge Rosters:

Rookie's Roster

Omri Casspi
DeJuan Blair
Stephen Curry
Tyreke Evans
Jonny Flynn
Taj Gibson
James Harden
Brandon Jennings
Jonas Jerebko

Sophomore's Roster

Michael Beasley
Marc Gasol
Danilo Gallinari
Eric Gordon
Brook Lopez
Kevin Love
O.J. Mayo
Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook


Sprite Slam Dunk Contest:

2010 Competitors: Nate Robinson, Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown, Eric Gordon and DeMar DeRozan

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Iverson makes no apologies for All-Star start
http://www.nba.com/2010/allstar/2010....ap/index.html

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson has gone from retirement to All-Star starter.

And if his critics don't feel he deserves the nod to represent the Eastern Conference, well, that's too bad. He'll be ready to play the Feb. 14 game at Cowboys Stadium.

"The way I look at it is, what should I do?" Iverson said Friday night. "Should I worry about what those people say or concentrate on the million-plus people that voted for me. To me, it's a no-brainer. My fans want to see me play and they have the right to put in who they want to put in the game.

"They voted me in, and it's an honor. I don't want to disrespect them by not participating in the game," he said.

Iverson, who returned to the Philadelphia 76ers in December, has played only 20 games this season and his 14.4 scoring average was well off his career mark (27.0). The former NBA MVP still has a loyal fanbase and he received 1,269,568 votes to earn a spot in the East lineup with Cleveland's LeBron James, Miami guard Dwyane Wade, Orlando center Dwight Howard and Boston forward Kevin Garnett.

Iverson briefly retired after an ill-fated stint with Memphis and his selection sparked criticism of the voting process.

He scored only 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting in Philadelphia's 92-81 win over Dallas on Friday night. It was the first time the Sixers won this season (1-6) when Iverson scores less than 15 points.

Iverson has been bothered by an arthritic left knee that's sometimes limited his availability. He's been an All-Star for 11 straight seasons, but missed the 2007 game because of injury.

Iverson called the fan support a blessing and said fans love him because he's never pretended to be perfect.

"I don't try and be the perfect man in this world," he said. "I don't think people are ever going to look at me like that. They never looked at me like that. I think a lot of people in the world respect that, me being true and honest to myself."

Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft, but his first 10 turbulent seasons in Philadelphia were marred by rants about practice, run-ins with former coach Larry Brown, arrests and a failed rap career.

He can empathize with what golf great Tiger Woods is going through since his Nov. 27 car accident in Florida. Iverson feels sorry for Woods because he's still being hounded by the media after his revelations of extra marital affairs.

"For me to sit and watch him go through what he's going through right now, it's kind of a hurting feeling for me to see somebody go through like that because he is human," Iverson said. "He made a mistake. I'm not saying I condone it all, but he made a mistake and he's really paying for it now. I think after a while, enough is enough."

Iverson was a four-time scoring champion in his first stint with the Sixers and led them to the 2001 NBA finals before a bitter relationship with management forced his trade to Denver in 2006. He bounced from the Nuggets to Detroit to three games this year with the Grizzlies before finding his way back to Philadelphia, where fans still roar at his buckets.

The 34-year-old Iverson refuses to accept this could be his last All-Star game. He said he heard the same complaints last year in Detroit when he made the team and his numbers in decline.

"They've been saying that the last five years," Iverson said. "I've been hearing the same thing. That's not something I think about."

[coreytaylor]

My All Star Reserves:

West:
Chris Paul
Brandon Roy
Deron Williams
Kevin Durant
Dirk Nowitzki
Chris Kaman
Zach Randolph/Lamarcus Aldridge

East:
Derrick Rose
Joe Johnson
Stephen Jackson
Gerald Wallace
Josh Smith
Chris Bosh
David Lee

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West Reserves:

Dirk Nowitzki,
Pau Gasol
Chris Paul
Brandon Roy
Zach Randolph
Kevin Durant
Deron Williams


East Reserves:

Al Horford
Rajon Rondo
Gerald Wallace
Derrick Rose
Joe Johnson
Paul Pierce
Chris Bosh


-Surprised to see Al Holford as an East reserve

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Billups, Lee headline NBA’s All-Snubbed team
By Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has turned his attention from Dallas to the sun and beaches of Mexico.

That’s what happens when you go from All-Star to All-Snubbed. While many of the NBA’s top players will convene in Texas for the Feb. 14 All-Star Game, Billups now plans to take his wife, Piper, and probably head south of the border.
Missing eight games with injuries hurt Chauncey Billups' case for making the All-Star team.

“I’m good with it,” Billups said Thursday. “Everyone who made it deserves it. Every year there are situations where people deserve it and do not make it, especially at the guard position in the Western Conference. There are always two, three or four guys that didn’t make it that could’ve. There are not enough spots. I would definitely say that in the Western Conference, the guard position is toughest without a doubt.

“I’m going to find some good weather and relax.”

Billups’ numbers certainly merited consideration; he’s averaged 19.2 points, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals. But after Kobe Bryant(notes) and Steve Nash(notes) were voted starters by the fans, the West coaches chose Chris Paul(notes), Deron Williams(notes) and Brandon Roy(notes) as reserves. The eight games Billups missed because of injury probably didn’t help his cause.

“I’m sure it played a role,” Billups said. “We have the second-best record in the West. If I didn’t miss the eight games we could be vying for the best record, the first spot. If we had the best record in the league, it could be different.

“But I’m all about the team. We are where we need to be as a team. I’m also feeling great. No ailments. The rest is probably most valuable for me.”

Here’s the rest of Yahoo! Sports’ All-Snubbed team:
Monta Ellis.

G – Monta Ellis(notes), Golden State Warriors: Averaging 26 points a game, Ellis ranks not only as the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer, but also as the top-scoring All-Star snub.

Ellis also averages 5.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds and an NBA-high 42 minutes. The biggest knock on him is that he is playing for the NBA’s third-worst team – the Warriors are just 13-31 – and is averaging a league-worst 4.1 turnovers. Ellis had hoped that because New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris(notes) and Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger(notes) made last season’s All-Star Game, despite playing for teams with losing records, he, too, would have a chance.

The problem: Harris and Granger play in the East. Ellis makes his living in the deep West.

So … Golden State’s All-Star-less streak continues. The Warriors haven’t had someone play in the game since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.
David Lee.

F – David Lee(notes), New York Knicks: Knicks fans are likely wondering how Lee could be left off the East team when he’s averaged 19.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists. The East coaches also could have put Lee on the roster at center, but instead opted for the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford(notes), who is averaging 13.6 points (fourth on team) and 9.8 rebounds.

Even though the Hawks are one of the league’s top teams and the Knicks began Thursday in 10th place in the middling East, it’s curious that Horford would gain his first time All-Star appearance over a guy averaging a double-double.

Lee was also hurt by the fans voting the Boston Celtics’ injury-plagued forward, Kevin Garnett(notes), onto the East team as a starter. If Allen Iverson(notes) or any other East player is forced out of the game because of injury, expect Lee to be named as a replacement.
Josh Smith.

F – Josh Smith(notes), Atlanta Hawks: With all due respect to Horford, if there was any other Hawk who looked deserving to join Joe Johnson(notes) in Dallas, it figured to be Smith.

Smith could even be viewed as the Hawks’ Most Valuable Player. His all-around stats show off the depth of his talent: 15.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.

How can the East coaches explain Smith’s omission? They’ll blame it on the fans who voted Iverson and Garnett as starters.

Smith’s chances of being named as an injury replacement also could be hurt by the fact that two of his teammates already represent the East.
Chris Kaman.

C – Chris Kaman(notes), Los Angeles Clippers: Among the snub-ees, no big man in the West is more deserving of a roster spot than Kaman, who is averaging 20.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks.

The Clippers’ record (20-25) didn’t help Kaman’s case. Nor did the Clippers’ co-tenants at the Staples Center. Kaman had said he thought he was more deserving than Los Angeles Lakers forward, Pau Gasol(notes), who had missed 17 games this season because of hamstring problems.

The West coaches, apparently, didn’t agree.

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Billups to replace Paul in 2010 NBA All-Star Game

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2010 -- Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Chris Paul (meniscus injury, left knee) of the New Orleans Hornets in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas. Billups will be making his fifth All-Star appearance.

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Roy to miss All-Star Game with hamstring injury
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/02/06/r...s=iref:nbahpt2

PORTLAND (AP) -- Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss the next three games and the All-Star game with a right hamstring injury.

Roy has already missed 11 of the last 12 games. He was originally hurt in a Jan. 13 game against Milwaukee, then aggravated the injury on Jan. 20 at Philadelphia.

"I don't feel like I'm at a level where I can help the guys out right now," he said Saturday night before the Blazers played the Los Angeles Lakers.

Roy, in his fourth season with the Blazers, made the All-Star team as a reserve for the third straight season.

"This was not a decision that any of us wanted to make, but in the end we had to do what was best for Brandon," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "We're hopeful that this extended rest will put Brandon in the best possible position to return to the lineup shortly after the All-Star break."

Roy leads the Blazers with 23.1 points per game.

Roy's injury is the latest to strike the Blazers, who have lost centers Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden to season-ending knee injuries.

Recently, Portland saw the return of forward Rudy Fernandez, who missed 19 games because of a back problem, and forward Nicolas Batum, who was supposed to start but had shoulder surgery just before the start of the season.

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By the way he's playing right now, I think Russell Westbrook should be one of the few players considered to replace the injured Brandon Roy in the upcoming All Star game.

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Clips' Kaman tabbed as All-Star replacement for Roy
http://www.nba.com/2010/allstar/2010...s=iref:nbahpt2

NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman has been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Brandon Roy (right hamstring strain) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas. Kaman will be making his first All-Star appearance.

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Kidd replaces injured Kobe; Lee steps in for Iverson
http://www.nba.com/2010/allstar/2010...nts/index.html

DALLAS, Feb. 11, 2010 -- Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd and New York Knicks forward David Lee have been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Star guard Kobe Bryant (ankle) of the Los Angeles Lakers and East All-Star guard Allen Iverson (personal reasons) of the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively, in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas.

Kidd, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time All-NBA First Team selection, will be making his 10th NBA All-Star Game appearance. Lee, in his fifth NBA season, has recorded 30 double-doubles on the season for the Knicks and will be making his first NBA All-Star appearance.

West All-Star head coach George Karl and East All-Star head coach Stan Van Gundy will determine which players will replace Bryant and Iverson in the starting lineup.

The NBA All-Star Game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages worldwide at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 14.