All Star rosters

OK, finally, the 2009 All-Star Game's starters (voted by fans) and reserves (voted by coaches) were determined, as follows:

EAST

Starters:

G Allen Iverson, DET
G Dwyane Wade, MIA
F LeBron James, CLE
F Kevin Garnett, BOS
C Dwight Howard, ORL

I am perfectly fine with the starting lineup except Allen Iverson. I would replace him with Joe Johnson at guard. I am also glad that Yi did not beat out LBJ or KG at forward thereby avoiding all the embarrassment, even though he's injured and would not play even though he's voted as starter.

Reserves:

G Joe Johnson, ATL
G Devin Harris, NJN
G Jameer Nelson, ORL
F Danny Granger, IND
F Rashard Lewis, ORL
F Paul Pierce, BOS
C Chris Bosh, TOR

First, Joe Johnson should have been voted as a starter. Next, at center, Chris Bosh is clearly a no-brainer. Danny Granger is 4th in scoring and is in the top 20 in efficiency. Plus, he's an exciting player to watch. So he is an all-star. As for PP, well, it is kind of understanding that there should be at least 2 representatives from the Celtics' Big Three, so PP should be there. Devin Harris has a breakout season and has been scoring at will while also doing a good job in play making, although his team is not winning. And just like that, basically two guards, two forwards and one center are set.

Now the wild cards, which is also the tricky part. I can understand that, given their record, the Magic should have 2 players in the rosters. But three? That's a bit too much. I love the way Jameer Nelson has improved this season, which is also a major reason why the Magic has become one of the best teams in the league. But if I have to pick an all-star from Orlando, I would have to go for Hedo Turkoglu, who is clearly the team leader and the most versatile. His stats will never stand out but no one can deny that he is the second most important player in the team. Otherwise, I would settle with Rashard Lewis, who is one of the smoothest pure scorers in the league. Either way, I would not have voted for Jameer Nelson. I am not downplaying Nelson's effort, but it is just that both Turkoglu and Lewis deserves more.

And how could you snub Ray Allen? I mean, picking Jameer Nelson ahead of Ray Allen? Ray Ray has always been overlooked in this talented Celtic team, because he seldom handles the ball, his plays are rarely shown in highlights and he does not show much emotion like KG or PP. But he's still one of the top guards and the smoothest shooter in the league, if not in history.

People have been pushing for Mo Williams to be an All-Star, as they consider that the Cavaliers, being the best team in the league, should warrant 2 selections. Yes, Mo is the second best player in the Cavs (but I'm not sure whether it is still true if Ilgauskas was not injured), and yes, his numbers are nice, and for sure his arrival has taken the team to another level. But C'mon, he is far from being an All-Star. Forget it. Are you saying that Mo is better than Devin Harris or Jameer Nelson? Please.


WEST

Starters:

G Chris Paul, NOR
G Kobe Bryant, LAL
F Amare Stoudemire, PHO
F Tim Duncan, SAS
C Yao Ming, HOU

Almost ideal, although I would prefer Dirk Nowitzki to Amare Stoudemire. Yet, finally the fans did come to some sense in the last moment as CP3 just edged out T-mac at guard.

Reserves:

G Chauncey Billups, DEN
G Tony Parker, SAS
G Brandon Roy, POR
F Pau Gasol, LAL
F Dirk Nowitzki, DAL
F David West, NOR
C Shaquille O'Neal, PHO

Most no-brainers here. As I said before, Dirk is having some MVP stats this season (5th in scoring), he should have been voted as starter. Billups has transformed the Nuggets from a borderline playoffs team to now 4th in the West, he clearly deserves it. Roy is the hero of the Blazers and we have seen him singlehandedly winning games for his team like Kobe/Wade, another no-brainer. Gasol is the foruth best forward behind Duncan, Dirk and Amare, and he showed how he could dominate the game when needed, bear in mind that there are not that many players can do that, in particular as a teammate of Kobe. Purely based on production, Al Jefferson can really challenge Shaq at center. However, (1) the Suns are winning way more games than the Wolves; (2) the ASG is playing in Phoenix; and (3) Shaq's reputation and popularity, we have to pick Shaq over Jefferson. Tony Parker is the second best players in the Spurs with 20.5 PPG and 6.5 APG. He's shooting better this season (both FG and FT). He has to be there.

Now here is the controversy. With just one wild card left, who would you pick? The two-time MVP (Steve Nash) but then we will have 3 Suns? The talented scorer (Carmelo Anthony) who deferred his role to the new-coming Billups but who also missed a considerable number of games due to injury? How about the low key PG who is 2nd in assist (Deron Williams)? To me, all three are legitimate choices. If I have to choose, I would go for Deron Williams, as there is no way that the Jazz, who has been playing so well without Boozer, does not have a single representative in the ASG. Plus, I think Deron is really long due.

You may make a case for ex-ROY Kevin Durant too, who is now standing at #6 in scoring and has been shooting way better this season. But I think it is a bit stretch to name him as an All-Star at this point of time. But I do think Durant is a bit underrated after the team moved to Oklahoma City.

But David West? I mean, David freaking West of the Hornets? Yes, he's averaging 20 PPG. Yes, he's the second best player in his team. Yes, he's a talented player with good working ethics. But this year? All-Star? There's no way that he should be picked ahead of Nash, 'Melo or D-Will, however I like him.

New Orleans Hornets @ Cleveland Cavaliers, Fri, Jan 16

A short scouting report on the Hornets:

• Peja was sharp, but was ultra slow on defense.
• CP3 hogged the ball for too long, he’s still a super quick PG who has superb court vision. However, his shots were off, as he was allowed very few open looks under the D of the Cavs.
• David West’s scoring was clearly affected by the Cav's tough D.
• What happened to Tysan Chandler? He was not doing his job grabbing rebounds, while he is ok in defense, he’s extremely passive in offense. At one early possession, he was fronted by Mo Williams(!) several times, unable to settle in a position in the paint and eventually committed an offensive foul by pushing Mo Williams. I mean, losing ground in a post up position to a guy 1 ft shorter than you? WTF?
• Rasual Butler was able to hit some outside shots and played some defense. He is strictly a role player.
• James Posey was MIA (missed in action) the entire game, both offensively and defensively.
• Other bench players? Please.
• One thing is I don’t see CP3 playing much pick-n-roll with the Hornets big men, including Chandler, Varejao or West. I thought pick-n-roll is the lethal weapon of the Hornets. Indeed, late in Q3, when CP3 and West started running high screen roll, it resulted in an easy layup by CP3 and a contested layup by West who drew a foul and completed the And-1. Don’t know why Byron Scott did not run enough of that.
• Otherwise, if they are patient and makes full rotation of the ball with at least 3-4 passes, they could get open looks on the perimeter. Again, don’t know why they didn’t do that often.
• Transition defense is questionable. Worse, they were defenseless on the perimeter, allowing the Cavs to hit 3s at will. Pavlovic hitting 4-for-4 and Szczerbiak 4-for-5 from beyond the arc? C'mon!
• As usual, they were helpless defending LeBron James. Who isn’t anyway?
• The Hornets were so frustrated that eventually Paul and Posey were ejected late in the game.
• The Hornets were simply outplayed by the Cavs and that they didn't show any energy in the game. Give credits to the Cavs' superior defense and their sky-high confidence. This is even more impressive considering that the Cavs were without Delonte West and Big Z Ilgauskas. Based on this game, the Hornets do not look like a title contender and they are not as powerful as last year. I'm not sure it's the superiority of the Cavs or just that the Hornets were not yet there. They will not even go to the Conference Finals by playing like this.

ex-NBA players in CBA

Just read from the news that former NBA player Bonzi “Bad Boy” Wells is playing in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He joined Shanxi Zhongyu in December 2008. Arguably the best former NBA player ever played in the CBA, Bonzi Wells made an immediate impact upon his arrival. In his CBA debut on 20 Dec, he scored 48 pts, shooting 17-37 FG, hit 5 3-pters, grabbed 11 reb and had 7 stls as the Shanxi Zhongyu beat Tianjin Ronggang 107-106. On Dec 28, he had a season high of 52 pts (also 14 rebs) and led the Shanxi Zhongyu to beat Fujian SBS in OT. He’s averaging 32.6 pts and 9.4 reb so far this season. He immediately became a fan favorite. The Shanxi fans even chanted “hallelujah” whenever he made a slam dunk at home, meaning that Wells is their “savior” who resurrects the team. Since his arrival, the team has won 6 of the 10 games he played.

According to news, Bonzi Wells gained his fame in China while playing with Yao in Houston.

More on Shanxi Zhongyu: Based in Taiyuan, Shanxi, the team finished dead last (16th) in the CBA last season and are now comfortably at 6th with a 14-11 record. They made some huge investment during the off season, hired former Sonics head coach Bob Weiss as the new head coach, and acquired another ex-NBA player, Olumide Oyedeji , a 6’10” center from Nigeria who was with Sonics and Magic in the early 2000s. The presence of Oyedeji and Weiss certainly made Wells’ transition from NBA to CBA much easier.

Seems like the CBA is quite a viable option for ex-NBA players. As of now, there are quite a number of ex-NBA players playing in the NBA, including:

• SG Kirk Snyder (Jazz, Hornets, Rockets), now with Zhejian Horses
• C David Harrison (Pacers), now with Beijing Ducks
• SF Mike Harris (Rockets), now with Dongguan New Century
• PF Chris Porter (Warriors), now with Fujian SBS

The latest news is that former NBA journeyman, PG Smush Parker (Cavs, Pistons, Suns, Lakers, Heat, Clippers) has signed with the CBA defending champion Guangdong Hongyuan, Yi’s former team, and will join the team this month. He was one of the better known foreign players in CBA mainly because he once played with Kobe in LA.

• CBA website

Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers, Fri, Jan 9 2009

a scouting report on both teams:

Cleveland Cavaliers

• LeBron played like a MVP. He’s completely smooth. He didn’t force any moves or shots, but just following the flow. Seems like he’s come to a stage that he would let the game come to him. He’s unstoppable when penetrating, splitting double team easily. He hitall the shots. layups, floaters, 3s and fadaways, even when there’s a hand on his face. He played hard, even diving for loose balls; and most important of all, he played excellent defense, esp. against Paul Pierce, both pick-n-roll and iso situations. Oh, and he hustled for blocks too! In the past, people (including yours truly) always complained about his defense, but apparently he has put considerable works on that, studied enough films and apparently he played like a terrific defender. Or maybe it’s just this game, as he said beforehand that he had circled this date right when the schedule come out. Simply put, he wanted to win this game badly and he for sure gave his best.


• Mo Williams is an amazing scoring threat. He hit some tough shots.


• Varejao was surprisingly aggressive in offense, but his moves and shots were just too ugly to watch. As usual, he hustled a lot, grabbed rebounds and made some good defense by flopping.


• Delonte West did a passable job as a role player. He facilitated the offense, hit open shots and palyed defense.


• Once again, Big Ben is completely washed out.


• The bench (Boobie Gibson, J.J. Hickson, Wally Szczerbiak) was their weakest link. The Cs were able to outscore the Cavs whenever their starters (in particular LBJ) sat. They missed “Big Z” Ilgauskas badly, since they had to rely on J.J. Hickson as backup big man.


• The Cavs played with energy and were 100% focused. They played with confidence and were determined. While the Cavs didn’t need to worry about offense when LBJ was basically scoring at will anywhere on the court, it is their stellar defense that won the game. As said, LBJ played first class defense on PP, in addition, the Cavs was very aggressive guarding the perimeter, challenging shots and shut out passing lanes. They had terrific defense rotation and stole many balls while the Cs were definitely over-passing. As always, defense won games.

Boston Celtics

• PP was fully covered by LBJ, ended up forcing shots and drives. He was also careless with the ball, letting the ball being stolen several times (esp. by LBJ). He was also helpless defending LBJ. Don’t blame him, LBJ was simply superman tonight.


• KG played hard and did a good job in rebounding. However, except for a few nice lob passes from Rondo resulting in dunks and easy layups early on, for most of the game, KG always settled for outside jumpers. Give credits to the Cavs’ tight defense which made him hard to stay in the paint.


• As usual, Ray Allen hit his outside shots. Arguably, he’s the best among the Big Three.


• Rondo was terrific in running offense and finding open teammates. His court vision is superb. He played ok defense too and rebounded well as a guard. However, he simply couldn’t shoot, be it a layup, an open J or even FT.


• Kendrick Perkins benefitted from the nice passing job of Rondo and scored some easy layups in the paint. However, he is slow in defense rotation, letting the Cavs’ big penetrating at will, and even grabbing offensive rebounds.


• The Celtics’ bench was actually ok and arguably won the battle against the second team of the Cavs. I like Leon Powe. But they would love to have James Posey to guard LBJ!


• Overall, the Celtics were severely bothered by the defense of the Cavs. Their reaction to such top notch defense is over-passing. And when they lost their confidence, they started to look tentative. On defense, they have no clue to slow down LBJ and were slow in defense rotation. They didn’t play with their usual intensity in defense. They clearly were outplayed, out-hustled and outscored by the Cavs. They were so desperate that they resolved to do the Hack-a-Ben (Wallce) strategy late in Q4! What a shame!

Conclusion

• From the bottom of my heart, I don’t believe the Celtics are as lousy as this game shows, nor the Cavs are so superb as this game shows. Afterall, it’s just one out of 82 regular season games. However, the domination by the Cavs in this game will for sure have some not-so-small psychological factor when the two teams inevitably meet in the playoffs.

December monthly review

EAST

Atlanta:

• The Celtics ended their 19-game winning streak with two consecutive losses one to the Lakers in the Christmas Showdown and one to the lowly Warriors, and then ended the year with yet another loss in Portland. At 28-5, they are still on pace to win 70 games this season, but we can simply stop all the invincibility talks. We have seen their weaknesses: one is the relaxed defense, probably due to complacency and cockiness, which can easily be corrected; another one is the thin bench, which is a more critical issue to be dealt with. (Posey, anyone?)



• The once surprising teams, the Knicks and the Nets, gradually came back to reality. Say whatever you want about D’Antoni, but let’s face it, with such a roster, there’s no way that they can have a winning record, no matter how pedestrians like Duhon, Harrington and Nate Robinson, have been posting stats like all-stars. As for the Nets, please, other than Devin Harris and Vince, they have no one else scoring. How could you expect a team which starts Bob Simmons, Yi and rookie Brook Lopez in the frontcourt to win? And please, NO NOT VOTE FOR YI!



• Sam Mitchell was fired, and the Raptors kept on losing. Well, at least I can see some improvement here: that the Raptors had fewer blowout losses under Jay Triano. They need to play some real defense in order to win.

Central:

• The Cavs managed to blow out opponents early in December but gradually fell back to reality around Christmas, when they narrowly escaped a win over the Wizards at home. They finished the year with the second best record in the league, but I think the record is inflated because their opponents this month were just too weak (other than the wins over the Nuggets and the Rockets). If they are smart, the loss in Miami should serve as a wakeup call to this arrogant bunch. People say LBJ’s defense has improved substantially. I would love to see how good it is but I have yet to watch a Cavs game.



• The Pistons finished the year with a 5-game winning streak, last three of which without Rip Ham. In Dec, the Pistons had one subtle but crucial move: they re-signed Antonio McDyess. With Dice on the bench, they could afford to start Rodney Stuckey at PG, and shift Iverson, which had been struggling to pretend to be a PG, to his natural SG position and Rip Ham at SF. Furthermore, the Pistons are now dangling with the idea of starting Amir Johnson and let Rip Ham (when he comes back from injury) come off the bench. This would (1) size up their frontcourt and (2) further boost up their bench scoring. I like this idea and I’m seeing the Pistons to get better in 2009.



• We saw Derrick Rose’s scoring and FG% came off in Dec, as the opponents no longer gave him any rookie treatment and focused on stopping him. Maybe it’s time for him to learn to run the offense and focus on passing.

Southeast:

• Orlando Magic has quietly posting up wins after wins and recently people start talk about them being included in the Elite Four (Celtics, Cavaliers, Lakers and Magic). Their point-differential (+7.4) was the fourth best in the League. They put up some quality wins in Dec, over the Lakers, the Spurs, the Blazers and the Hornets. Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis have been scoring at will. Stan Van Gundy for COY?



• Atlanta Hawks has become the Giant-beater in Dec. During the month, they beat the Cavs, the Nuggets, the Heat and narrowly lost to the Celtics. No. 4 in the East and a 21-10 record sounds a bit surreal to them. To maintain their standing, they must continue playing hard to fend off any challenge from the Pistons. Last but not least: Joe Johnson for All-Star!



• Don’t get over-hyped by their win over the Cavs in New Year Eve, the Heat is still a mediocre team with two rookies starting and is severely undersized. I like the idea of benching Beasley and starting Joel Anthony at C. They will see a tough January schedule which features a 7-game road trip and also meetings with the Magic, the Nuggets, the Lakers, the Celtics, the Hawks and the Mavs. D-Wade has been playing like a MVP but will never win the award.

WEST

Northwest:

• The Nuggets are leading the division, but I have yet to be convinced that they are an elite team. I don’t see any quality players after Billups, ‘Melo and Nene. J.R. Smith has been hitting 3s of late but he’s too one-dimensional. Now tied with the Spurs and the Rockets at #3 in the West and after Billups’ honeymoon period of, I expect them to fall in 2009.



• The Blazers are just 1/2 game behind the Nuggets in the division. None of the games speak louder than their win over the Celtics at home on Dec 30. Without Brandon Roy, no less. While Roy is a locked All-Star, they have LaMarcus Aldridge as a not-so-small second banana. Oden’s minutes (and therefore his production) have increased recently and he played all games in Dec. Glad that he looks healthy so far.



• The Jazz has been badly hit by injuries. First Boozer, then Okur (now back), now Millsap. Kudos to the team hanging tough (now at #9 in the West) despite all these. Boozer will undergo microscopic surgery on his left knee and will be out for at least a month. Before the surgery, Boozer vowed to test the free agent market this summer. Now, how much would he be worth after the knee surgery? Did anyone say “karma”? I will never forgive him leaving Cleveland.

Pacific:

• Yes, the back-to-back losses in Florida (Miami and Orlando) are unforgivable, but the Lakers looked real impressive in the Christmas Showdown against the Celtics. Their defense remains questionable, yet they are the most talented and versatile team in the league. As proven earlier in Nov (and the recent game against the Celtics), they could stop opponents when they were determined to do so. Mark your diary: Jan 19, LBJ & the Cavs are visting La La land.



• At 18-12, you could hardly say that the Suns are “struggling”, but the cold fact is that they are 8th in the West with just 1/2 game over the Jazz. Yes, you can argue that they are just 2 games behind the #2 Hornets too. Anyway, the trade for J-Rich has addressed their need of perimeter scoring. They now have an upper hand to keep their playoff berth over the Mavs and the Jazz.



• I will never forgive the Warriors losing to the team-formerly-known-as-Sonics. C’mon, they are trying to make history by losing more than 71 games!

Southwest:

• The Southwest remains the toughest division in the league. Right now it features 4 teams which are on pace to win 50 games (Hornets, Spurs, Rockets and Mavs), and are just 2 games apart. The Hornets improved from 9-6 in Nov to finish at 19-9, thanks to a rather easy schedule. The two ugly losses against the Lakers and in Orlando around Christmas sure have raised some red flags for the second best team in the West. We have yet to see a completely healed Tysan Chandler.



• To say I’m worried about the Spurs is an understatement. As impressive as their record (20-11, tied 3rd best in the West) shows, they were just 4-3 against teams with winning record in Dec. They had unconvincing wins over weak teams like Wolves, Raptors, team-formerly-known-as-Sonics and Grizzlies (double OT at home), and an ugly loss to the visiting Bucks which allowed Andrew “white stiff” Bogut to have 20 pts and 14 rebs. Their point-differential of +3.1 is actually worse than that of the Nugget, Rockets, Blazer and Jazz. They will be seeing a lot of road games in the next couple of months including their famous Rodeo Road Trip in February. Now Oberto is injured, sigh!



• The Rockets had only one quality win (over the Nuggets) in Dec, which required a triple-double from T-Mac and a 32-pt effort by Yao. Then they strangely lost to the Grizzlies and Wizards. That’s why I’m always hesitant to name them as an elite team. They will start the year with a 5-game road trip, with meetings with the Hawks and the Celtics, followed by a 5-game homestand featuring 4 winning teams: the Lakers, the Heat, the Nuggets and the Jazz. Let’s see if we can tell who they are after that.



• Like the Hornets and the Spurs, the Mavericks benefited from a soft Dec schedule to end the year with a respectable 19-12 record. Of course, the absence of Josh Howard from late Nov to early Dec hurts, but still it’s beyond comprehension to be down by 29 pts against the Wolves at home and then needed some superhuman moment by Jason Terry to rally and win.