The Orlando Magic's Lone Deserving All-Star
by erivera7 on Jan 22, 2010 8:00 AM EST
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PrintYesterday, the NBA announced that the fans had voted Dwight Howard to start at center for the Eastern Conference in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, which will mark his third consecutive start and fourth consecutive appearance overall. Briefly, and I covered this indirectly in a post I made a few days ago, I wanted to take a look at the numbers to see if Howard is deserving of the honor (of starting, to be specific) and whether or not another Magic player merits a spot on the All-Star roster as a reserve. Last year, Orlando sent a franchise-most three players (Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson) to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix. Will it be a similar case this year? Perhaps the better question is, should it be?
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference posted a similar breakdown, so I apologize in advance if some of this is re-hashed material.
Click after the jump for the results.
Position ranking in the East is in parentheses.
| Dwight Howard | |
| Games Played | 42 |
| Minutes Played | 34.6 |
| 1 year adj. plus/minus | +11.92 (3rd) |
| net plus/minus | +16.4 (2nd) |
| statistical plus/minus | +6.20 (1st) |
| PER | 22.83 (1st) |
| WARP | 8.7 (1st) |
| Win Shares | 6.19 (1st) |
Is Howard deserving of the honor? In short, yes. What separates Howard from the other centers in the Eastern Conference is his defense. Despite the Magic's well-documented struggles, the team is ranked 6th in Defensive Rating and that's no thanks in large part to Howard's efforts on the defensive side of the ball. Is he giving the same Herculean effort on defense and playing at the level he was last year? Some would say no, but it doesn't change the fact that Howard is the best center in the Association despite a dip in production (on offense, mostly) when comparing this season to last season.
It's as simple as that.
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I agree!!!
I agree and I did not vote for any of them except Howard. Some did not deserve to be on the list in the first place. I have read about our “All-Stars” and I keep saying they are “has been” but not today. MJ was an All-Star but today he is a has been. The Magic does not have 4 All-Stars on the team. Sorry “has been”.
I agree, there are much more deserving guys in the East
Everybody’s numbers are down and all of our other top guys have missed time.
One Freaken Second
The main reason is that they haven't played particularly well, not because they missed time.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Only Howard deserves it this year
But that left me wondering who really would make the cut on the east all-star team. The east seems particularly weak on guards.
I guess you have Wade and AI starting at guards, but your reserves are…? The only really deserving PG is Rondo. At SG, you pretty much have to go with Joe Johnson. A case can be made for Igoudala as well, but thats about as far as you can go. How many reserves are there again?
Rondo should have started at point guard.
Joe Johnson, statistically, is the only other deserving guard.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Seven
Which usually boils down to a second starting 5, then a “small” and a “big”.
Starters should have been Rondo and Wade…after that, Joe Johnson is a given but otherwise, you can make a case for a lot of players.
by eltharion_doa on Jan 23, 2010 1:15 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed, only Dwight should be on there.
In fact, I don’t think there should be more than one All-Star for Boston or Cleveland either, although Rondo will make it (he should’ve been a starter, not KG, as much as I can’t stand Rondo). Atlanta has more deserving All-Stars than the other “Big 3” currently. Bosh, Wallace, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, I’m struggling to think of any other deserving All-Stars in the East. Oh, well I guess Pierce too, which would unfortunately give Boston 3 All-Stars.
Heres who should get the remaining spots for the East:
Joe Johnson (should start)
Chis Bosh
Rondo
Stephen Jackson
Brook Lopez
Paul Pierce
Gerald Wallace/ Josh Smith
Derrick Rose replacing AI
Lopez probably won’t make it because he is on the Nets, but he is the second best 5 in the East. I think Jackson really should go, he has turned the Bobcats around. Mo Williams, Shaq, Vince, or Rashard might also make it based on team records.
I agree about Jackson to an extent.
Lopez is probably the 2nd best center in the East, but yeah, 3 wins. I forgot about Rose, but even with his sluggish start, he’s coming on strong lately.
Jackson and Rose are terribly underwhelming, when looking at their numbers.
Neither of them are deserving of consideration.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
According to the numbers ..
Johnson (at G), Bosh (at F), Rondo (at G), Wallace (at F), Smith (at F), Lee/Horford (at C), and unfortunately, there’s not another guard that deserves a spot but there needs to be one more.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Correct.
Jackson, Lopez, Pierce, and Rose don’t deserve a spot, according to the numbers. I don’t look at team records, by the way. I think that’s an unfair standard, in my opinion.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
The spot has to go to someone, though.
And to be clear, I do not think Rose should make it, he is just more deserving than AI.
DeShawn Stevenson, with a PER of 3.7 (I'm not lying).
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I agree about Jackson, but Rose has been playing better as his ankle has gotten better.
Deng has probably been better overall this season, but I just can’t see him making an All-Star team.
I don't care, Rose's numbers are nowhere close to being All-Star caliber.
And I live in Chicago, which means I have a natural bias towards him as a player.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
If only
David Stern would wise up and replace AI from the all-stars with someone more deserving like say Joe Johnson or Rajon Rondo, and change the whole process. Right now, it’s a joke and a popularity contest to be a starter on the All-Stars. And the people who voted for Allen Iverson, should feel ashamed for living in the past, and not in the moment.
He's doing little shimmies. Jump hooks with the left hand, jump hooks with the right hand. - Brandon Roy on Greg Oden
They will never change it
1st off, I agree with you.
But strictly from a Business stand point the NBA likes the Idea of putting the control into the fans.
and the Fans think they are special.
Everyone wins.
And given the way the Magic’s season is going, It will be good for 3 former all stars to sit home and watch where they might have been had they played a little better.
Talking out my ass about the last part, but as far as fan voting goes, its here to stay.
"Memphis then used a pick-and-roll to get Conley free and he drove past Shaquille O'Neal for the go-ahead layup."
The NBA All-Star game is in a better place than the Pro-Bowl.
It’s unfortunate that something like this happens (AI and KG starting), but it’s the way it is, and I’m hesitant to change it. It’s an exhibition, and if 1 or 2 out of 10 aren’t right once a year, there are worse things that can happen. Most All-Star games are entertaining regardless of who starts, and I’m pretty sure AI will still be somewhat entertaining, because he usually just likes to give out dimes in those games.
Johnson shouldn't start.
No to Jackson (he hasn’t turned the Bobcats around), Lopez, Pierce, or Rose. Williams, O’Neal, Carter, and Lewis all do not deserve to be named All-Stars and probably won’t, but who knows at this point.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
You do not think Johnson is the second best guard in the east?
I know Johnson won’t start, but he should. He is the second most deserving guard in the east. When you look at the east, these really are the most deserving guys.
No, Rondo is better than him.
It should be Rondo/Wade (but it’s not), with Johnson as a reserve.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Just refer to Neil Paine's post and you have a list right there.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
It just seems like the East has a bunch of borderline All-Stars.
No one outside of a few that are certainly deserving.
It's not too hard to fill out the roster in the Eastern Conference with deserving guys.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
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