(Editor's note: I am sick of crusading for Josh Smith to make the All Star squad, so I'll let the crew do it for me.)
QUESTION: OK. Snubberies and shamockeries. Don’t hold back.
SANDY DOVER: BROOK LOPEZ and PAUL PIERCE. Had the annually-vulnerable Lopez not fallen, Avery Johnson would not have been slain. That’s a fact. He is the reason the usually-lowly Nets are third in the East, that’s that. Paul Pierce is the entire reason that the Celtics are scoring anything this year, despite having to fight off the funk of losing Jesus. He’s an All-Star, that’s not just what he is, it’s who he is.
And how did Stephen Curry get lost, but LaMarcus Aldridge get on? Aldridge isn’t even better than the rookie on his own squad. LMA is a weak man’s Kevin Garnett (who should not have been voted on as a starter, by the way) and is whiny about playing the post. The only Trail Blazer that had a real deserving shot to play is Damian Lillard.
And for all of the past knuckleheadness of Earl Joseph, J.R. Smith is an All-Star. That’s just the real business. He earned it, he deserved it, and he should be honored appropriately.
J.R. GAMBLE: Just got off the phone with Phife Dawg from ATCQ, who lives in Oaktown. His block is "hot" the voters fronted on Steph Curry. Cats at the late-night barbershop are like "WTF…21 and 7 is Isaiah Thomas numbers." I respect the passion, but don't really see any snubs. I see cats like Curry who got crunched by the numbers, but Tony Parker is a legendary player who is also flashing heat (19.8 ppg), and Durant and Westbrook are married with children, "you can't have one without the other."
Spoke with Prodigy from Mobb too, he was riffing about Jrue Holiday making it over Smith, whose having a solid year (16.7 ppg) and his thug appeal is off the chain, but doesn't start. Holiday is dropping nine dimes and more points. Maybe Lopez should get burn over Noah, but when your center can't get you at least eight boards a night…well, in the words of Flava Flave, "I can't do nothing for ya man."
BTW…Aldridge was owed this one for past snubs.
MICHAEL TILLERY: What the hell did Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford do wrong? Integral cogs for winning teams. Talked to Josh so many times about this and just last year, Ron Glover of The Starting Five asked Smoove if snubs motivate: “Well, I’m self-motivated so I really don’t need any added motivation, because I know the importance of how much my team needs me.” Yo Josh, forget that BS. Get angry. Tell somebody to kiss your something or black other. Saying nothing isn’t working? You’ve been Atlanta’s best performer for how many years? C’mon, fam. Is this what you want your legacy to be? Secondly, JCrossover is made for ASW. The basketball killer is one of my fav cats in the league. I call Crawford Hunger for the 6th. He and Josh are putting up the same ppg. Put these brothas on the wall, please. This is ridiculous.
DJ DUNSON: Life is good on the Bay right now, but everybody can’t qualify for the NBA’s ultimate Playaz Club. Stephen Curry is having an awesome season, but so are Golden State’s other guards Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack. On the other hand, David Lee has led the Warriors transformation from the league’s worst rebounding units into a top five cleanup crew, without Andrew Bogut.
Oakland native Damian Lillard has been doing his thing in the great Northwest but West Coast bias doesn’t explain the Lillard snub. There is a rookie hierarchy that takes years to ascend. Chris Paul didn’t earn his first All-Star bid until year three and the last rookie guard to earn an All-Star bid was an M. Jeffrey Jordan . Lillard is nice, but he’s no Jordan or James. Conversely, the East lacks offensive fireworks in the post, but defensive shot blocking dynamos Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler are gonna make one hell of a SWAT team.
KEVIN COTTRELL: I’m not sure who was snubbed worse Warriors G Stephen Curry, Hawks F Josh Smith or Dwight Howard in the Lakers offense! Okay, that’s too easy, but, in terms of All-Star snubs, Curry and Smith have to be on the teams. Despite the departure of Joe Johnson, the Hawks are still six games above .500, mainly because of J-Smoove’s ability to fill up a stat sheet. As for GSW, where would they be without the 20.9 ppg, 6.6 apg and 45.1 3P percentage that Curry brings on a nightly basis? Oh yeah, perennial losers. Remember the Warriors brought in Andrew Bogut to be the difference? Whatever. The difference has been Curry and a healthy pair of ankles. At the halfway point, GSW is on pace to win 52 games. The last time that happened Steph was 4-years-old watching his Dad compete in the 1992 three-point contest.
VINNIE GOODWILL: I know he’s a borderline knucklehead and he did the fool on Larry Drew, but let’s not act like the All-Star game is the MLB Hall of Fame here. Josh Smith’s numbers say he’s an All-Star, but when you have the reputation he has, then you’ll get the shaft. The ONLY guy who fills up a stat sheet the way Smoove (16/8/3.9 asts/2blks) does is LeBron. And if we’re talking Lifetime Achievement Awards, then Josh has been one for years; And Barkley’s right about Steph Curry. The coldest shooter this side of Dell, if you’re naming the top 12 players in the West, you’d better bring his name up. I’m not sure I’m bringing up David Lee; and, bottom line, the coaches felt compelled to put two Spurs on the list. Everything revolves around Timmy, still.
NUBYJAS WILBORN: LeBron James didn’t make the All-Star team as a rookie so Dame Lilliard can wait a year. Jamal Crawford was robbed. I know he comes off the bench and is a one-dimensional player, but his scoring is prolific and the Clippers aren’t nearly as good without him. Josh Smith deserves to be an All-Star. If 17 points, four dimes, nine boards and two blocks a night aren’t All-Star quality, then I don’t know what is.
MAURICE BOBB: The whole All Star selection process is as jacked up as a soup sandwich. It’s a straight up crime that Stephen Curry was left off the West’s All Star reserves. What the hell does he have to do to make the team? LaMarcus Aldridge’s numbers are solid, but no way he should’ve gotten the nod over Steph. Then there’s J Crossover. Dude is ballin’ like no one I’ve ever seen coming off the pine. I would have loved to see him make it to H-Town. As for the East? Jrue Holiday’s having a great year, but head to head, I’d have given the nod to Brandon Jennings. The Nets are a sh*t show, but Brook Lopez deserved consideration over Deng? And I see everyone’s championing J Smoove, but for my money, he’s just not an All Star. If there was another open spot in the East, JR Smith would get my vote.
