All Star injury replacements (Part Duex)

[Lurker]

Nash announced yesterday & Iverson today that they would not participate in the all star game.  This opens up 2 spots on the west roster.  Who gets the spots?  Do you give it to 2 guards?  Or to the two most deserving players regardless of position?



My answer to follow....

[Reality]

Eva Longoria and Miss USA.

[westkoast]

Wouldnt you only be able to give it to guards technically?

I can't really think who I would toss on the team with those two being gone.  I can't think of an all-star quality PG in the WC that deserves to go.

[rickortreat]

IMO it has to be two guards.  If Nash and AI aren't going, then it should be the two next best guards in the West.  I'd go with Deron Williams and Ray Allen.

[westkoast]

IMO it has to be two guards.  If Nash and AI aren't going, then it should be the two next best guards in the West.  I'd go with Deron Williams and Ray Allen.

Deron Williams would be a good choice.  He slipped out of my mind.

Ray Allen? Not a good choice IMO.  He stinks and so does his team.

[Lurker]

IMO it should be two guards but I don't think that it has to be.  Stern didn't replace Yao with another center but with a SF.  So based on that I would assume that it could be the 2 best players.

But I agree that it should be 2 guards.  And based on that I think it should be 2 of these 3:  Williams, Ginobili, Terry.  Homer in me of course feels Manu deserves to be included.  But I would be happy with any 2 of those 3.

[westkoast]

IMO it should be two guards but I don't think that it has to be.  Stern didn't replace Yao with another center but with a SF.  So based on that I would assume that it could be the 2 best players.

But I agree that it should be 2 guards.  And based on that I think it should be 2 of these 3:  Williams, Ginobili, Terry.  Homer in me of course feels Manu deserves to be included.  But I would be happy with any 2 of those 3.

I def think those 3 are pretty good choices.

IMO after Rick bringing it up I am going to be very disapointed if it is not Deron Williams.  Cant believe I spaced when I was trying to think what guards should replace those two.  Deron has been the best/most consistant PG in the WC behind Steve Nash.

[rickortreat]

Ray Allen is the third highest scoring guard in the West behind, AI and Kobe.  That's why I chose him as a replacement for AI.  Deron is a real point with an assist stat that shows he deserves it.   

It's not Ray's fault that he's on a dysfunctional team that's only gotten worse since they got rid of Karl.

[westkoast]

Ray Allen is the third highest scoring guard in the West behind, AI and Kobe.  That's why I chose him as a replacement for AI.  Deron is a real point with an assist stat that shows he deserves it.   

It's not Ray's fault that he's on a dysfunctional team that's only gotten worse since they got rid of Karl.

All Ray Allen does is shoot jump shots though.  He is a bonafide one-dimensional player.    Whereas someone like a Manu does it all.  Terry is on a much better team and practically is the same as Ray Allen except for the fact that he can't dominate the ball as he has plenty of scorers on his team.

[rickortreat]

That's a fair criticism of Ray Allen, but out of all of them, he is the purest shooter available, and he has been there before.

Manu is certainly a much more active player on both ends, but for some reason, I just don't see him as an All-Star.  I do like his game very much though- he's very disruptive to other team's defense. Maybe if I saw his play more often, I'd give him the nod.

Jason Terry is also a reasonable choice, and he might have an average equal to Allen's if he didn't have to share the ball with Stackhouse, Howard and Nowitsky. But he came up very small in the playoffs last year with Miami when it counted the most, so I don't see him as being worthy of being an All-Star.

[westkoast]

That's a fair criticism of Ray Allen, but out of all of them, he is the purest shooter available, and he has been there before.

Manu is certainly a much more active player on both ends, but for some reason, I just don't see him as an All-Star.  I do like his game very much though- he's very disruptive to other team's defense. Maybe if I saw his play more often, I'd give him the nod.

Jason Terry is also a reasonable choice, and he might have an average equal to Allen's if he didn't have to share the ball with Stackhouse, Howard and Nowitsky. But he came up very small in the playoffs last year with Miami when it counted the most, so I don't see him as being worthy of being an All-Star.

Jason Terry actually kept them close in the first two games and was MONEY in the playoffs up until the finals.  I think Dirk's choking was the key factor not Terry busting out.

Manu to me is disruptive on the defensive end and is versatile on the offensive end.  Whereas Ray Allen shoots jump shots and rarely ever slashes.  We won't even talk about his defense.   I see him (Manu) as an all-star caliber player but I guess his injuries this year could hurt his chances.  Manu's floppiness  bothers me but I can admit that he is an all-star caliber player.

Ever since Ray Allen cried about Bruce Bowen and got his buddy Stu Jackson to do something about it I haven't cared for him all that much.  He is a great pure shooter but I think there are a few players more deserving.

Let's start the phillyarena Deron Williams replacement march!

[rickortreat]

Just take a look at the box score of Game 6 of the Finals.  Dirk put up 29 pts. in that game. Stackhouse, Howard and Terry all shot 30% in that game.  That's why they lost.  Remember the score was 95-92.  Dallas shouldn't be scoring below 100- no matter what the other team does.  They were up 2-0 on Miami and lost their nerve, but not Dirk!

Dirk is an absolute stud in the NBA, best three-point shooter and he's 7 ft. Very deserving of consideration as MVP, and would be if his team backed him up last season.

Dirk can't say anything about this- he can't talk about his teammates that way, but I can!

[Lurker]

Boy we we wrong...

Ray Allen & Mehmet Okur are named as replacements.

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Seattle's Ray Allen and Utah's Mehmet Okur were chosen Tuesday by commissioner David Stern as injury replacements for the All-Star Game.

With Steve Nash (shoulder) and Allen Iverson (ankle) both pulling out of Sunday's game in Las Vegas, the Western Conference was in need of a guard. Allen is seventh in the league with 26.9 points per game.

Okur's clutch late-game play has helped Utah keep rolling despite the absence of Carlos Boozer, who was chosen for the All-Star Game but also was forced to pull out because of a hairline fracture in his leg. That had left the Jazz, whose 34-17 record is third-best in the league, without a player in Sunday's game.

Allen is headed to his fourth straight All-Star Game and seventh overall. Okur is a first-time selection.

"It's always a great honor to represent my team and our city at the All-Star Game," Allen said. "As an athlete, I cherish these opportunities to be recognized along with the league's best and to continue the Sonics' proud All-Star tradition."

Besides Nash, Iverson and Boozer, Yao Ming of Houston also had to pull out. New Jersey guard Jason Kidd is going to miss the next two games with a strained lower back, but the Nets didn't say if he would play Sunday.

Also, the NBA announced that Hornets point guard Chris Paul will replace Nash in the Skills competition on Saturday night.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[westkoast]

Boy we we wrong...

Ray Allen & Mehmet Okur are named as replacements.

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Seattle's Ray Allen and Utah's Mehmet Okur were chosen Tuesday by commissioner David Stern as injury replacements for the All-Star Game.

With Steve Nash (shoulder) and Allen Iverson (ankle) both pulling out of Sunday's game in Las Vegas, the Western Conference was in need of a guard. Allen is seventh in the league with 26.9 points per game.

Okur's clutch late-game play has helped Utah keep rolling despite the absence of Carlos Boozer, who was chosen for the All-Star Game but also was forced to pull out because of a hairline fracture in his leg. That had left the Jazz, whose 34-17 record is third-best in the league, without a player in Sunday's game.

Allen is headed to his fourth straight All-Star Game and seventh overall. Okur is a first-time selection.

"It's always a great honor to represent my team and our city at the All-Star Game," Allen said. "As an athlete, I cherish these opportunities to be recognized along with the league's best and to continue the Sonics' proud All-Star tradition."

Besides Nash, Iverson and Boozer, Yao Ming of Houston also had to pull out. New Jersey guard Jason Kidd is going to miss the next two games with a strained lower back, but the Nets didn't say if he would play Sunday.

Also, the NBA announced that Hornets point guard Chris Paul will replace Nash in the Skills competition on Saturday night.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Nope we weren't wrong...David Stern was!

[Skandery]

Look at just statistics and Okur over Deron Williams makes sense.  Look at the overall picture and it doesn't make much sense at all.




I think Stern knows Deron Williams will be in the Sophomore-Rookie game anyway so he left him off.  Man the Sophomore's are just gonna KILL the rooks!