http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12106389p-12976346c.html
No Kings are close enough to be chosen as starters, but some might make it as coach-picked reserves.
[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 22, 2005
Voting for the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star Game ends Sunday, then the phases of agony and ecstasy likely will begin for the Kings. [/font]
An unusual set of circumstances figures to make things difficult for Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Brad Miller and Mike Bibby as it pertains to being selected for the game that will be played in Denver.
OAS_AD('Button20');The five starters for each conference will be chosen in fan voting that can be done in 19 languages on the NBA.com network, wireless downloadable ballots and even in select movie theaters. Fans can also vote in Foot Locker and Champs Sports stores, as well as all 29 NBA and six National Basketball Developmental League arenas.
None of the Kings is close enough in fan voting to be chosen as a starter.
However, when the league coaches decide the other seven players for each squad, they don't have to vote by position. So Houston's Yao Ming, the current leader in votes received, conceivably could be the only center on the roster.
Miller, who likely would be ticketed as Yao's backup on the team, could be bypassed by a number of superb forwards in the Western Conference, most of whom are probably playing better than he is.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and San Antonio's Tim Duncan are the West's leading vote-getters at forward, but consider the other players against Webber and Stojakovic will vie for a spot: Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki (the NBA's third-leading scorer); Phoenix's Amare Stoudamire (the fourth-leading scorer, who plays primarily at center); Phoenix's Shawn Marion (nearly 20 points per game and the seventh-leading rebounder).
Portland's Zach Randolph, Seattle's Rashard Lewis and Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand also deserve consideration, although during the past two weeks, few in the league at any position have played at as high a level as Webber. Additionally, Stojakovic, despite a slow start, has been quietly steady. His 45 percent field-goal shooting (39 percent from three-point range) would qualify as a solid season for most but is below the 48 percent and 43.3 percent standards he set in 2003-04.
Certainly, Stoudamire and Marion will receive extra support because their team has been the league's best throughout the season's first half, even with the recent drought.
Kings coach Rick Adelman said he hasn't yet begun to look at the All-Star candidates beyond the starters, who will be announced Thursday, Feb. 3. He might want to get to the list pretty soon, because it's not totally inconceivable he could be coaching this team. It's not likely because San Antonio, Phoenix and Seattle all have better records than the Kings (27-11), but Sacramento will have opportunities to rise over the next week with two games against the Spurs and one against Seattle.
Bibby's case is a little different. Houston's Tracy McGrady and the L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant are the league's leading vote-getters at guard in the West.
If it were strictly on performance, Phoenix's Steve Nash and Seattle's Ray Allen have been on far more successful teams this season and probably have been more effective than either of those slated to start.
That's four guards unless injuries to Bryant and/or Nash linger. Bibby, therefore, likely would be in contention with San Antonio's Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. "It all depends on what coaches look for," Adelman said. "Hopefully, because we've been winning that will help some of our guys. But you never know."
No Kings are close enough to be chosen as starters, but some might make it as coach-picked reserves.
[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 22, 2005
Voting for the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star Game ends Sunday, then the phases of agony and ecstasy likely will begin for the Kings. [/font]
An unusual set of circumstances figures to make things difficult for Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Brad Miller and Mike Bibby as it pertains to being selected for the game that will be played in Denver.
OAS_AD('Button20');The five starters for each conference will be chosen in fan voting that can be done in 19 languages on the NBA.com network, wireless downloadable ballots and even in select movie theaters. Fans can also vote in Foot Locker and Champs Sports stores, as well as all 29 NBA and six National Basketball Developmental League arenas.
None of the Kings is close enough in fan voting to be chosen as a starter.
However, when the league coaches decide the other seven players for each squad, they don't have to vote by position. So Houston's Yao Ming, the current leader in votes received, conceivably could be the only center on the roster.
Miller, who likely would be ticketed as Yao's backup on the team, could be bypassed by a number of superb forwards in the Western Conference, most of whom are probably playing better than he is.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and San Antonio's Tim Duncan are the West's leading vote-getters at forward, but consider the other players against Webber and Stojakovic will vie for a spot: Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki (the NBA's third-leading scorer); Phoenix's Amare Stoudamire (the fourth-leading scorer, who plays primarily at center); Phoenix's Shawn Marion (nearly 20 points per game and the seventh-leading rebounder).
Portland's Zach Randolph, Seattle's Rashard Lewis and Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand also deserve consideration, although during the past two weeks, few in the league at any position have played at as high a level as Webber. Additionally, Stojakovic, despite a slow start, has been quietly steady. His 45 percent field-goal shooting (39 percent from three-point range) would qualify as a solid season for most but is below the 48 percent and 43.3 percent standards he set in 2003-04.
Certainly, Stoudamire and Marion will receive extra support because their team has been the league's best throughout the season's first half, even with the recent drought.
Kings coach Rick Adelman said he hasn't yet begun to look at the All-Star candidates beyond the starters, who will be announced Thursday, Feb. 3. He might want to get to the list pretty soon, because it's not totally inconceivable he could be coaching this team. It's not likely because San Antonio, Phoenix and Seattle all have better records than the Kings (27-11), but Sacramento will have opportunities to rise over the next week with two games against the Spurs and one against Seattle.
Bibby's case is a little different. Houston's Tracy McGrady and the L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant are the league's leading vote-getters at guard in the West.
If it were strictly on performance, Phoenix's Steve Nash and Seattle's Ray Allen have been on far more successful teams this season and probably have been more effective than either of those slated to start.
That's four guards unless injuries to Bryant and/or Nash linger. Bibby, therefore, likely would be in contention with San Antonio's Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. "It all depends on what coaches look for," Adelman said. "Hopefully, because we've been winning that will help some of our guys. But you never know."
I only remember I didn't know the East guards very well, so just left those blank. It isn't like voting for President, where your vote can't get overridden by Congress, hehehe...
