My real concern is why fans even get to vote for the starters in the first place. Yes, I understand the All Star Game is supposed to be a relaxed, fun game that gives fans the opportunity to cheer for all of their favorite players and also a way for players to show their appreciation to players, but it really doesn't make sense to me for one main reason: The general managers of the league get to pick the reserve players, but have no say in the starters. In my opinion, it should be the other way around. Fans should get to pick the reserves and general managers should pick the starters. In too many cases, I have seen players get selected as all stars when they really do not deserve it. For example, washed up players like Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson started for their respective conferences based solely off of their reputations and not by their skill later in their careers. This year is no different to me.
| Kevin Love |
In the Western Conference, Kevin Love should be starting in this game over Blake Griffin. Love is a better player and has more experience in the league. Love is averaging 25 points and nearly 14 rebounds per game. Griffin is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. The statistics speak for themselves. Yes, Grffin is playing for a better team technically, but Love is the captain of his team and is leading a below average crew of players to slightly above mediocrity. He deserves to be starting.
In the Eastern Conference, I really do not think that Carmelo Anthony should be entitled to a starting position every year. He is an incredible scorer but is a terrible defender and not someone I would really want to play with. He seems to just go 1v1 every time he gets the ball and is not much of a team player in my eyes. Many people may disagree with me, but I think Kevin Garnett should be replacing him in the starting lineup. KG has not missed a game the entire season, is a ferocious offensive and defensive threat, and one of the most generous players on the court in the entire league. He is in the midst of his 16th NBA season and although he may not have the high points per game average like 'Melo, KG is the epitome of a team player. Yes, he is getting old and will be retiring in the next few years, but I think that is a great reason to let him start in this game. Carmelo is young and has at least 6 more years as a starting caliber player in the All Star Game.
| Kevin Garnett |
In other words, fans do not always do a great job picking the starters. As I said before, this game really means nothing at all as far as importance, but the right players should be starting in this game. If it weren't for the general managers, the entire lineup would be filled with players that do not necessarily deserve it. The GMs typically do a good job at assigning the reserve players and really should be the ones determining the starters, if not the entire lineup. No matter who gets selected as All Stars, I always get excited to watch the lack of defense and stunning offense that is the NBA All Star Game.
I get your point, and you're right that the way it's picked now tends to leave out some players. On the whole though, this is a game for the audience. The more people that watch it, the more successful it is. If this were a game about competition and all that, it would make sense to have experts pick the teams. However, this is a game about advertising dollars, and the simplest way to make sure lots of people watch it is to let them pick their own stars. Crowd participation sells.
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