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2011 NBA All-Star Starters Revealed, What About the Reserves?

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:57:51 +0000

Filed under: Bulls, Celtics, Clippers, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Jazz, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Eastern, Western, NBA All-Star Game, Thunder

Denver coach George Karl likes to say each All-Star squad should have 15 players, rather than 12.

It's a great idea for the West this season, with there about to be some serious snubs. As for the East, 10 seems a better number this season in a conference that after the top teams has as much depth as the local park's kiddie pool.

Perhaps the East should concede two spots to the West. Throw in that Houston's Yao Ming, named the West starting center, will miss the Feb. 20 Game in Los Angeles, and that would give the West 15 players with All-Star recognition.

The starters were announced Thursday night, and there wasn't anything to complain about other than how ridiculous it was that fans (hello, China) continued to vote for Yao in bunches even after it was announced Dec. 17 he was out for the season with a foot injury. Even before then, he was averaging 10.2 points in a meager five games.

The East starters will be Orlando's Dwight Howard at center, Miami's LeBron James and New York's Amar'e Stoudemire at forward and Miami's Dwyane Wade and Chicago's Derrick Rose at guard. Other than Yao, West starters named were Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Denver's Carmelo Anthony at forward and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and New Orleans' Chris Paul at guard.

Now, on to the reserves. After the coaches cast their ballots, here's who should be announced next Thursday as well as which players might be ticked off:

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Phoenix Suns react to Carmelo Anthony trade

Tyler Lockman — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:04:05 +0000

There aren’t many teams in the NBA that won’t be affected by the New York Knicks’ acquisition of Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets on Monday. Be it through ensuing trades,...

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Amare Stoudemire has star company, but can he become a championship-caliber big?

Michael Schwartz — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:56:38 +0000

When Amare Stoudemire entered free agency last season, the question the Suns asked themselves was whether he was the right player to build around at a max-contract price. The Knicks instead took that...

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All quiet on the Phoenix Suns trade front

Michael Schwartz — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:53:47 +0000

Last year at this time Amare Stoudemire was engulfed in All-Star Weekend trade rumors. This year all is quiet on the Phoenix Suns front, with nary a player even involved in the weekend and the only...

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The Works: What’s Next For Yao Ming?

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:37:18 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman

Filed under: Nets, Rockets, Suns, NBA Injuries, The Works

Today in The Works: why Nets fans should curb their enthusiasm; comparing Steve Nash and Jeff Bridges; and a bit of streak numerology. But first, making sense of Yao Ming's latest bad news.

The Ballad of Yao Ming

Yao Ming's foot is hurt again, enough to keep him out for the rest of the year, and the entire basketballing world now weeps in sorrow. After playing only five games to start this season and none in 2009-10, he's now at a sub-Oden level of health. To call this moment a career crossroads would be wildly optimistic -- at this point we should start wondering if he'll ever be able to play again.

Virtually everyone but the most anti-China businessmen agrees that this is terrible news. Yao is a beloved gentle giant, a kind soul who almost single-handedly makes basketball fans forget that he's deployed as a soft-diplomatic tool by a totalitarian government hellbent on becoming the top global superpower. Yet Yao has always seemed above these kinds of barriers even as he acted as the face of China's great unveiling to the world at the 2008 Olympics. He's a great uniter, someone who's gotten along famously with such disparate personalities as Steve Francis and Shane Battier.

Yao's reaction to his latest setback defines his personality as well as anything: "I haven't died. Right now I'm drinking a beer and eating fried chicken. What were you expecting, a funeral?" No matter the situation, Yao always seems keenly aware of the fact that there's a life beyond basketball. Still, to see him incapable of playing basketball is a cruel blow.

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The Works: Knicks Should Check Out Andre Iguodala

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:37:17 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman

Filed under: 76ers, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Suns, Wizards, NBA Rumors, NBA Transactions, The Works

Today in The Works: how front offices fake progress; the meaning of Gil's new number; and looking back at Flea, NBA poet. But first, why someone other than Melo or Paul might be the best fit for the Knicks.

Let The Right One In

The other day, Eric Freeman wrote that the Knicks needed to go after Carmelo Anthony, not Chris Paul. His reasoning: Raymond Felton is good enough, the Knicks are crazy thin and upgrading is less important than adding another important piece. That's not to downplay Paul's talents, or suggest the he's even available. Certainly, though, New York's not quite there yet, and will be looking to make a move sooner rather than later before James Dolan decides he needs to strangle a giant squid at the beginning of each game and sends Amar'e Stoudemire off to the Pacific in search of one. He's paying him all that money, right? It's the least Amar'e can do!

The question, though, is whether Melo would actually fit in the current Knicks offense. The D'Antoni system, which stresses spacing and ball movement as much as up-tempo play, has allowed Felton to come into his own. It's also ideally suited to a predatory scorer like Stoudemire, who plays around the basket with the agility and adaptability of a wing. At Syracuse, Melo was this kind of transparent force; as a pro, his economy, and ability to create from anywhere, is what sets him apart from other pure scorers. And yet, by D'Antoni standards, he is a ball-stopper (note: he has worked with Mike D on Team USA).

Given that, maybe we should be paying closer attention to another option: Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala.

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Nuggets vs. Suns: Phoenix Comes From 15 Down to Spoil Carmelo’s Career Night

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:02:08 +0000

by Brett Pollakoff

Filed under: Nuggets, Suns

PHOENIX -- The Nuggets had the luxury of three days' rest, while the Suns were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, coming off of a victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday. Yet Phoenix was the energized team in the fourth quarter, and used a 14-1 run to come from behind to beat Denver by a final of 100-94.

Carmelo Anthony pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds in the losing effort, one where his team managed just a single assist over the entire second half. George Karl largely blamed this particular statistic for his team's collapse.

"How about one (assist) in the second half," Karl said. "Why don't you put that on the board? That should be the headline. Pass the damn ball, trust the pass, and play together."

1st Quarter: Denver 22, Phoenix 20

Sunday night against the Lakers, Phoenix hit 22 three-pointers, one shy of the NBA record. They tried to continue the hot shooting from downtown early in this one, but with decidedly different results: the Suns finished the first quarter 0 for 6 from three-point land, and just 7 for 26 from the field overall, for a dismal shooting percentage of just 26.7 percent.

On the Nuggets' side, things weren't much better. Denver made three more buckets than the Suns did, but the team was also 0-fer from three, missing all four attempts.

Carmelo Anthony looked a little out of it from the start, committing four turnovers and going just 1-for-5 from the field. He wasn't taking it too seriously, however, flipping the ball to a courtside fan after fumbling a rebound out of bounds. Anthony was effective on the glass, though, and pulled down six first-quarter rebounds.

Al Harrington led the Nuggets with seven points off the bench, getting the call just four minutes in after Nene went to the bench after picking up two early fouls.

Channing Frye, getting the start for the injured Robin Lopez, was largely ineffective, and managed just two points and a single rebound in 10 minutes, while going 0 for 3 from three-point range.

Denver Nuggets 94, Phoenix Suns 100: Recap | Box Score

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Amar’e Stoudemire on Losing With Knicks: ‘It Has Not Been Fun’

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:02:07 +0000

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, NBA Rumors

DENVER -- During his final six seasons in Phoenix, Amar'e Stoudemire's teams averaged 55 wins a season and three times made the Western Conference finals.

Welcome to how the other half lives, Amar'e.

After bolting the Suns as a free agent last summer for New York, the star power forward is paying a visit to the slums of the NBA standings. The Knicks are 3-8, and have dropped six straight.

"It hasn't been fun,'' Stoudemire said in an interview with FanHouse while in Denver for Tuesday's 120-118 loss to the Nuggets. "It has not been fun.''

Stoudemire hardly is to the point in which he regrets taking a five-year, $100 million contract with the Knicks, with the deal turned into a sign-and-trade. But it's become quite apparent he had it pretty good in Phoenix.

No, the Suns never were able to make the NBA Finals. But they came close last season, losing Game 5 of the West finals on a buzzer shot by Lakers forward Ron Artest and eventually falling 4-2.

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Whether He Likes it or Not, Countdown to 1,000 Wins Begins for George Karl

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:02:05 +0000

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: Nuggets, Suns

DENVER -- Has the countdown started for George Karl to reach 1,000 NBA coaching wins?

After Karl claimed No. 996 with Denver's 138-133 win Sunday night over Phoenix at the Pepsi Center, he was asked that very question.

"I'm going home,'' said Karl, ending his press conference.

Karl is playing it down, but in December he will become just the seventh coach in league history to reach the four-digit milestone. The Nuggets are getting him closer thanks to a four-game winning streak that has raised their record to 10-6.

The latest win was like a lot he's had in his career. With forward Carmelo Anthony done for the night due to illness after playing just the first three minutes and with forward Kenyon Martin still out following offseason knee surgery, Karl resorted back to his CBA days when he often played with a depleted roster.

Karl tricked up his lineup, often going very small. And his team somehow scored 138 points with Anthony, who came in as the NBA's fifth-leading scorer, sitting on the bench in agony for most of the first half before finally going home to bed at halftime.

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The Mini-Max Contract: Where 2010 All Began

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:29:18 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals

Filed under: Bulls, Cavaliers, Heat, Hornets, Jazz, Magic, Nets, Nuggets, Suns, NBA Rumors

No one likes the Free Agent Super-Summit, even those rumored to be involved. It may or may not be collusion, and on a good day, makes LeBron James and friends look like ardent disciples of Mikhail Prokhorov -- without the funny accent that charms out all into submission.

Certainly, the forced drama and posturing around the event, which may or may not have ever been meant literally, grate on even the most pro-player observers. And admittedly, there's a hill of difference between this summer and Jim Brown -- an avowed supporter of LeBron's hunt for fulfillment -- trying to get some basic dignity for himself and other NFL players. But silliness and bad public relations aside, there's an important middle ground missing here. It's the place where NBA players, all too long held hostage by incompetent organizations and the truism that heaven was six years at max money, risk stability for a chance at some leverage.

It's the mini-max effort of 2006, where James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh coordinated shorter deals exactly so their teams would have to do right by them (and so they could sneak in under the upcoming CBA). Was the goal solidarity down the road? Or just smart business they all suggested to each other? Either way, it was such a good idea that Chris Paul and Deron Williams followed suit two seasons later.

No longer could a superstar be paid off and taken for granted -- or, if you want to be glum about it, invested in heavily and find themselves an albatross down the road. This was a power-grab, but in a much-deserved way.

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