MATT G'S PRE-ALLSTAR RAMBLE
It's NBA Allstar game next weekend and so here's a last chance to look at the teams for the showpiece event. Plus a quick summary of how the regular season is playing out. And then a look at the Eorobasket draw and my plans for getting out there.
First up, the Allstar game, let's start by looking at the East starting five.
| Matt G's vote | Ballot winner | Thoughts | |
| Luol Deng(Bulls): Forward | Amare Stoudamire(Knicks): Forward. |  |
Well, Luol was a vote made with Union-Jack tinted glasses, can't really argue with the guy who rejuvenated the Knicks getting an Allstar spot. |
| LeBron James(Heat): Forward | LeBron James(Heat): Forward |  |
7th Allstar game, all as starter |
| Dwayne Wade(Heat): Guard | Dwayne Wade(Heat): Guard |  |
7th Allstar game, 6th as starter |
| Derrick Rose(Bulls): Guard | Derrick Rose(Bulls): Guard |  |
Congratulations to Rose who starts an Allstar game for the 1st time |
| Dwight Howard(Magic): Center | Dwight Howard(Magic): Center |  |
5th Allstar Game, 4th as starter |
The East squad will be completed by...Ray Allen(Celtics), Chris Bosch(Heat), Kevin Garnett(Celtics), Al Horford(Hawks), Joe Johnson(Hawks), Paul Pierce(Celtics) and Rajon Rondo(Celtics). Gutted that Luol isn't even on the bench.
The East will be coached by Celtics coach Doc Rivers who previously coached the winning '08 East team.
Now the West starting five:
| Matt G's vote | Ballot winner | Thoughts | |
| Kevin Durant(Thunder): Forward | Kevin Durant(Thunder): Forward |  |
Congratulations to Durant who was a no-brainer to be given his first Allstar Game start |
| Dirk Nowitski(Mavs): Forward | Carmelo Anthony(Nuggets): Forward |  |
This was a bit of a surprise originally to be honest but double checking his numbers, I can't be too surprised. |
| Kobe Bryant(Lakers): Guard | Kobe Bryant(Lakers): Guard |  |
13th Allstar game, all as starter - wow! |
| Steve Nash(Suns): Guard | Chris Paul(Hornets): Guard |  |
I still believe Steve Nash is the ultimate point guard - if not enough people agree with me there's not much I can do about it. |
| Nene(Nuggets) Center | Yao Ming(Rockets) Center |  |
This is a joke! Everyone knows Yao won't be fit for the Allstar Game and voting him in on the grounds of sentimentality is rediculous! |
The West squad will be completed by...Tim Duncan(Spurs), Manu Ginobli(Spurs), Pau Gasol(Lakers), Blake Griffin(Clippers - made it to the Allstar Game as a rookie - wow!), Dirk Nowitski(Mavs - good to see he'll play a role at least) Russell Westbrook(Thunder - congrats to him on his first Allstar game) and Deron Williams(Jazz). Particularly with an unfit Yao as supposed starting centre I'm not sure why Nene has missed out completely but the biggest jawdropper here is the absence of Steve Nash. He's not been on vintage form but neither has Tim Duncan and he's been given a spot.
The West will coached by Spurs coach Gregg Poppovich who previously coached the '05 West team.
Yao's injury meant that an extra West player had to be picked by NBA commisioner David Stern. He went for the TWolves's Kevin Love - congratulations to him for making his first Allstar Game.
Yao's injury also meant that Poppovich had to select a replacement for him in the West starting five. He decided to make Tim Duncan the luckiest guy in the NBA.
In the meantime, the regular season has kept rolling on though nothing major has changed. In the East the Celtics lead the Atlantic division with a 40-14 record and a two game winning streak led by Paul Pierce who has averaged 17ppg since my last report. The Bulls still lead the Central division on 38-16 with a four game winning streak with Luol averaging 17 ppg recently(and he's still not an Allstar!). The Heat still lead the Southest division on 41-15 with a two game winning streak led by LeBron James who's been ruling Miami to the tune of 27.6 ppg recently. I'd still like to know how anyone is going to stop the Heat from getting to the Finals.
Out West, well the Thunder still lead the Northwest division on a 35-19 record having won that last game at home to the Kings 126-96. Their main man has continued to be Kevin Durant who has averaged 30.3ppg recently. The Lakers still lead the Pacific division on 38-19 despite being on a three game losing streak. As per usual, they're led by Kobe Bryant, averaging 24.8 ppg recently. The Spurs still lead the Southwest division on a 46-10 record, despite having lost their last game 109-99 in Chicago. Their recent leader had been Tony Parker who's been averaging 17.4 ppg over the last month or so. Spurs vs Lakers would be a very interesting matchup in the Western conference Finals.
Closer to home(for me at least) and the draw for Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania has been made and it's the worst case scenario on multiple levels. GB will be playing in Group A alongside Spain, Turkey, Lithuania, Poland and the entry marked "Qualifier 2" - basically the 2nd placed team in the additional qualifying round whick will be between Hungary, Portugal and Finland. To sum up, it's top three to go through to the next round and the group includes the reigning European champions, the World championship finalists and the world championship bronze medalists and hosts. Can we do it? Well, injury permitting this will be a much stronger squad than the one we took to Poland in '09. You never know.
The other interesting factor is going to be getting there - this will be much nuttier than my trip to Warsaw. The target is Panevezys, a place the size of Exeter that doesn't have an international airport. It's going to be a case of flying from Heathrow to Vilnius and back via Brussels each way, coach from Vilnius to Panevezys and back(yet to be booked!) and then staying at the Panevezys basketball fan camp. Then again the trip very nearly didn't happen as the sponsers were originally going to recieve the official GB allocation but Lisa of the Whatsbev crew then gave BPB a reality check. The tickets are secure now though and whatever happens on the court, this'll be quite an experience.
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