2011 NBA All-Star Game Starters

Happy 2011 everyone! It's been a while since my last post, so I've decided one of my resolutions this year will be to stay consistent with my blogging. So here's to a new year full of exciting NBA coverage and analysis!

Next week, January 27th, 2011, the 2011 NBA All-Star Game Starters will be announced in a 1 hour special event on TNT. The best and worst thing about this is that the starters are voted in by the fans. Sometimes the fans make the correct choice, and sometimes they don't. Today, I would like to give my personal picks for the starters of both the West and East teams.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Guards
There are so many good guards in the West it's not even funny. Chris Paul, Manu Ginobli, Russell Westbrook, Monta Ellis, and the list goes on! But the two best guards so far this season, in my opinion, have been Deron Williams and Kobe Bryant. Deron Williams, arguably the best point guard in the league, is clearly the best player on the Utah Jazz (27-15), especially with Carlos Boozer now gone. Williams has been leading this team while averaging a career high 22.1 points a game. He's taken on the offensive load and it's paid out for his team.
What else can I say about Kobe? He's been averaging a solid 25.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals a game this year. He's also led the Lakers to 2nd best in the West with a record of 31-13. This is just Kobe being Kobe. He deserves this start over anyone.
Forwards
I said earlier that it's not even funny how many good guards there are in the West. But compared to how many good forwards there are in the West, the amount of good guards is hilarious! Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, etc. have all been great so far, but there can only be two starters. First, I have Kevin Durant. His numbers aren't as high as last year, but give it 'till the end of the year and I'm sure it'll be back to normal. He's still averaging an out of this world 28.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks a game. Last year, KD and the Thunder surprised everyone with their playoff berth. This year, they aren't underdogs anymore. Westbrook has been playing out of his mind, but this is still Durant's team. He's led the Thunder so far to a 27-15 record, which is good enough for third in the West.
My second pick is, Pau Gasol, who has been one of the best and most consistent forwards in the whole NBA since the beginning of the season. 18.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.0 blocks, while shooting 51.6% from the field and 82.5% from the charity stripe. Although guys like Kevin Love and Blake Griffin are averaging more points and rebounds, the difference is that Gasol is a main contributor to the 2nd best team in the West and the former guys are main contributors to losing teams. So it's hard to deny that Gasol deserves this starting spot.
Center
In all honesty, most of the top centers are in the East, so it's slim pickings for All-Star caliber centers in the West. If I could, I would stick Pau Gasol in the center spot and add Carmelo or Dirk into the second forward spot, but rules are rules. Gasol is listed as a forward. The one center who has been consistent, while contributing to a winning team is this man, Emeka Okafor. He's really started to fit into his role on this team nicely and has emerged as the defensive presence in the paint. The Hornets defense has really turned up this season and a large part of it is due in part to Okafor's ability to protect the rim. He's averaging 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, while also averaging 11.2 points on 59.4% shooting. He's been playing very well and deserves this start over any other center in the West.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Guards
I had a real hard time keeping Raymond Felton out of my picks, but the two best guards in the East so far have unquestionably been Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade. Derrick Rose has to be the best point guard in the league right now. Just watching him play and make unbelievable plays is amazing. He's led the Bulls to the 3rd (29-14) best record in the East. He's been hitting career highs in almost every statistical category averaging 24.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 81.3% shooting at the free throw line. He's also upped his 3-point shooting to 1.6 a game at 38% per contest which are also career highs. With Boozer and Noah out for extended periods of time, it's been Rose who has been carrying the Bulls.
Not many people thought Dwyane Wade and LeBron James would mesh in Miami and it certainly looked that way in the beginning of the season. But now, Wade, along with James has led the Heat (30-13) to the 2nd best record in the East. Although he's not scoring as much as he used to, Wade is still getting 25.1 points a game, along with a career high 6.5 rebounds a game, and a solid 4.2 assists a game. Not only is Wade's offense solid, it's his defense that puts him among the elite. He's averaging 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks a game. It's numbers like these and a team with the 2nd best record in the East that gets Wade the second starting guard spot for the East.
Forwards
Unlike the West, the East's expansion of forwards is not quite as vast. Looking throughout the group, there are definitely only a few who stand out amongst the crowd. LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire are the clear favorites in my opinion. Personally, I believe LeBron James is still the best small-forward in the game and quite possibly the best player too. Even though his scoring is down, which is understandable due to him sharing the offensive load with Wade and Bosh, he's still averaging close to the same numbers he did in Cleveland. He is still getting rebounds, dishing the ball, and playing defense. Definitely still a starter in my book.
The Knicks (22-19) are finally back in the play-off hunt, which is largely due to the stellar play of Amare Stoudemire. He's been averaging a career high 26.4 points and helping the Knicks to be one of the best offensive teams in the league. He's been playing surprisingly well along side Felton and proving doubters wrong who though he couldn't play without Steve Nash. Stoudemire has been one of the best bigs in the NBA since the season started and he undoubtedly deserves this start.
Center
The best center in the NBA happens to be in the East, so that's why he'll start on this East All-Star team. His name is Dwight Howard. The Orlando Magic (27-15) are sitting at a very unimpressive 5th place in the East right now. This might be due to the fact that there has been a considerable change in the Magic personnel, but despite that, Dwight Howard has been playing well. He's averaging a career high 21.9 points and among the best in the NBA in rebounding with 13.1 a game. His presence inside (2.2 blocks a game) has also allowed the Magic to be a top defensive team in the league. No center affects the game at both ends of the floor like Dwight Howard does and that's the reason why he'll be starting on many future All-Star teams to come.


Do you guys agree or disagree with my picks? Feel free to comment!