All-Stars

In honor of the upcoming NBA All-Star game in Los Angeles, I shall render my judgment on the fans' choices for the East and West starting five. 
But before I deliver my sentences, one thought:  Yao Ming a starter for the West?  Really?  OK, China, we get it.  You really like the big fella.  He's the man, he represents you on the sport's biggest stage.  But he's hurt.  He's hobbled.  He's been as effective over the past two years for the Rockets as Ricky Rubio has been for the Wolves.  But let's, for a minute, accept China's love affair with Yao.  Okay, who else to blame?  Easy, the NBA.  Why was Yao Ming on the ballot?  Why would votes count for a guy who has been declared 'out for the season?'  This is a simple rule change.  From now on, you can't vote for people who will be injured at the time of the game.  Easy.  Sorry China, if you want to vote for an old and decrepit big man with rubber knees and toothpicks for ankles, than just vote for Tim Duncan next time.
Alright, enough of that, I don't want to start a World War over this.  So I shall start with the starting Point Guards for the two conferences.
Derrick Rose -  24.6 PPG  1.0 SPG  8.2 APG  4.6 RPG  3.0 TO
Chris Paul-   16.6 PPG  2.6 SPG  9.6 APG  4.0 RPG  2.3 TO
The Peoples' Choice:  A
Rose and Paul are not only the best point guards in their respective conferences, they are the top two point guards in the league.  Now there's been some argument lately about which of the two were actually better.  I've been hearing a lot of "Rose for MVP!" chatter.  I say premature.  Yes Rose is scoring eight more points a game than Paul.  But where are the steals and assists?  Why 3 turnovers? 
I've also heard the argument that the Bulls have a better record than the Hornets despite consistent injuries between Boozer and Noah.  Well, without those two the Bulls have one superstar in Rose and a bunch of glorified role players.  Kind of like the Hornets when everyone is healthy.  After Paul who do you elevate to 2nd man status on that team?  David West?  Emeka Okafor?  Please.  Paul is doing more with less on a consistent basis.  I don't even have to mention that the Hornets are in the Western Conference.  They have no business sniffing the playoffs, yet they have a point guard who doesn't let them lose. 
It is true that Rose is the man on a better team.  But that doesn't make Rose the better player.  The Celtics have a better record than the Heat, heck they're 2-0 against the Heat.  Does that make Paul Pierce better than Lebron James?  The Spurs have a better record than the Heat as well.  Is Manu Ginobli better than Dwyane Wade?  You get the point.
As far as the All-Star game is concerned, these two men are the right choice.  The only other point guard that made the East Roster is Rajon Rondo.  He's a great passer on a great team.   But he shoots like this.
Apart from Paul, the West has Deron Williams and Russel Westbrook.  These are both terrific basketball players.  This is a testament to the West right now.  Williams was arguably better than Paul a year ago, but not this year.  Williams has struggled with injuries all season, kind of like Paul did last year.  Westbrook is emerging this year as an elite ball player.  There is potential there for a perennial All-Star in years to come.  He's not quite up to Paul's level yet.
So good job fans.  You got the right point guards.
All-Star Match Up:  No one plays defense in the All-Star game.  Paul will be forced to let Kobe shoot a bunch of bricks and dribble around because he's Kobe.  He'll also have to let Durant and Melo handle the ball and shoot.  Oh and everyone in the arena will demand ally oops to Blake Griffin.  He won't score that much.  But at least he'll get to throw ally oops to Blake Griffin.
Rose will play alongside Wade and James, who are real life teammates and have good chemistry.  Maybe he'll run some pick and roll with Stoudemire.  And there's always ally oops to Howard.  But that was so 2008.  No one cares.  Did I mention ally oops to Griffin?  And Rose will be forced to let the four Celtics come in off the bench and turn it into a Western Conference vs the Celtics with Dwight Howard match up.
So the verdict is that neither one will get a lot of offensive production.  But at least Paul gets Blake Griffin.
Victor:  Chris Paul

Next Time:  Wade vs Bryant