Ray Allen and the All-Star Game

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

PER ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2010/news/story?id=4833965

Celtics guard Ray Allen thinks it's time to limit fans' influence in All-Star voting, with Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady, despite having little to no impact this season, both headed into the final hours of voting in position to start.

Unwanted by their teams, Iverson and McGrady are still adored by their fans, who still consider them stars even though their stats say otherwise.

The Memphis Grizzlies quickly parted ways with Iverson. The Houston Rockets are trying to trade McGrady.

Maybe the players can swap stories of their rocky roads while covering each other at the All-Star Game.

"I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they'd like to see in the All-Star Game, but I don't think it should be 100 percent," Allen said this week.

The nine-time All-Star said the fan voting has made the game "watered down" and called for a change in the process.

Allen said fans should have 50 percent of the vote, with the other 50 percent being divided evenly between the media and the players. He said players know who is playing the best, and believes with his idea, "you'd look at five guys starting the All-Star team regardless of hype or highlight."

"We look at it as a great way to engage the fans," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. "We think it's a good system."

The NBA went to fan voting for the starters in the mid-70s, and this season made it even more available to its fans by allowing them to vote by text messaging.

Paper balloting has already closed, but votes can be cast until 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday night on nba.com or by texting a player's last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (MYNBA). Starters will be announced Thursday night.

McGrady has a good chance of being passed, as his lead over Steve Nash for the second guard spot in the Western Conference was only 2,375 votes when the most recent update was released Jan. 7.

McGrady hasn't been able to strengthen his case since then, since he'd already been granted a leave from the Rockets while they try to find a trade.

He has played sparingly in only six games this season since coming back from knee surgery, and Allen thinks commissioner David Stern should consider a rule mandating that a player appear in a minimum number of games to be eligible.

"Tracy, if he played, I'm sure he'd play well enough to be an All-Star player, because he's done that his career," Allen said. "But again, that's taking away from another player in the Western Conference that's having a great year, that's been playing, that deserves to be in there."

Iverson had a better shot of holding on to his No. 2 spot in the East, leading Vince Carter by more than 185,000 votes. He's listed with West players on the paper ballot after starting the season in Memphis, but his votes count in the East since he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

He hasn't played at an All-Star level this season, but fans may be looking at what he's done in the past.

"A lot of times voting reflects career achievement as well as yearly achievements," McIntyre said.

Allen also mentioned getting the coaches, who pick the reserves, involved in selecting the starters. Even that may not guarantee the most deserving 10 players, since coaches could have their own opinions about who belongs in the All-Star Game.

During Shaquille O'Neal's unproductive, injury-plagued final season in Miami in 2008, former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said he planned to vote him as a reserve anyway, recalling that when he played respected older players such as Julius Erving still made All-Star teams late in their careers.

That's why Charlotte coach Larry Brown supports Iverson's election.

"I've seen Willie Mays and those older guys start based on what they've done in their career in baseball, and we've had that happen in basketball for years, guys that have made a contribution," Brown said. "That's why the fans are involved, and I think it's kind of neat that they are involved. They support the league, they vote for their favorite players. I always look at a guy's body of work."

That's fine for some, but it means worthy players are going to be left out. Unlike baseball, which mandates every team be represented in its All-Star Game, the NBA has only 12 spots per conference to fill.

"You figure if there's 24 players that get named to the All-Star team, there's always 30 that deserve it, and you figure that's six that should be on the All-Star team," Allen said.

Toronto forward Chris Bosh had little chance of starting the game in his hometown of Dallas, sitting well behind LeBron James and Kevin Garnett despite a terrific first half. Yet he doesn't want to change the voting format.

"It's all about the fans," he said. "It's all about who they want to see because they generate the dollars, they're going to watch the game, so they're going to vote for their favorite players, and that's probably how it should be."

Now From My Point of View

I agree with Allen, and think it is time to limit the fans voting percentage. Gerald Wallace is having an All-Star season up to this point, yet he is unlikely to even make the squad due to the fan voting. Many other players are being left out of the All-Star game, and it is time to see some new faces in their.

Here are some players that are having All-Star seasons, but may not even be on the All-Star team.

From the East

Center- David Lee/ New York Knicks

Power Forward- Antawn Jamison/ Washington Wizards

Small Forward- Gerald Wallace/ Charlotte Bobcats

Shooting Guard- Stephen Jackson/ Charlotte Bobcats

Point Guard- Rodney Stuckey/ Detroit Pistons

Power Forward- Al Harrington/ New York Knicks

Shooting Guard- Richard Hamilton/ Detroit Pistons

From the West

Center- Chris Kaman- Los Angeles Clippers

Power Forward- Zach Randolph/ Memphis Grizzlies

Small Forward- Corey Maggette/ Golden State Warriors

Shooting Guard- Monta Ellis/ Golden State Warriors

Point Guard- Tyreke Evans/ Sacramento Kings

Power Forward- Carlos Boozer/ Utah Jazz

Small Forward- Rudy Gay/ Memphis Grizzlies

Shooting Guard- Kevin Martin/ Sacramento Kings

Shooting Guard- O.J. Mayo/ Memphis Grizzlies

Hell, you could have an All-Star Game just out of these guys.

[Implied Volatility]

I agree with Sir Charles Barkley,fans should not be allowed to vote for All-Stars.I know it sounds harsh,but that's how feel about it.

[rico6]

The fact that T-Mac is going makes me ill.

Stern screwed the pooch on this one.

[Panthers128]

In 1998 when Kobe Bryant was in his second year as a backup shooting guard fans voted him into the All-Star game as a starter. The guy he backed up, Eddie Jones, ended up being put in by coaches and backed up Kobe Bryant in the game.

Of course Kobe Bryant went on to have a wonderful career. It was a very awkward situation.

[pstall]

You can let the fans still vote but you need to have played X # of games to be in the running to even play.

[pdandy1994]

if it was done by coaches, and select media members, the all-star game would actually show whos the best, but the ratings would drop because the fans didn't get to see their favorite players.