THEY said it: “It would have probably been more fun to play with  LeBron (James) like I did with Bill Walton, but if you want to win, and win and win, then you play  with Kobe (Bryant)  His desire to win, his dedication, to  always get better, He’s just tough. He’s just a tough cat” --  Boston  Celtics legend Larry Bird weighing on  the  long-running Bryant-James debate.

THE  2012 NBA All-Star Game in  sunny Orlando, Florida will be held on Feb. 26.

Of  course we all know by now the starters --  Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat ( guards),  Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic  (center) and LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks ( forwards) for the East; and  Kobe  Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers ( guards), Andrew Bynum of the LA Lakers ( center), Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Blake  Griffin of the LA Clippers (forwards).

After fans voted for the starters on both the Eastern and Western Conference, the league’s coaches selected the reserves by voting in their respective conference.

In the East are guards Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics, Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets and  Joe  Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks, center Roy Hibbert of Indiana Pacers and forwards Chris Bosh of  Miami Heat, Luol Deng of Chicago Bulls, and Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia 76ers.

West reserves are  guards Tony Parker of San Antonio Spurs, Steve Nash of Phoenix Suns and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City Thunder, center Marc Gasol of Memphis Grizzlies, and forwards  Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas Mavericks, Kevin Love of Minnesota Timberwolves and LaMarcus Aldridge of Portland Trailblazers.

So, who do we think gets the biggest snub this time around?

Tops on the list are 12-time all-star Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics in the East and 13-time member Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and four-time member Pau Gasol of the LA Lakers in the West.

Garnett  made the   mid-season classic  for 14  consecutive seasons, but is  now  clearly on  the twilight of his career at age 36.         The  former No. 5 pick overall by the  Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995, Garnett is averaging career lows  of 14 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Celtics.

Only Garnett’s 10.4 ppg in his rookie  year in 1995 is lower than  his current  performance. His 50.4 field goal   percentage is also his lowest since coming to the Celtics in a  trade  with  the Wolves 2007.

Duncan, who  never missed an All-Star game  since entering the league straight from Wake Forest in 1997, is  also on the tailend of  a long  and  illustrious career  that saw  him  average more than 20 points a game in nine of his first 10 seasons.

The  6-11  forward-center from US  Virgin Island averages career-lows of 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 26 games for the Spurs.  He is, however, still third in the Spurs’ scoring list behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. 

Gasol, one of the Lakers’ ‘Big Three’ with 16 .4 points and 10.1 rebounds  is having a better season despite the Lakers’ modest  15-11 start.

The 7-0 Spaniard should really  be  starting  this game, if only he is not listed as forward.         But honest, Gasol should really be a better choice than Nowitzki, who even admitted he is not in all-star shape yet.    

Also  snubbed were  Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo of the Celtics, Amare  Stoudemire of  New York  Knicks,  Carlos Boozer of Chicago Bulls, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks   and Kyrie Irving of Cleveland Cavaliers in   the  East; and Monta Ellis of Golden State Warriors, Kyle Lowry  of   Houston Rockets. Rudy Gay of  Memphis  Grizzlies, Paul Milsap of Utah Jazz, Ty Lawson of  Denver  Nuggets and Ricky  Rubio  of  Minnesota Timberwolves,

Allen is the second leading scorer for  Boston with 14.9 points, while Rondo is  fourth  with  13.6. Rondo is also the top assist man with 9.8 assists a game.

But either Allen or  Rondo stil deserve an All-Star spot  more than Johnson, Deng or even Iguodala.

Stoudemire averages 18.2 points and 8.1 rebounds in 22 of the Knicks’ 26 games so far. Boozer is third  behind Rose and Deng in the Bulls’ well-balanced line-up, averaging 15.1 poitns and 8.4 rebounds. Jennings is having a career year for the Bucks with  a  team-best 18.9 points, 5.3 assists  and 3.3 rebounds.        

Irving, the  top rookie candidate,  is leading the  Cavs with 18 points, 5.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds but  missed  the team’s most recent game with  a concussion.

In the West,  Ellis’s 22.6 ppg and 6.3 apg was clearly overlooked due to the Warriors’ losing record.  Lowly, a revelation for the Rockets with his 14.8 ppg, 7.9 apg and 5.8 rpg, is another notable absentee.  Gay’s 18.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg for the Grizzlies,    Milsap’s 16.5 ppg and 9.7 rpg  for the  Jazz and Lawson’s 15.5 ppg and 6.5 apg for the Nuggets are also clearly not enough  to earn the nod of the  coaches.

Rubio, the 6-4 phenom  from Barcelona, averages 10 .9 points and a  team-best 8.8 assists  in 26 games of his first year with the Wolves.


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