Guess Who! NBA All-Star Edition

This time of year there is always much debate about who should really be starting for the NBA All-Star teams. The fact is, the NBA All-Star game can be the most exciting, but is always the most meaningless and fraud of them all. For the most part, the starters remain the same each season, even if a certain star switches conferences (see Kevin Garnett). And why is that? Well, because unlike the MLB and NFL, the NBA's All-Star teams are selected by the fans. No player vote is counted, nor is the coaches. That leaves players like Chris Paul, who in my opinion is the league MVP through the season's first half, possibly out of the game entirely. The NBA needs to do something about this because the fans often get it wrong.

NBA legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley was particularly upset about one of the starters named this past Thursday, and I can't for the life of me understand why he has such beef with this particular selection. I'll let you decide how legitimate Barkley's argument is. Without giving away their names, I'm going to list each player's numbers through the games of January 25; their role on the team, and their team's record to this point. At the end, after you have a chance to decide the legitimacy of Sir Charles' beef, I will give you the names of each player. A little 'Guess Who'- NBA Edition.

Player A (named All-Star starter)- 43 games/22.1 ppg/10.7 rpg/2.4 apg/2.7 bpg
Offensive role: Focal point of offense, player opposing team must gameplan for most
Defensive role: Most dependable post defender, shot alterer
Team Record: 24-19 (SOS- .519)

Player B (Barkley's choice)- 41 games/9.4 ppg/14.4 rpg/3 apg/3.9 bpg
Offensive role: Fourth option at best, requires no extra game planning from opposition
Defensive role: Own the paint, change shots, defensive catalyst
Team record: 26-16 (SOS- .489)

Viewing the numbers, it becomes clear that both players are used differently by their respective ball club. However, the only true deficit in any statistical category comes in points per game. Player A dominates that category, and is considerably close in each other category listed. Player A leads his team in points, rebounds, and blocked shots and is the focal point of the offense. He is also depended on just as heavily as Player B in his role on defense- to clog the lane, and change shots. Player B has little to no responsibility on offense other than to take up space and clean the glass. That allows him to save his energy for one end of the floor, while Player A clearly does not have this luxury. Player B's team has a slightly better record, but that slim margin can be wiped out by the fact that Player A's team has played a considerably more difficult schedule to this point.

So who are these mystery candidates? I'll give you a few clues. Player A is the worst officiated player in the NBA and has kept his team above water despite the team's other star missing 15 games. Player B plays on a team with two players who were named All-Star starters, which doesn't help his cause in any way because it could be argued that their ability has helped Player B flourish.

If you didn't know before the clues, and you still don't know with the help of them, then what you have gathered at this point is that you wasted your time reading this piece because you know nothing about the NBA. Player A is the Houston Rockets center, Yao Ming, and Player B is the Denver Nuggets center, Marcus Camby. Both players deserve a spot on the roster and lets be real, it really doesn't matter which is on the court at what time because centers are basically invisible throughout the All-Star game anyway because it's a guards showcase. And I know Barkley is a true Rockets hater, but seriously Charles, Yao deserves to be the Western Conference's starter at center and you don't have enough ammo in that tank to convince me otherwise.

DTM