I'm guessing he was joking about Nene's high FG%, but I do think that both Millsap & Nene are more deserving of an All-Star bid than Okafor is.

Good stuff RBAej. But don't forget that Horry and Barry were both extremely athletic when they came into the league. I see your point tho how they can still help teams post-35 years old when their athleticism has dwindled.

Critics of my Joe Alexander commentary may point out that Barry himself was allowed to compete in the Slam Dunk contest as a rookie and he WON IT, but I'll point out that "Bones" had proven that he belonged in the NBA by that point: 22.3 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.1 assists to just 1.5 turnovers, 1.6 threes, 48.5% FG, 44.2% 3P before the All-Star break his rookie season.

Ouch on Gerald GReen's lack of brainpower!

I love that Biedrins is getting attention and obviously I'm very pleased with his improvements this season, but I don't think he deserves to be an All-Star. Fact of the matter is, for every monster game that he has, he gives one up on the other end. All-Stars don't let that happen.

If we're talking fantasy stats, then yes, Okafor has been better. But I'm talking about effectiveness, and LeBron isn't the only reason the Cavs are tied with the Lakers for the BEST RECORD IN THE NBA. A far better shooter? Hardly. Most of Okafor's shots are within close range, whereas Big Z actually shoots a lot of jumpers (and makes them at a high rate I might add) and forces opposing centers like Okafor to stray away from the basket where they're less effective. A better rebounder and defender? Yeah, I'll give Okafor that, but Ilgauskas is no slouch on the defensive end, while their offensive games are miles apart (the Bobcats are a better offensive team when Emeka is OFF the floor). Okafor is racking up stats on a crappy team because the rest of Charlotte's big men are garbage (not including Diaw, who is more finesse), whereas Big Z is making an impact on both ends of the floor for a team that has won over 80% of their games. Which guy deserves to start in the All-Star game?

As for Gerald Wallace umm, he never won the dunk contest, but yes, of COURSE there are going to be unproven players who compete in the contest and still go on to have solid careers. Since you seem to like Charlotte players, we can talk about Jason Richardson. That guy was as raw as they come when he came into the league, and was basically a 1-dimensional dunker as a rookie. But he worked hard every offseason and improved certain areas of his game every year, and now he's one of the best 3-point shooters in the league.

But J-Rich had that drive to get better and maximize his potential. A lot of young players who have gotten by on their athleticism don't have that drive. And when you glorify their dunking skills immediately by letting them shine in the All-Star weekend Slam Dunk contest before they've proven themselves, you're not doing their long-term careers any favors. Go ahead and vote for Mr. Alexander. He might wow everyone and win it all... and then we'll see what happens to him.

Carmelo fractured a bone in his shooting hand last night, which means JR Smith is a must-start now and Kleiza is worth a pickup. Also keep an eye on Orlando's Courtney Lee. The rookie gets his 1st start tonight and I like his game.

Only grab Dice if you need boards. There should be better options available unless you're in a really deep league.

Thanks Illegal D. Yeah, that calf injury really hurt him, as he obviously couldn't do much cardio while he was out. Tried to play his way into shape, and then hurt it again. Now Kev-Mart is healthy and on fire. Hang onto him if you can, but there's probably more reliable players out there at this point.

For those of you wondering what Uwe Blab is up to these days, here's a nice article from March 2008:

http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2008/03/09/sports/d...

Krstic is worth keeping an eye on but I'm not expecting much. Jones was never much of a stat guy and he'll need Eric Gordon to get hurt to do any damage.

Dec. 29nd Standings update...

LEAGUE: 1st place (80 points, 9 pts ahead of 2nd)
OVERALL: 1st place (out of 60 teams, 397 points, 21.5 pts ahead of 2nd)

Surprising that I gained more overall points considering Melo, Crawford, and Randolph all missed games last week. Lovin' my Mike James pickup!

Check out Michael Curry encouraging Amir in the sidebar video. Seems like a cool coach...

"What we gotta do? Eat, rest, and lift weights."