Great article, Chris. Amen for Kuh Ga. Maybe you put the jinx on him though, because he sure looked hurt tonight. Or really old. Like Greg Oden old.

Dr. Z- Thanks for all the comments, I love talking shop and I could argue sports all day! Clearly, you are a well-informed fan and know your stuff when it comes to the Boston Celtics.

Still, I tend to disagree with your conclusion, so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. But I will say I think the stat you said about 70% of KG's shots being jumpshots supports our argument. KG shoots so many jumpers now because, for whatever reason, he's not as efficient or productive down low as he used to be. He shoots so many jumpers because he doesn't create offense anymore, but shoots off the pass far more often.

Perhaps out argument just comes down to semantics, anyway. You are arguing for his inclusion to the all-star team based on his VALUE to the Celtics, which can't be disputed, while we are arguing for his exclusion from the team because of his PRODUCTION for the Celtics this season. Depending on what your definition of an "all-star" is, inevitably you'll come up with a different roster.

KG, is a far superior shooter than Perkins, so he gets more pick and pops, but the rest of his offense comes from fast break buckets, putbacks, alley-oops and dump-down layups. As far as the screens and pin downs go, Perkins does all of the same things, the only reason KG might be SLIGHTLY more adept at is because he has the respect of the officials who won't call moving screens on him like they will on Perkins.

Defensively, KG is by far the best team and help defender, but his 1-on-1 D has noticeably slipped this season. At this point, Perkins is unquestionably our best 1-on-1 post defender.

Of course, that's not to say Perkins is as important as KG. KG is clearly a team leader who forces everyone to play at a higher level. BUT, that doesn't mean personally he is still playing at such a high level and deserves an All-star bid. In my mind, Perkins, Rondo, and Pierce are all far more deserving of all-star spots than KG.

Dr. Z-

Kevin Garnett is my favorite basketball player since Larry Bird, and even I don't think he's the best player on this season's Celtics team.

As far as advanced statistics go, they MAY be an upgrade over traditional stats, but either way, there are too many intangibles in the game of basketball and advanced statistics are often counter-intuitive and too DON"T support the eye test. The eye test, or watching the games is really the only way to make judgements. You may not agree with Jay's assesment, but his comes from watching every Boston Celtics game this season, and not some arbitrary stats some mathematician concocted.

I agree with Jay; KG is NOT deserving of an All-star birth. Offensively, he truly has become a role players. Though he averages over 15 ppg, his offensive role really isn't much different from that of Kendrick Perkins. Other players, such as Rondo or Pierce, have to make plays for KG to get him open shots, because he has lost the ability to create his own offense.

Nice post, Josh. Something definitely needs to change with the All-star voting. It's ridiculous that T-Mac and Allen Iverson are going to make the team.

I think Ray's idead of 50/50 voting between fans and media, although I would prefer 1/3 for fans, 1/3 for media, 1/3 for players and coaches. What do you think?