All-Star Game: New Orleans - Page 2

BravesRule22 · February 17th, 2008, 07:51 AM

Gay & Moon werent impressive

Dwight & GG were

Dwight deft brought back the dunk contest, hopefully it continues next year

Zen653 · February 17th, 2008, 10:39 PM

I didn't think Ray Allen deserved to be an All-Star but boy did he play like one. A game-high 28 points, 14 of them in the last 3 minutes of a close game, plus 5 three-pointers. Allen also drew a charging foul to force a turnover at a critical juncture. One could make a reasonable case that Ray Allen should have won the MVP. The Celtics faithful are a little upset that the fans instead voted for LeBron James.

I don't entirely blame the fans for the James pick. The TNT broadcast team, under orders from the NBA, encouraged fans to start voting at the very beginning of the 4th quarter. This was a poor decision on the part of the league because it forced fans to vote well before the game had been decided. At that point in the game, LeBron was the only player with good stats.

I'm willing to bet almost anything that the people who voted during the last 3 minutes of the 4th overwhelmingly favored Ray Allen. So it's not that the fans were stupid, it's that the voting started too early. People voted for LeBron from the 12 minute mark to the 3 minute mark (9 minutes) while Allen only had about 3 minutes to catch up. Allen was a victim of his own late game clutchness. Get the 5 threes at the end of the 3rd quarter and maybe Allen would have been the one hoisting up the MVP trophy.

Secondly, fans are notorious for supporting the big name player. All things roughly equal, LeBron James is going to beat Ray Allen every time. It's not an anti-Boston bias, the same thing would have happened to Antawn Jamison had he been the one dominating down the stretch. That's why I'd like to see a change to the way the voting works. Fans should collectively get one vote. Broadcasters of the game should collectively get a second vote. And the commissioner should break ties. I'd adopt this system for Super Bowl MVP voting, World Series MVP voting, all of the post-season awards.

Third, there's the Alex Rodriguez vs. David Ortiz (circa 2005) conundrum. Ray Allen was David Ortiz; he delivered when it counted most, albeit primarily in one category (homeruns for Ortiz, thee-pointers for Allen.) LeBron James was Alex Rodriguez; he lacked some of the late-game flash, but produced better overall numbers when factoring in the other statistical categories: assists (LeBron had 9 to Allen's 1), blocks (LeBron had 2 to Allen's 0), and rebounds (LeBron had 8 to Allen's 0.) Plus, it's not as though LeBron fizzled in the clutch or didn't play a role in the ultimate outcome. He produced from beginning to end (the first three quarters count as much as the fourth) and scored the game-winning basket in impressive fashion. He also connected with Allen on two of Allen's three-pointers when he could have shot the ball himself. If not for LeBron's surprising unselfishness down the stretch, Allen wouldn't even have had the opportunity to shoot that many threes.

Fourth, there's the stat padding argument. Some say that it's easier to score in the first three quarters of an All-Star game than in the fourth quarter. Well, yes and no. The fourth quarter is more competitive but during the first three quarters there's a lot of pressure to showboat and involve a lot of players. If LeBron James wanted to stat pad, he could have scored 40+ easily by ball-hogging and taking higher percentage shots.

Fifth, there were some lucky breaks for Allen. His last 3 points came on free throw shots (only 3-5 from the line.) One of his threes bounced around the rim, off the backboard, and then rattled through the hoop. And drawing the charge was more by accident than by design. Chris Paul inexplicably shoved Allen to the floor for no particular reason. Allen wasn't even impeding Paul's path. Paul was passing the ball laterally.

So at the end of the day, I'm not prepared to say that Allen was robbed of the MVP. I personally would have voted for Ray Allen in part because I'm a Celtics fan and in part because I usually like to see an underdog win when a legitimate case can be made for one. But at the same time, I recognize that an equally compelling case can be made for LeBron too. They were 1 and 1A.

Zen653 · February 18th, 2008, 10:40 AM

Headline from Agence France-Presse (AFP):

Quote:

Basketball: Allen, LeBron lead West to victory in NBA All-Star Game

AFP: Basketball: Allen, LeBron lead West to victory in NBA All-Star Game

Perhaps our friends in France are a tad geographically-challenged.

unreal654 · February 18th, 2008, 09:14 PM

Allen shot so well from the 3 point line partly because no one plays any D in the all star game. I think points might be the most overrated statistic to look at when determining an all-star game MVP.

February 17th, 2008, 07:51 AM	#16 (permalink)
BravesRule22 Basketball Community Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,089	Gay & Moon werent impressive Dwight & GG were Dwight deft brought back the dunk contest, hopefully it continues next year __________________ Braves, Knicks, Bucs, Louisville

February 17th, 2008, 10:39 PM	#17 (permalink)
Zen653 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 7,310	I didn't think Ray Allen deserved to be an All-Star but boy did he play like one. A game-high 28 points, 14 of them in the last 3 minutes of a close game, plus 5 three-pointers. Allen also drew a charging foul to force a turnover at a critical juncture. One could make a reasonable case that Ray Allen should have won the MVP. The Celtics faithful are a little upset that the fans instead voted for LeBron James. I don't entirely blame the fans for the James pick. The TNT broadcast team, under orders from the NBA, encouraged fans to start voting at the very beginning of the 4th quarter. This was a poor decision on the part of the league because it forced fans to vote well before the game had been decided. At that point in the game, LeBron was the only player with good stats. I'm willing to bet almost anything that the people who voted during the last 3 minutes of the 4th overwhelmingly favored Ray Allen. So it's not that the fans were stupid, it's that the voting started too early. People voted for LeBron from the 12 minute mark to the 3 minute mark (9 minutes) while Allen only had about 3 minutes to catch up. Allen was a victim of his own late game clutchness. Get the 5 threes at the end of the 3rd quarter and maybe Allen would have been the one hoisting up the MVP trophy. Secondly, fans are notorious for supporting the big name player. All things roughly equal, LeBron James is going to beat Ray Allen every time. It's not an anti-Boston bias, the same thing would have happened to Antawn Jamison had he been the one dominating down the stretch. That's why I'd like to see a change to the way the voting works. Fans should collectively get one vote. Broadcasters of the game should collectively get a second vote. And the commissioner should break ties. I'd adopt this system for Super Bowl MVP voting, World Series MVP voting, all of the post-season awards. Third, there's the Alex Rodriguez vs. David Ortiz (circa 2005) conundrum. Ray Allen was David Ortiz; he delivered when it counted most, albeit primarily in one category (homeruns for Ortiz, thee-pointers for Allen.) LeBron James was Alex Rodriguez; he lacked some of the late-game flash, but produced better overall numbers when factoring in the other statistical categories: assists (LeBron had 9 to Allen's 1), blocks (LeBron had 2 to Allen's 0), and rebounds (LeBron had 8 to Allen's 0.) Plus, it's not as though LeBron fizzled in the clutch or didn't play a role in the ultimate outcome. He produced from beginning to end (the first three quarters count as much as the fourth) and scored the game-winning basket in impressive fashion. He also connected with Allen on two of Allen's three-pointers when he could have shot the ball himself. If not for LeBron's surprising unselfishness down the stretch, Allen wouldn't even have had the opportunity to shoot that many threes. Fourth, there's the stat padding argument. Some say that it's easier to score in the first three quarters of an All-Star game than in the fourth quarter. Well, yes and no. The fourth quarter is more competitive but during the first three quarters there's a lot of pressure to showboat and involve a lot of players. If LeBron James wanted to stat pad, he could have scored 40+ easily by ball-hogging and taking higher percentage shots. Fifth, there were some lucky breaks for Allen. His last 3 points came on free throw shots (only 3-5 from the line.) One of his threes bounced around the rim, off the backboard, and then rattled through the hoop. And drawing the charge was more by accident than by design. Chris Paul inexplicably shoved Allen to the floor for no particular reason. Allen wasn't even impeding Paul's path. Paul was passing the ball laterally. So at the end of the day, I'm not prepared to say that Allen was robbed of the MVP. I personally would have voted for Ray Allen in part because I'm a Celtics fan and in part because I usually like to see an underdog win when a legitimate case can be made for one. But at the same time, I recognize that an equally compelling case can be made for LeBron too. They were 1 and 1A.

February 18th, 2008, 09:14 PM	#19 (permalink)
unreal654 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 332	Allen shot so well from the 3 point line partly because no one plays any D in the all star game. I think points might be the most overrated statistic to look at when determining an all-star game MVP.