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Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Congratulations, NBA fans. I dont think you did a terrible job in voting for the NBA All-Star Game starters. That was a compliment. With 10 choices, you did brilliantly for nine of them. The fans chose Golden States Steph Curry and the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant in the backcourt, alongside New Orleans Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin and Memphis Marc Gasol. In the East, itll be John Wall of the Washington Wizards with Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors in the backcourt. Some guy named LeBron, Pau Gasol of the Chicago Bulls and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks will be the frontcourt. Bryant shouldnt start. We all know this. But, fans vote and thats what we get. For a while, I championed an idea of voting spectators being forced to pass a written exam to earn the privilege of All-Star selecting, but it seemed snobby. I had no problem with Anthony, namely because I dont know an Eastern Conference frontcourt player who was disrespected by not getting the job over Melo, who, by the way, is playing in his home arena for the All-Star game. With Kobe starting, it takes away the gig from James Harden, who rightfully deserves it. Thats not the case with Melo, plus the Bryant injustice will be righted since he tore his rotator cuff and will most likely miss the game on Feb. 15. The shocker was Lowry getting in ahead of Dwyane Wade. A late push sent the Raptors point guard to his first All-Star game and hell start, nonetheless. That makes the Eastern Conference reserves a little trickier. Does Wade still get in or does this open the door for a fourth Atlanta Hawks player, namely, Kyle Korver? (Late spoiler alert - I have three Hawks.) The other question in the Western Conference is how many old-guard players get the vote? In other words, do the coaches even bother to pay attention or just select Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki out of habit? Both are having good seasons on good teams, but are there are better candidates? With that, here is who I would vote for if I was a head coach in the NBA. I need two backcourt players, three frontcourt players and two wild-cards. Some were harder than others, feelings will always be hurt, but heres my picks. And remember, this isnt necessarily who I believe will get the nods, although I dont actually think its going to be far off. WESTERN CONFERENCE BACKCOURT JAMES HARDEN, Houston Rockets; RUSSELL WESTBROOK, Oklahoma City Thunder Harden is the MVP of the league, so lets save time and not detail why he should go to New York. Westbrook has played 28 games and its enough for me. Hes averaging a staggering 25.1 points per game at the point guard position, but hes also posting 7.4 assists per game, which is a half an assist higher than last season. Westbrook is dominating games for the Thunder, while still allowing Kevin Durant to be himself. Plus, Westbrook is a premiere defender who can wreak havoc on a game from that side of the floor. He leads the NBA in steals and has done enough to get the call. WESTERN CONFERENCE FRONTCOURT LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE, Portland Trail Blazers; DEMARCUS COUSINS, Sacramento Kings; TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio Spurs Aldridge is a no-brainer and the Blazers are having a fantastic season. They deserve representation and Aldridge is having another amazing campaign. Hes averaging 23.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.2 percent from 3-point range, although the sample size is small. Hes out for the next 6-8 weeks, so hell need a replacement, but should get a unanimous nod. Cousins ranks fourth in the league in scoring and third in rebounding. Those are strong positions and the knock on Cousins will be the Kings record, which is 16-26. However, Cousins missed 11 games, mostly because of a serious illness, and Sacramentos record with him in the lineup is 14-17. Thats respectable and his numbers are outstanding enough to warrant inclusion. Duncan was the toughest choice in the West. Durant only played 19 games to this point and its just not enough. Plus, are we comfortable having two OKC players in the game when it isnt even a postseason team? Duncan has missed only five games and hes playing the most minutes a night since the 2009-10 season. Duncan is averaging 14.7 ppg, which is down from seasons past, but hes also getting 10.0 rpg and is a legitimate NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Normally, I frown on lifetime achievement awards in All-Star selections, but hes anchoring a San Antonio team still entrenched in the postseason. WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD-CARDS DAMIAN LILLARD, Portland Trail Blazers; KLAY THOMPSON, Golden State Warriors Lillards scoring is up. His assists are up. His rebounding is up. His steals are up. His field-goal percentage is up. And all those numbers are up after a season in which he made the All-Star team. Portland is great, so its pretty simple to pencil Lillard into the game. Thompson is the second-best player on the best team in the conference. Simply put, the Warriors deserve two All-Stars and Thompson deserves to be the other one. Hes averaging 21.9 ppg and every other statistical category shows significant increases from last season. Thompson is fifth in 3-point shooting percentage and has become an elite wing defender. BONUS WESTERN CONFERENCE INJURY REPLACEMENTS FOR KOBE BRYANT AND LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE KEVIN DURANT, Oklahoma City Thunder; MONTA ELLIS, Dallas Mavericks I feel much better putting Durant in as a replacement. The 19 games is not enough, but his impact on the Thunder is undeniable. Plus, hes the second- best player in the league, thus, a case can be made for his inclusion automatically (plus, I think the coaches are putting him in, no matter what). You may have noticed there are no Dallas Mavericks previously listed. They are the best team without representation to this point and Ellis, not Nowitzki, is the most deserving Dallas player. Ellis averages 20.0 ppg, 4.5 apg and shoots 33 percent from long range. Hes been ignored for All-Star games in the past because of the perception hes just a scorer, but his season and a half in Dallas proved hes more. OTHERS UNDER CONSIDERATION: DIRK NOWITZKI, Dallas Mavericks; CHRIS PAUL, Los Angeles Clippers; MIKE CONLEY, Memphis Grizzlies EASTERN CONFERENCE BACKCOURT JIMMY BUTLER, Chicago Bulls; JEFF TEAGUE, Atlanta Hawks Butler is an obvious choice. In just a minute more per game, Butlers scoring is up 7.4 ppg, his assists are up 0.6 a night and his rebounding is 1.1 better. His shooting percentages are 46 from the floor, 35 from 3-point range and 83 from the foul line. Butler is a stout defender, plays the most minutes in the league and has been the best thing about a Bulls team that is in line to host a first-round playoff series. Career highs in scoring, assists, rebounding and field-goal percentage make Teague an attractive option. The fact his team is six games ahead in the Eastern Conference helps. Atlantas dominance is going to send a lot of Hawks to New York and Teague is the most undisputed of them all. Hes also a solid defender. EASTERN CONFERENCE FRONTCOURT AL HORFORD, Atlanta Hawks; PAUL MILLSAP, Atlanta Hawks; CHRIS BOSH, Miami Heat This group is admittedly thin. Preseason, we all assumed Kevin Love would be in this mix, if not starting, but the Cavs have underachieved, and, despite very solid numbers (17.7 ppg/10.4 rpg), Love cant be voted in here. Theres no rational justification for having three Cleveland players on the roster. Damn. Spoiler alert for the wild cards. Horford missed most of last season and it was easy to forget hes a two-time All-Star. Upon his return, Horfords numbers are down from seasons prior, but thats because head coach Mike Budenholzer employs a more passing-friendly offense than previous Hawks head coaches. Horford has very good scoring and field-goal percentage stats; however, his rebounding is down considerably from prior campaigns. Still, Horford is the defensive anchor for a team that is first in opponents scoring. Millsap is more-polished than Horford offensively and his 3-point shooting has become a legitimate weapon. Hes the second-best player on the best team in the conference and thats enough. The Hawks deserve massive representation because they are clearly better than all. Millsap is a guy whose numbers dont jump out at you, but watch him and youll know hes one of the six best frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference. Bosh actually emerged as the most obvious candidate. His scoring is up over five ppg since LeBron took his talents home. Rebounding has improved. Assists are better. Three-point shooting is surprisingly strong. Miami still passes for a playoff team in the 2014-15 version of the Eastern Conference. EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD-CARD KYRIE IRVING, Cleveland Cavaliers; EH ... I NEED MORE TIME TO THINK I dont know what to make of Irvings season. With James and Love in town, youd expect Irvings scoring to go down and his assists would go up. Thats false. Irvings scoring is up from last season to 21 ppg and his assists sank from 6.1 per game in 2013-14 to 5.3 in 2014-15. Uncle Drews field-goal and 3- point percentages are both ahead of last season. Its been a strange campaign in Cleveland, but Irvings numbers and impact are enough to get him into the show, where he won MVP last year. Oh man. Wade or Korver? Its a classic philosophical All-Star debate: Do you reward winning over all else or do you reward better individual achievement, coupled with name recognition? Heres the case for Wade. Hes averaging 21.8 ppg, which ranks 12th. His assists are at 5.5 per game and his rebounding is at 4.0 and those are really impressive posts for a shooting guard. Wade has played 32 games and has Miami in the mix in the Eastern Conference. However, the Heat are six games under .500. Can we justify having two Miami players with a losing record? Now, for Korvers case. The Hawks are six games clear of everyone. Theyve done it in Budenholzers style, which is Gregg Popovichs style of teamwork and passing. Individually, Korvers scoring is at its highest since the 2006-07 season at 13.1 ppg. His 3-point shooting is an astronomical 53.5 percent, his field-goal percentage is at 51.8 and his free-throw percentage is 92.2. If that continues, Korver will become the second player in NBA history to have a season of 50/50/90 and the other was Steve Kerr, who is, coincidentally the coach of the Western Conference All-Stars. Kerr did it as a bench player. Korver is doing it as a starter. Korver is also the most clutch shooter in the NBA with eye-opening numbers in the fourth quarter and overtime. Part of me wanted to hedge my bet and get a second Washington player like Marcin Gortat or Bradley Beal in there. Or, maybe Jonas Valanciunas from the Toronto Raptors could justify their strong season with a second selection. All right, a man has to make tough decisions. Im going with KYLE KORVER, Atlanta Hawks. I cant justify two Heat All-Star players with the team six games under .500, especially in the Eastern Conference. The other factor is Korvers clutch factor in the fourth quarter and overtime. Korver is a better all-around player than he gets credit for, so Ill take four Hawks. OTHERS UNDER CONSDIDERATION: DWYANE WADE, Miami Heat; MARCIN GORTAT and BRADLEY BEAL, Washington Wizards Victor Mete Jersey . To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Pierre Turgeon Jersey . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. http://www.cheapcanadiensjerseyschina.com/bernie-geoffrion-jersey/ . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Jonathan Drouin Jersey . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Womens Canadiens Jerseys .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday.VANCOUVER -- After a frustrating season which saw his team miss the playoffs, Vancouver head coach John Tortorella was rather blunt Monday in his assessment of what the Canucks must change if they hope to return to the NHLs elite. While Tortorella took some of the blame, he also didnt pull any punches. He said the Canucks are getting old, the core group has become complacent and the team needs to get younger. "I felt from day one that its stale," said Tortorella. "Thats not their fault. This is a group that has been together for a long time. "It needs youth. It needs a change. The team needs to be retooled. Its a young mans game. Its certainly not a criticism of (the veterans). We need to surround them with some enthusiasm." After a promising start under Tortorella, the Canucks finished the year with a 36-35-11 record for 83 points. Vancouver managed just 13 wins in 41 games since Jan. 1 and settled for a 25th-place finish in the overall standings. The poor showing has already cost Mike Gillis his job as president and general manager. New president Trevor Linden -- the Canucks former captain -- still must decide Tortorellas fate. The two were scheduled to meet later Monday. Centre Ryan Kesler, who was the subject of trade rumours this year, said the players have to take responsibility for the season. "Were all flabbergasted right now," said Kesler, who led Vancouver with 25 goals. "Going into this year I would never think we would be sitting here in this situation." The Canucks ended their season with a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames last Sunday but the victory was soured by an ugly incident late in the second period. Daniel Sedin was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being hit from behind by Calgarys Paul Byron. Sedin was taken to hospital and later released. After the hit, Sedin lay crumpled on the ice and couldnt raise his head. "I was scared," he said at Mondays season-ending news conference. "I tried to lift my head at first and couldnt get it off the ice. "The only thing I thought was lay still. I tried to move my hands and it felt good. I went to the hospital and everything looks good. I feel OK today." Tortorella said fans and management cant keep reminiscing about the Canucks loss in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final, but instead must concentrate on making the team better again. "Were not in 2011," said the man hired last year to replace the fired Alain Vigneault. "We have to stop talking about 2011. "The core needs to change." Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said the team was "really good" until hhalfway through the season when injuries became a problem.dddddddddddd Both Sedins, Alex Burrows and defenceman Chris Tanev all missed a significant number of games with injuries. "You never want to use injuries (as an excuse but) we had a tough year," said Henrik. "We had guys playing out of position. We had guys playing more minutes than they were used to. "We had to play a different way and we werent able to win playing that way." Tortorella said during this period he made a coaching mistake by giving the room to the players. "I didnt get back in the room and continue to teach the details," he said. "I didnt stay on top of it. "I needed to be pounding away at the details. I think that hurt us in situational play. I think that hurt us in trying to understand how you change momentum. Thats not the team, thats me. Thats my biggest regret." A lack of scoring haunted Vancouver all season. The Canucks managed just 196 goals, leaving them tied for second fewest in the league. For the first time in a non-lockout season, Vancouver had just one 20-goal scorer in Kesler. Daniel Sedin finished the year with 16 goals and went through a stretch of 23 games without scoring. Henrik Sedin had just 11 goals. Burrows, who hadnt scored less than 25 goals in the last four full seasons, had just five. "People talk about we are playing too much defence," said Daniel. "Honestly we played as aggressively as we have been. "That has nothing to do with why our production is down. Its up to us to play like we can." Defenceman Alex Edler, who begins a US$30-million, six-year contract next season, finished the season at -39, the worst plus-minus in the NHL. "There was a lot of changes this year (in how we played in own end) and a lot of new things to get used to," said Edler. "I think I didnt have the year I should have had but I know I am a good player." The Canucks have had several distractions to deal with over the last year. Tortorellas hiring was a surprise. Goaltender Cory Schneider was traded during the summer, meaning Roberto Luongo was the Vancouver starter after believing he was gone. Luongo was eventually traded to Florida. Tortorella missed six games after being suspended for trying to get into the Calgary locker-room following a line brawl to open a Jan. 18 game against the Flames. The Canucks were 2-4-0 during that period, then 2-7-1 when Tortorella returned. "When you lose a head coach its never good," said Henrik Sedin. "I dont think it was specifically that incident that made us start losing." 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