Lillard AS chances again: Kobe, Paul

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If both play it clearly hurts his chances but even worse it destroys the chances of a guy like Dragic or Conley who have 0 chance if Paul or Kobe play let alone both.
 
Paul likely will play. Kobe still up in the air but potentially could.


Now we are back to Lillard vs. Parker in the coach's vote, with the loser hoping

1. Kobe doesn't play
2. to be named by Stern as Kobe's replacement instead of the odd man out between Anthony Davis and Cousins

Even if Kobe doesn't play Lillard is far from a sure thing now. If by chance (for example) the coaches "spurs-must-have-a-rep-and-the-Blazers-already-have-Aldridge" sympathy vote in Parker, and it came down to Lillard vs. Davis in Stern's mind, I would not feel good about Lillard's chances. Just based on statistics and reputation for 2-way play Davis is obviously more deserving, and Stern does not tend to give team record nearly as much consideration as the coaches do.
 
cmeese47 said:
If both play it clearly hurts his chances but even worse it destroys the chances of a guy like Dragic or Conley who have 0 chance if Paul or Kobe play let alone both.
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Their chances were iffy either way, because as noted above even if Kobe and Paul didn't play opening spots for both Lillard and Parker, guys like Dragic/Conley/Lawson would end up being up against one of Anthony Davis or Cousins in the mind of David Stern which, ignoring team record which Stern sometimes does, would be no contest.
 
Not that is matters a whole lot but it would it be up to Stern or Silver?
 
Boise Blazer said:
Not that is matters a whole lot but it would it be up to Stern or Silver?
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Huh, hadn't thought of that interesting question. Reserves are announced Jan 30, Stern steps down Feb.1. There's a 2 day window there for Stern to name replacements, but Kobe's status could still be up in the air during that time.
 
Of course Paul is coming back.... it's all about ego. If he would have been voted in by the fans, he might have sat it out because he could still say he's an All-Star this year, but because Curry passed him the only way he can make the team is if the coaches vote him in. They might be reluctant to do that if he's still injured. Paul isn't going to want to have a year where he wasn't an All-Star, so he's going to rush back just to make the game and steal a spot from someone who deserves it.
 
Dame not making it will only fuel him. But if it's CP/Curry/Harden/Parker who make it instead, we shouldn't really be up in arms.
 
crowTrobot said:
Fuel him to defend in Skills and smoke the 3p contest hopefully.



I think he's got a very good case against Parker.
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Not if Duncan doesn't make it. I also think we need to finish top two in the west in order to get Dame in. Right now we're playing iffy ball so I'm not sure if he'll get the nod.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Not if Duncan doesn't make it. I also think we need to finish top two in the west in order to get Dame in. Right now we're playing iffy ball so I'm not sure if he'll get the nod.
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I meant he has a good statistical (+clutch) case over Parker. Otherwise yeah team considerations often are way more important than stats in how the coach's vote.
 
crowTrobot said:
I meant he has a good statistical (+clutch) case over Parker. Otherwise yeah team considerations often are way more important than stats in how the coach's vote.
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I think if we have LA in, and the Spurs don't get Duncan, I don't see Dame making it. I really don't see the Spurs without an All-Star if they're at or near the top of the west.
 
On a related topic it would be cool if LMA was the first reserve named by EJ a week from tomorrow. The last 2 years (at least) TNT has named reserves in what appeared to be descending order of coach's vote totals, and LMA should be very near the top.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I think if we have LA in, and the Spurs don't get Duncan, I don't see Dame making it. I really don't see the Spurs without an All-Star if they're at or near the top of the west.
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I think Paul deserves it over Lillard and Parker if he's healthy enough to play, and the coaches wouldn't be wrong to pick Paul over the other two. He has played 34 games this year at an MVP-level. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, does not deserve to make it this year, and it would be 100% ego, and 100% selfishness, if he comes back to play in the game.
 
PapaG said:
I think Paul deserves it over Lillard and Parker if he's healthy enough to play, and the coaches wouldn't be wrong to pick Paul over the other two. He has played 34 games this year at an MVP-level. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, does not deserve to make it this year, and it would be 100% ego, and 100% selfishness, if he comes back to play in the game.
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I'm not going to argue with you on that. Paul deserves to make it, but I'll still be pissed if he comes back just to make the squad and then sits out most of the game because his shoulder hurts.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I'm not going to argue with you on that. Paul deserves to make it, but I'll still be pissed if he comes back just to make the squad and then sits out most of the game because his shoulder hurts.
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Me too! :cheers:

Of course, bench players haven't been treated so well in recent years at the AS game, anyhow. LMA has been treated like a scrub the last two years.
 
Conspiracy theory alert. Perhaps Chris Paul was tipped off today that he passed Steph Curry in the voting, and now will be named a starter?

Voting closed today. It wouldn't look good for the NBA if the Top 2 backcourt players in votes weren't able to play in the game. Seems odd that both injured players would put out messages today targeting the AS game as a return, which is just fucking stupid if you think about what it actually means to their teams in the long-run.
 
PapaG said:
Conspiracy theory alert. Perhaps Chris Paul was tipped off today that he passed Steph Curry in the voting, and now will be named a starter?

Voting closed today. It wouldn't look good for the NBA if the Top 2 backcourt players in votes weren't able to play in the game. Seems odd that both injured players would put out messages today targeting the AS game as a return, which is just fucking stupid if you think about what it actually means to their teams in the long-run.
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I think what Nate said is more likely to be true. Paul was probably tipped off today that he was NOT voted in as a starter, and wants to be sure the coaches know he will be active for the game when they vote.

The Kobe link just says he is being reevaluated and might be able to play by next week. Nothing is specified for certain and it doesn't mention the AS game as far as I noticed.
 
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crowTrobot said:
I think what Nate said is more likely to be true. Paul was probably tipped off today that he was NOT voted in as a starter, and wants to be sure the coaches know he will be active for the game when they vote.

The Kobe link just says he is being reevaluated and might be able to play by next week. Nothing is specified for certain and it doesn't mention the AS game as far as I noticed.
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Stop. You're blowing up my conspiracy theory! Although I do agree, those Cliff Paul ads would look pretty stupid when they run during the AS game and Paul isn't even selected to the team.

So that's a new conspiracy! State Farm has already bought major ad time during the game, and is insisting that the NBA have Chris Paul at the very least play a bit in the game.
 
crowTrobot said:
I think what Nate said is more likely to be true. Paul was probably tipped off today that he was NOT voted in as a starter, and wants to be sure the coaches know he will be active for the game when they vote.

The Kobe link just says he is being reevaluated and might be able to play by next week. Nothing is specified for certain and it doesn't mention the AS game as far as I noticed.
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If Kobe takes a spot, that would be seriously messed up. What has he played in? Three games?

At least Paul earned a spot and has only been out since early January. I'm going to be annoyed if Kobe "plays" in the All-Star game.

Edited - sorry, SIX games.
 
I'm going way back here, and some may not remember it, but Magic Johnson was voted by the fans into an All-Star game the year he retired due to HIV. He was MVP of that game, and literally wasn't on a roster or didn't play a second that entire season.

If that had happened during the internet era, imagine the outrage about his "selfishness." Instead, Stern and his NBA crafted it as a plus, and it is one of the most memorable AS games in history. Looking back, I'm sure the only reason Magic did it was because his sponsors insisted on it.
 
PapaG said:
I'm going way back here, and some may not remember it, but Magic Johnson was voted by the fans into an All-Star game the year he retired due to HIV. He was MVP of that game, and literally wasn't on a roster or didn't play a second that entire season.

If that had happened during the internet era, imagine the outrage about his "selfishness." Instead, Stern and his NBA crafted it as a plus, and it is one of the most memorable AS games in history. Looking back, I'm sure the only reason Magic did it was because his sponsors insisted on it.
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I look at that as a completely different scenario.

Here's a guy who had to retire while he was still one of the best in the league because he literally had no idea what was going to happen to him. They didn't know if it was safe for him to be on the floor. He was one of the most beloved players in the history of the game, so for the fans to vote him in so he could play one last game (at least they thought it would be his last), that seems fine to me.

Kobe is not retiring. Kobe does not have an illness that many people thought would kill him. I get your point, but I think one is a special circumstance, and the other is just a guy being selfish.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I look at that as a completely different scenario.

Here's a guy who had to retire while he was still one of the best in the league because he literally had no idea what was going to happen to him. They didn't know if it was safe for him to be on the floor. He was one of the most beloved players in the history of the game, so for the fans to vote him in so he could play one last game (at least they thought it would be his last), that seems fine to me.

Kobe is not retiring. Kobe does not have an illness that many people thought would kill him. I get your point, but I think one is a special circumstance, and the other is just a guy being selfish.
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I agree with your point. My primary reason for posting it is that Magic didn't lose his endorsement contracts that season, and it was a plus to have him playing for McDonald's and others who advertised during the game.
 
PapaG said:
I agree with your point. My primary reason for posting it is that Magic didn't lose his endorsement contracts that season, and it was a plus to have him playing for McDonald's and others who advertised during the game.
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Yeah, I'm sure that didn't hurt.

I really wish they'd implement some kind of minimum requirements to make the All-Star team, but then it wouldn't be "for the fans." :sigh:
 
Natebishop3 said:
Yeah, I'm sure that didn't hurt.

I really wish they'd implement some kind of minimum requirements to make the All-Star team, but then it wouldn't be "for the fans." :sigh:
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The reality is that the majority of NBA "fans" would rather see Kobe Bryant start the game and play for 8 minutes as opposed to Damian Lillard getting that spot and playing 15 minutes off of the bench. Which sucks, but I do understand it, and you can be sure I'll be bashing Bryant with you as well if/when he does play those 8 minutes.
 
whoever can sell the most product will get the nod, it's the rule of GNP dominated economics. Lillard should get a coaches nod. I voted for 4 Blazers and 4 Blazers only every day, so he's got my votes. I wrote in Wes everytime as well. Where can we see the write in results?
 
riverman said:
whoever can sell the most product will get the nod, it's the rule of GNP dominated economics. Lillard should get a coaches nod. I voted for 4 Blazers and 4 Blazers only every day, so he's got my votes. I wrote in Wes everytime as well. Where can we see the write in results?
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Why didn't you vote for RoLo? He's the biggest reason we're as good as we are. He changed everything.
 
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