-This topic was from last thursday when it was brought up on the aftershow on TNT...why isnt Rasheed Wallace dominating like he did that night more often? He dropped 36pts and 9rebs seamlessly from everywhere...he hit 3 3's,9 of 11 FTs and 12 of his 24 shots...all on Tim Duncan..odd right?..but when you really think back on it...he's always been content with playing a team game, even to a detriment sometimes.In UNC he was cool with Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis sometimes shooting the team out of a close game even though he shot over 60% from the field that year(Btw its still an ACC record)..the 2 years he was at his statistical apex(2000-01,01-02) he only averaged a shade over 19pts,around 8rebs and somewhere around 2 or 3 asts per game but yet were swept in the 1st round both times(By LA no less,remember that '00 15pt choke?...I do)..Granted these Portland teams were stacked to the point of Jermaine O'Neal couldnt get any playing time,but he was their best player but never got into the mode of go-to player.In Detroit they won the championship his 1st year there,but since...ehh...specifically the last few years when the one man shows of Lebron and Wade were beating on them...he was content putting up under 15 a game while being guarded by Drew Gooden and Udonis Haslem....see where I'm going with this?....mindset is everything..

-Sadly Andrew Bynum got hurt(with an injury I still have never heard of) which costs him and the Lakers around 8 weeks of his time..I havent looked at the schedule yet,but if the schedule is hard,the fall job may begin...I think Kobe can save them...or hold them above water, but I think the team balling we've been hearing about all year may have to take a backseat for a little while...only to be shown on Monday that Kobe is going to try what I said(Shot 44 times...for 48pts,which was his 1st 40 pt game this year...only to nudge out the Sonics by 2...uh oh)...all they have to do is hold down the fort until he comes back...that is all...The one comment that I had to laugh at was Phil Jackson(talking about Bynum's knee) said "Yeah,he's had problems with his knees since he was a kid".......isnt he like 20?....so what..like...last year?

With the All Star game in under a month..I felt I should have a pick listing of who I thought should go..and who shouldnt...since I converse regularly with my good friend Brad about topics like this all the time,I asked him to partake in a selection as well,to see how far off we could be....so here it is..
My All Star selections East:
Kidd/Billups
Wade/Joe/Redd
Lebron/Butler/Jefferson
KG/Bosh
Howard/J O'Neal
Kidd is the best in the east to me...I think the only person I felt shouldnt go is Wade,but thats for another entry..another snub for me was Pierce

West:
Nash/Paul/Baron
Kobe/Iverson/Roy
Dirk/Melo
Duncan/Boozer
Yao/Amare
I decided that Deron Williams will have to wait another year for an all star game...Baron Davis means everything to the Warriors...him not going with the year he's having would be a travesty,to me..I can play Dirk at 3 since he's really a 3 anyways...I think the hardest pick for me was Brandon Roy or Shawn Marion...and I went with Roy...playoff talk was a year early for them and he's the reason why...he has to go

Brad's selections:

East:
Kidd/Billups
Wade/Joe/Redd
Lebron/Butler/Pierce
Garnett/Bosh
Howard/JONeal

(His explanation)

Redd and Pierce are the last 2 for me.....Gave the nod to Pierce over
Richard Jefferson b/c of the fact that the nets are atrocious and jefferson's
numbers are actually down other than scoring. Pierce too important to a
team with a great record. Redd in there mostly due to lack of options
although he's having another good year; wasn't another big guy worth
putting on the team and couldn't bring myself to give Jose Calderon the
nod. Rest are self-explanatory though I'm close to making Joe the
starter at the 2 this year.


West:
Paul/Nash/Deron
Kobe/Iverson/Roy
Melo, Dirk
Duncan/Boozer
Yao/Amare

(His explanation)
I had to take 3 point guards because of the wealth of talent and couldn't
really grab 4 so Baron is the most obvious snub. Deron and Brandon Roy
are the final 2 adds. Brandon Roy marginally over Shawn Marion who
isn't having his best season by any means and Roy has done too much to
ignore in carrying Portland to a playoff record (so far). Deron
Williams gets the nod over Baron in the closest call of all.
Better FG% and more assists swing me toward Deron in a more methodical style not
necessarily conducive to numbers. The other controversial selection is
Dirk at the 3 over someone like Marion. First of all, Dirk is a totally
perimeter player and 2nd of all the game is "forwards" based and not
necessarily SF/PF and he's versatile. That said, I'd start Duncan and
Boozer if the SF/PF system was taken away as I feel they are the 2 best
forwards in the West overall but since Boozer can't play the 3 in any
way, I go with Melo followed by Dirk. Amare takes the slight edge over
Pau gasol and the breakout Chris Kaman due to consistency and team
success (despite the lack of D)

-I recently saw an interview about Caron Butler and they showed his stats...
I was shocked of what he is putting up this year..so I looked and looked and came up with a
short list of underrated players in the league
-Maurice Williams,Bucks-He's the reason Milwaukee got rid of TJ Ford..he's averaging 17pts,
a shade under 7 asts and shoots a decent percentage across the board,name the 6 best PGs in
the league,he's number 7
-David West,Hornets-Chris Paul isnt the only reason the New Orleans is really good this year(but
he should take alot of credit anyways lol) anyways he's averaging 19 and 9 which seems a little
pedestrian..but I woke up on him when he dropped 40 on Pau Gasol with no Chris Paul and they
won by 2..you can wake up too
-Andris Biedrins,Warriors-Hes the lone big man for Golden State...no really...thats it...but anyways
he shoots over 60% from the field(shhh about the FT%)..and so what he only averages 10pts and
9.5rebs...Don Nelson plays with the center spot so much,Mickael Pietrus(whos 6-6,215lbs) has started
more than once at center and have Biedrins come off the bench(let that sink in for a second)
-Caron Buter,Wizards-I had to add him right?...he's the reason I started this list...anytime your
best player goes down,your place in the standings usually follows suit...no no..Caron has stepped
up his game in just about every aspect of his game to hold down the fort(20-17 as of presstime)
until(or if?) Gilbert comes back..they could still make it to the playoffs without him...
thats saying something.

College Games to Watch -ASU@Cal(Thursday-10:30pm) Pendergraft vs Anderson..dont say who -Norte Dame@Georgetown(Saturday-Noon) -Clemson@Duke(Saturday-6pm) -USC/UCLA(Saturday-3:30pm) I dont think USC can win...but the prospect of Mayo vs Love will warrent watching