2011 Eastern Conference NBA All Stars

These are my choices on who should make the All Star team for the Eastern Conference this season.  I'm putting together a squad to take down One Ush's all stars.  This is not necessarily who I think will make it, but it is the team I believe deserves it.

The Starting Five

PG - Derrick Rose CHI
- I wanted to give Ray Felton the nod, but Rose has been too good this year.  Developing an outside shot enabled Rose to elevate his game to the next level, and he has arguably been the MVP on the NBA so far this season.  He is impossible to guard one on one because he is so fast and can drive past anyone to get to the basket.  Now only if he didn't look like an alien...

SG - Dwayne Wade MIA
- This one is a no brainer.  Wade has been unbelievable this season, and has especially heated up of as late. He has figured out how to play sidekick to Lebron James and his numbers are reflecting it.  More importantly though, I think D-Wade has the #1 swagger in the entire NBA... and that is saying something.  The man has been the king of South Beach for a while already and has brought the city a championship basically all by himself.  He is also an incredible dresser and seems like the chillest dude ever.  I would love to hang out with him.

SF - Lebron James MIA
- LeBron will be taking his talents to Los Angeles for this years all star games because he is the most naturally gifted basketball player of all time.  He is also having a great year for the Heat this year and is finally figuring out how to not intentionally bump into his coach on national TV.  Still, he must be getting on David Stern's nerves with comments about why contraction would be good for the NBA (see http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=5952952).  If I was a mediocre player in the NBA, I would hate LeBron.  He essentially believes there aren't enough players that are almost as good as he is in the NBA, and therefore they need to get rid of some teams so everyone can compete with his Heat. This man has an ego problem.

PF - Amar'e Stoudamire NYK
- Let me preface this by saying that I am a Knicks fan and therefore have a deeper love for what Amar'e has done this season, but this man has brought basketball back into the spotlight in New York.  No matter how much success any other team in any sport has in New York, the Big Apple will always be a basketball town (although elitist New Yorkers do love watching the Yankees pay for wins).  Stoudamire's success this season can be traced back to one main factor; embracing his Jewish identity.  Right after signing with the Knicks, in an effort to appeal to his new fan base, Amar'e took a lengthy trip to Israel to discover his distant Jewish roots on his Mother's side and came back full of mitzvah. This improved sense of self enabled Amar'e to bring up his game to an MVP level and lead New York back to relevancy in style. The NBA is better when Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball. Mazel tov, Amar'e, Mazel tov.

C - Dwight Howard ORL
- This one is easy.  Dwight is the gold standard for centers in the NBA right now.  Defensively, there is no one better in the NBA.  Offensively, his presence alone opens up outside shots for his teammates and his size down low enables him to score 20+ a game even though his post moves aren't that smooth.  The Magic have been wheeling and dealing lately, bringing in a lot of new blood, but Dwight has been the consistent rock holding their team together.

The Bench

Guards - Raymond Felton NYK, Rajon Rondo BOS

Felton has been amazing for New York this season and is another big reason for their resurgence.  The Pick 'n Roll is impossible to guard with Felton and Amar'e running the show.  Despite only playing 20 games, Rajon Rondo still has more assists than near every other PG in the NBA (14.1 per game).  That is frighteningly good.  If Rondo is healthy, he'll be on the all star squad.

Forwards - Paul Pierce BOS

Pierce gets in on name recognition and on the court achievement.  While his numbers this year have been a bit down, we all know the Celtics don't really try in the regular season so who cares? The man is an all star for his clutch shots and reputation.

Bigs - Andrea Bargnani TOR, Al Horford ATL, Joakim Noah CHI

Noah is hurt right now, but deserves the recognition of the all star nod.  He is the most active defensive player in the league and his presence on the court makes his team so much better.  Horford leads the NBA is FG % and has really developed nicely since entering the NBA.  Bargnani is finally starting to live up to his billing as the #1 overall pick and has really thrived in Toronto this season.

The final spot goes to... Wilson Chandler PF NYK

In a bit of an upset pick, Chandler gets the all star nod over Brook Lopez.  You must be thinking I'm crazy, but Chandler is ahead of Lopez in FG%, FT%, Rebounds, Blocks and assists.  That pretty much covers any relevant statistic.  Chandler has also been an integral member of a very good Knicks team, while Lopez is the de fact scorer on an abysmal Nets team.  Lopez is a great young center, but still has some room for improvement in his game.