Western All-Stars
There is no visible end to the reign of Yao Ming as the West's starting center, and with Shaquille O'Neal out of the conference, Yao is that much closer to actually deserving it. Closer, but not there yet.
This year, I would award the spot to Sacramento's Brad Miller, a tougher, more versatile center on a much better team. Yao's numbers are not nearly as high as they should be, a situation caused equally by Tracy McGrady's domination of the offense and Yao's maddening refusal to demand the ball. As an All-Star, Yao must begin to assert himself, both to opponents and teammates.
One unexpected candidate to emerge this season has been the Lakers' Chris Mihm, who has wisely cozied up to Kobe Bryant since the trade that brought him to L.A. Mihm does a lot of things well and is an active, energetic player, but his overall skills rank well below Yao and Miller.
Among other West centers: New Orleans' Jamaal Magloire turned in a nice performance in his All-Star debut last season, but his participation in the Hornets' ghastly season prevents his selection; Portland's Theo Ratliff is still the league's best shot-blocker, but his game is quickly becoming one-dimensional; and Utah's Mehmet Okur, needs some improvement in all dimensions to ascend to the level of Yao and Miller.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and San Antonio's Tim Duncan once again deservedly headline a group of Western forwards that gets better each year. Duncan is simply the best player in the league, and Garnett, despite his team's unimpressive start, is not far behind him.
A very interesting dilemma arises in considering the Suns' pair of forwards, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion, for the team. Looking at statistics and team record, both are fairly easy picks for the team. However, it is obvious to any observer that much of their success can be attributed to the brilliance of Steve Nash, who hands each at least 10 points a game with his flawless orchestration of the fast break. Further, their production has dropped in Nash's absence, and they have yet to deliver a single victory without him. But ultimately, it's unfair to penalize players for exploiting an ideal situation, especially when it leads to the league's second-best record, so I'll take Stoudemire and Marion as my first two forwards off the bench.
The next choice has to be Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, who has proved the Mavericks don't need Nash - though I'm sure they wished they had him back after seeing what he's done in Phoenix - to be a contender. Nowitzki is on the level of Garnett and Duncan offensively, and may be the most difficult player to guard in the league. His rebounding has been better, and though his defense remains the weakest part of his game, he does at least work hard at it, and is mobile enough to give opponents occasional problems.
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