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Howard leads all players in first All-Star Ballot returns

The 2012 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Amway Center in Orlando -- on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah (75,038). James leads Eastern Conference forwards with 640,789 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (496,351) of the New York Knicks. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls leads Eastern Conference guards with 640,476 votes, followed by Miami's Dwyane Wade (637,912).

Bryant's 690,613 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul placing second (540,173). Durant's 633,538 votes lead forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 394,264 votes. The Lakers' Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 496,597 votes, followed by the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan (134,961).

mkwest wrote:DJ is really benefiting by playing in LA with CP3 and BG. I really didn't expect him to be in 2nd place ahead of Gasol. Rubio is pretty high as well, which is surprising. Gordon has less votes than Billups. Blake has a sizable lead over Dirk, but it is the closest race so far. The Eastern Conference is pretty much etched in stone with Howard, James, Anthony, Wade and Rose. The West will probably be 4 LA players and Durant.

Howard continues to lead in second All-Star Ballot returns

Howard paces centers in the East, followed by the Bulls' Joakim Noah (141,683). LeBron James of the Miami Heat leads Eastern Conference forwards with 972,580 votes, followed by Carmelo Anthony (779,945) of the New York Knicks. Rose leads Eastern Conference guards with 1,040,210 votes, followed by Miami's Dwyane Wade (972,015).

Bryant's 1,110,379 votes leads Western Conference guards, with the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul placing second (835,026). Durant's 973,152 votes leads forwards in the West, with Blake Griffin of the Clippers next in line with 619,913 votes. The Lakers' Andrew Bynum paces Western Conference centers with 777,365 votes, followed by the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan (214,883).

NBA.com

mkwest wrote:No surprises here

West
Paul
Bryant
Durant
Blake
Bynum

East
Rose
Wade
Anthony
James
Howard

Congrats to Blake and CP3 for being named starters. They are the only Clippers/Braves to be named starters to the All-Star Game other than Bob McAdoo (1975, 1976, 1977) and World B. Free (1980).

WenningtonGuy wrote:If your view of the All-Star game means having the best players then Blake and Melo shouldn't be starting. If it is for the show and excitement, then yes it is correct.

Rising Stars Challenge Sophs: Griffin, Cousins, Fields, George, Hayward, Monroe, Splitter, E. Turner, Wall

John Schuhmann

NBA Rookie Challenge

NBA All-Star 2012 will play host to the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which will introduce an exciting new format to a game that has historically featured NBA rookies facing off against sophomores. For the first time, rookies and sophomores will be mixed together on teams.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Ricky Rubio, who ranks third overall in assists, lead a list of 18 players selected for the 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge to be held on Friday, Feb. 24, in Orlando during NBA All-Star 2012.

TNT Analysts Mike Fratello and Steve Kerr will be part of the coaching staffs for the teams, with Fratello joining TEAM CHUCK and Kerr joining TEAM SHAQ. The Head Coaches for both teams will be the lead assistant coaches from the 2012 NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs. The East and West coaching staffs will be determined by the best record in each conference through games played Feb. 15.

The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge will be televised live nationally on TNT at 9 p.m. ET and also will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio, while NBA.com will make live audio available to fans in multiple languages. NBA games are broadcast to 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

Inside Hoops