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Alright, question #2 is a bit harder.

Will you be happy, sad, or a bit of both if Yi Jianlian is an All-Star this season? The way I see it, the only way he can do it THIS year is to be voted in as a starter, a fact that could work in his favor.

He was the star of the Chinese national team this summer, and is already a pop icon in his home country (partially due to his Hollywood-esque romance with actress Shi Yanfei). With Yao Ming sidelined for the entire season, Yi has the hopes of the world's largest nation (and All-Star voting sector) tied solely to him. Barring injury, the starting PF spot in the East "should" belong to either Kevin Garnett or Chris Bosh, who are both vastly superior players to Yi, at least at this point. Last year, KG beat out Yi by about 150,000 votes, and Yi actually beat Bosh by over 500,000 fan votes.

I can see Yi putting up 13/7/2/1/1 this season, which would be a big boost in production for him, but still paltry for an All-Star. Garnett is going to continue to regress statistically as he ages (33) and Rondo and Wallace assert themselves offensively, but 15/8/2/1/1 in limited minutes is still easily attainable. Bosh's Raptors were busy in FA this summer, adding serious firepower with Hedo and Jack. But Chris is still THE man in Toronto, and reproducing his 23/10/3/1/1 should be a piece of cake.

After the two favorites, you have guys like Antawn Jamison, Josh Smith, Elton Brand, David Lee, Michael Beasley, Andrea Bargnani, Charlie Villanueva and even Tyrus Thomas (contract year), all of whom should put the same or better stats than our Yi. It could be argued that Jianlian isn't even a top-20 PF in the league, but believe it or not, he could be our next All-Star.

Feel free to explain your POV, and please, let's keep this topic civil. Thanks.

Wow, I forgot about this near debacle last season.
God I hope he doesn't get voted on, but sadly, this may just happen, also seriously limiting the possibility that Devin and Brook follow suit.

Yeah, if he gets voted on, he would be such a lightning rod for alot of angry backlash. It would look bad for the NBA and the Nets, and considering Yi's fragile ego, could irreparably harm him. My solemn hope is that he EARNS the right to represent our team that the All-Star game. I truly believe he is talented enough to do so, at some point in his career. But if he just doesn't produce All-Star caliber numbers THIS year, and especially if he is not contributing to a successful Nets team, I hope he doesn't make it.

Yes Yi Can.

I had a sad day, but I'm glad to be able to read and post on this forum everyday...

by george , he's right. Yao's out. all-star!! i'd vote for him too cuz I hate KG. damn you KG.

jerseyjac wrote:I had a sad day, but I'm glad to be able to read and post on this forum everyday...

sorry...

It's really stupid the why the NBA does the All-Star voting. One billion Chinese people should not be allowed to determine who starts in the All-Star Game.

This is how the voting should be done. You are only allow to vote at the games (real money paying fans are the only ones that can vote) no electronic stuffing of the ballet box. Also, you can not vote for players on the home team. If you are voting at the Nets game, you can not vote for Yi; if you are voting at a Celtics game you can not vote for KG. This would level the playing field between big market and small market.

Finally, the ballots would have the up to date stats of each player next to his name so the "fan" would know how well he is doing that season. This would hopefully, eliminate Grant Hills being voted in on name recognition despite missing ever game of the season.

Just my little rant.