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While a substitute isn't need in the East yet, the ESPN ticker prompted me to think about it by declaring that David Lee has average 24.6 ppg and 12.6 rpg since being left off the All-Star team. Still campaigning just in case I guess. I thought those are good stats, but let's look deeper. New York went 1-4 with the only playoff team they faced being Toronto (a loss at home). The only win was over Washington at home. They also lost at Washington, at Minnesota, and against Milwaukee at home. For reference Washington and Minnesota are among the league worst in record.

Josh Smith's numbers haven't been as good only 15.2 ppg and 9 rpg, but let's look a little deeper. Atlanta has gone 3-2 with the only 1 non-playoff opponent, the Clippers who still have a better record than New York (a win at home). The other wins were over Boston and Chicago at home and the losses were to Orlando and OKC on the road.

I know it isn't totally fair to compare the teams performance, but when I see ESPN essentially campaigning for Lee as the most deserving among the snubbed I feel pushed. The NBA game provides an opportunity for stats as long as your on the court. If you're on a bad team, someone still has to take shots, someone will still get rebounds. Sure it takes effort to put up good stats, but who's fighting for a share of those rebounds with Lee? Al Harrington, Jared Jeffries, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler? Child, please. If Lee had carried the Knicks to a winning record since the ASG reserves were named I might be more impressed considering the schedule it's not an outrageous thought. As it is I find myself imploring the league to consider winning and defense if you have to name a sub regardless of what the ESPN ticker says.

you can make the argument:

Lee has more ppg and rpg
Josh has a better PER
Lee plays center
Josh plays on a winning team
Lee plays in a stat friendly system

.......... but ask yourself this question, who is the better basketball player?

clearly it is Josh Smith.

in addition, All Star games are for the fans and who doesn't want to see Smoove and G-Force in the open floor, running the fast break throwing down monster alley oops.

The one reason why I'd put Lee in over Smoove is that almost that entire Knick team is in a contract year and Lee is outperforming all of them. Easy enough to say Smoove is more deserving but he is playing on a team with 2 other allstars and the 6th man of the year winner. What does Lee have?
You can also say the fans would rather see Smoove but then again Lee has a top 10 or 15 selling jersey.

MaceCase wrote:The one reason why I'd put Lee in over Smoove is that almost that entire Knick team is in a contract year and Lee is outperforming all of them. Easy enough to say Smoove is more deserving but he is playing on a team with 2 other allstars and the 6th man of the year winner. What does Lee have?
You can also say the fans would rather see Smoove but then again Lee has a top 10 or 15 selling jersey.

He plays in NY and Josh plays in Atlanta. Josh is still known for a poor attitude. I think Harrys argument outweighs any other argument. I still love Lee. Hes a good good player.

SneakerKing33 wrote:

MaceCase wrote:The one reason why I'd put Lee in over Smoove is that almost that entire Knick team is in a contract year and Lee is outperforming all of them. Easy enough to say Smoove is more deserving but he is playing on a team with 2 other allstars and the 6th man of the year winner. What does Lee have?
You can also say the fans would rather see Smoove but then again Lee has a top 10 or 15 selling jersey.

He plays in NY and Josh plays in Atlanta. Josh is still known for a poor attitude. I think Harrys argument outweighs any other argument. I still love Lee. Hes a good good player.

I think Smith's reputation as a bad egg has subsided, significantly.

If Lee gets in over Smith, it will be an outrage. And I am not a hawks fan. Smoove is a stud on both sides of the ball whereas Lee is not. He's a nice player, but I'd take smith over him 100 times out of 100.

Chris Kaman getting named to replace Roy in the West is a bad sign. Record seems out the window at this point for the league office. I like Kaman and perhaps he was the most deserving player left, but I would have thought that Aaron Brooks might have gotten the nod considering he's a guard and Houston didn't have any representation in spite of a winning record.