<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A door may have creaked opened to next month's NBA All-Star Game for one rather large Jazz player, and if it indeed has, center Mehmet Okur would not at all be shy about barging his way through. "This is my dream," he said. Here's how he may have a shot at living it: Houston Rockets center Yao Ming ? expected to be chosen by voters as the Western Conference's starter in the middle when final fan balloting results are revealed Thursday ? said he will "definitely not" play in the Feb. 18 game at Las Vegas, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday. Even if Western Conference coaches select Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire as a backup center when reserves are formally announced Feb. 1, Okur could receive consideration as a replacement for Yao. NBA commissioner David Stern taps the replacement for injured players, with input from the West's head coach. One school of thought suggests Stern could name Denver's Marcus Camby, or perhaps a deserving power forward who gets snubbed.</div> <div align="center">Source</div>
