Is this the year he makes the all star team ? Last year he had a all star caliber season with 18 points and 8 rebounds, but with all the good power forwards n the West like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and Tim Duncan it's gonna be tough. Predicted stats in 10-11 : 20.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg
I don't think he had an all star caliber season last year. Not even close. At best he was 6th best PF in the conference. That's not even close to being an all star.
I'd have put him 5th (behind Boozer, Duncan, Dirk, and Amare''e''ee'e'e in no order); but now, you look at that list, and two are gone, and two are oooollllldddd. LMA has a chance, but he needs a 20/10/2 year, all year, with a few 30 point games against big opponents to be considered for the backup role (because let's face it, he's not gonna get voted in)
Yea I'm sure you'd say the same thing about Pau, IMO if your that tall your either a center or your soft
I thought last year was going to be a breakout year of sorts, but based on his first 4 years in the league of almost total stagnation (PER, rebound rate, field goal %, FTAs, etc.) I think it's likely that LMA is the player he's going to be with minor improvements as he approaches his peak. But right now he is a fade-away jump shooter, without an ability to face up and drive with the ball, meaning he doesn't generate the contact needed to get to the line, which would probably add the full 3 points per game to his scoring average he would need to be considered for the all-star team (and it would make him much tougher to guard). In short, I think LMA is probably going to be a sub-allstar level player that might get voted in if the team is dominant and only because of the exodus of all-star quality 4s that have fled to the East. I predict Luis Scola gets in before he does.
Actually, if you look at the players who bolted east, Boozer didn't even make the all-star game last year, and Amare was voted in as a center. But I get that he theoretically has a better chance as one of the 2 "no position" reserves.
The West has: Zach Randolph 21/12 David Lee 20/12 Pau 20/11 TD 19/10 (Timmy's been mostly a F in the AS games) Dirk 27/8 Will Blake Griffin be better than LA? Since they select two forwards, not a PF and a SF I would add: Melo 31/8.5 KD 25/8 LA gets 19/6 LA's offense could get better if/when he gets to play off of both Greg and Brandon, but I don't see his rebounds getting to AS level while he's playing with Greg. I think it looks pretty grim for LA making the AS game. But, hey, he doesn't have to make the AS game to win a title! Go Blazers
Given that the Blazers played so much of last season without a true center, I don't think it's fair to take too much from that year as an indication of where LA is heading as a player. If Oden is healthy and playing up to what he was beginning to show before his injury last year, then LA is going to get a lot more open looks with his midrange jumper. The two players should complement each other's games perfectly. I guess I really don't care much about whether he's selected to play in an exhibition game. I just want to have a season where this team gets to play the way it was designed to play. The accolades will take care of themselves.
