Obviously, I'm voting every day for LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Damian Lillard. But that leaves seven other spots (two in the west, five in the east). Who's everyone voting for? In the West, I'm voting for Durant as the third frontcourt player and Chris Paul in the backcourt. In the East, I've got LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, and... I tend to mix it up on the other guard. Also - is there a strategy to voting for a longshot as the 3rd frontcourt player or the other backcourt player to improve the Blazers' chances? I know, other than LA, the Blazers getting an All-Star starter is basically impossible. Even LA is long shot...
Don't vote for Chris Paul, if he gets a starting spot then he may play a minute then sit down for the rest of the game. If he doesn't start then coaches likely won't pick him (because they know he needs to rest) so this in turn guarantees Lillard gets in. Now Lillard should get in regardless but it is better to take no chances.
Another wrinkle to the all star team: Terry might be the coach if we have the best record in the west (or second to the Spurs) on Feb 2. Who woulda thought that just a few months ago?! I think LA and now Dame might both be locks.
Ugh. You guys. Basic math. Voting for Durant hurts Aldridge's chances. Vote for our guys and the two worst players remaining. Aldridge doesn't gain on Durant if you're voting for Durant. Geesh.
Even better, you should write in Matthews and Lopez. You guys amaze me. Voting for Boogie too? SMH...
You don't have to vote for 10 players... I always just vote for the Blazer players and leave the rest blank.
LMA has zero chance of catching Durant. voting for Durant does nothing to LMA's chances. Durant is going to be #1 no matter what so voting for him doesn't do anything at all. you could say it's a wasted vote in that sense.
this is what I do with one exception, I vote for Dre for the allstar game every year since he was a Blazer. I would only vote for Blazers if I had more than 1 write in vote. I write in Wes everytime but would vote Lopez if Wes were on the freakin' ballot.
I vote for Lillard/CP3(want him to get in as a starter so he gets replaced)/LMA/Batum/Lopez for the east I dont' care nor it matters so I vote for Beal/Lance Stephenson/Hibbert/Chandler/Noah
I made this point in another thread. CP3's absence opens up a spot either way, since Curry moving up to starter opens up a guard spot in the coaches vote in which he would have been a stone cold lock. The only difference is if Curry is voted in as a starter it makes it somewhat more likely Lillard will be voted in by the coaches and not have to rely on being named as a replacement by Stern. It's probably moot as with both Westbrook and Paul out Lillard has a very high probability to be a coaches vote no matter who starts, barring the Blazers getting blown out in the next 6 straight games with Lillard goes scoreless while Dragic or Lawson start scoring 60 points per game, or some similar unlikely catastrophe.
Aldridge won't overtake Durant, Speed, and if I'm understanding the basic rules of fan voting for the NBA All-Star game, LA doesn't need to overtake Durant. Starters are the players with the three highest vote totals among Western Conference "frontcourt" candidates, right?
