Playing Basketball: Voting

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

2012 All-Star Voting

Like so many other aspects of the 2011-12 NBA Season, the All-Star voting process will be compressed into a much shorter window. Voting began on January 4 and will conclude on the 31st. The All-Star Game will be played in Orlando on February 26th.

Eastern Conference All-Star Picks

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Picking all-stars to represent the East is easy - assuming Dwight Howard stays put for the next month.

Western Conference All-Star Picks

Getty Images / Noel Vasquez

Picking a backcourt for the West is trickier... Chris Paul is a gimme. But should Russell Westbrook get the other starting spot, or is Kobe Bryant still the man?

NBA.com - Official All-Star Ballot

Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images

Cast your vote online, via text message or in any NBA arena, and you could win a trip to All-Star Weekend in Orlando.

Vote Update: 1/12/12

Orlando's Dwight Howard has a commanding lead in the first tally of votes. Named on 754,737 ballots thus far, Howard leads all players, and has more than ten times as many as the second-place Eastern Conference center. The only real surprise? Ricky Rubio's strong showing. Though he has little chance of catching Kobe Bryant or Chris Paul and winning a spot in the Western Conference backcourt, Minnesota's rookie point guard is third overall among West guards, ahead of the likes of Steve Nash and Russell Westbrook.

All-Star Weekend Info

This year's all-star game will be held at the new Amway Center in Orlando Florida, home of the Magic.

View the original article here

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dwight Howard Leads All-Star Voting

Orlando's Dwight Howard is one of the most obvious choices on the 2012 NBA All-Star Ballot. But don't take my word for it, look at the initial vote totals. Howard leads all players with 754,737 votes - and has more than 10 times as many as his nearest Eastern Conference center competitor, Chicago's Joakim Noah (75,038).

If the voting ended today, Howard would be joined by forwards LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony and guards Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade on the Eastern Conference All-Stars. The west would be represented by the Lakers' Andrew Bynum at center, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin at the forwards with Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul in the backcourt.

I have no strong argument against any of the leaders - I picked nine of ten in my Eastern and Western Conference ballots, after all. The tenth is Griffin; a fine choice, but my vote went to Dirk Nowitzki.

But there is one eyebrow-raising trend. At this point, Minnesota rookie guard Ricky Rubio is in third place among Western Conference guards, ahead of established players like Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash and Manu Ginobili. That's a very impressive showing thus far, though he stands very little chance of catching Bryant or Paul.

Voting continues through January 31st. The teams will be announced on February 2nd, and the game will be played in Orlando on February 26th.

Official Vote Totals (via NBA.com, position leaders in bold)

East:

Forwards: LeBron James (Mia) 640,789; Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 496,351; Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK) 178,797; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 173,161; Chris Bosh (Mia) 140,601; Paul Pierce (Bos) 94,071; Luol Deng (Chi) 85,086; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 54,739; Carlos Boozer (Chi) 53,477; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 43,154.
Guards: Derrick Rose (Chi) 640,476; Dwyane Wade (Mia) 637,912; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 253,969; Ray Allen (Bos) 174,934; Deron Williams (NJN) 89,128; Jose Calderon (Tor) 42,929; John Wall (Was) 38,025; Richard Hamilton (Chi) 36,418; Kyrie Irving (Cle) 27,713; Joe Johnson (Atl) 23,384.
Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 754,737; Joakim Noah (Chi) 75,038; Tyson Chandler (NYK) 61,774; Joel Anthony (Mia) 41,832; JaVale McGee (Was) 24,713; Al Horford (Atl) 23,546.

West:

Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 633,538; Blake Griffin (LAC) 394,264; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 231,832; Pau Gasol (LAL) 185,428; Kevin Love (Min) 143,814; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 118,268; Tim Duncan (SA) 81,783; Lamar Odom (Dal) 59,686; Metta World Peace (LAL) 39,006; Danilo Gallinari (Den) 34,438.
Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 690,613; Chris Paul (LAC) 540,173; Ricky Rubio (Min) 133,520; Steve Nash (Pho) 118,922; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 107,197; Kyle Lowry (Hou) 90,725; Monta Ellis (GS) 63,696; Manu Ginobili (SA) 50,765; Jason Kidd (Dal) 49,596; Chauncey Billups (LAC) 42,657.
Centers: Andrew Bynum (LAL) 496,597; DeAndre Jordan (LAC) 134,961; Marc Gasol (Mem) 102,116; Nen? (Den) 94,167; Marcin Gortat (Pho) 62,631; Kendrick Perkins (OKC) 41,579.