First results from the fan voting component of the All-Star game are in, and two Celtics made the list — Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo (you know, the guy who…uh…hasn’t played a game in 11 months). Nonetheless, that is the brilliance of NBA fan voting and I’ll take it. Jeff found himself eighth in frontcourt votes, tallying 55,912, while Rondo racked up 80,889 in the backcourt — good for sixth place.
For the first time ever, voting [online ballot here & social media voting] has been tweaked to a simpler method, where players are divided into two categories: frontcourt and backcourt. The switch makes voting easier for fans that aren’t too familiar with the game, but doesn’t make a great deal of sense from a basketball standpoint.
For example:
The top three “frontcourt” players from the Eastern Conference are: LeBron James, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. Opposite that, the Western Conference shows: Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, and Blake Griffin.
Size advantage: West.
As usual, several questionable names found themselves mixed in with the guys mentioned aforehand. Tyson Chandler, Mario Chalmers, and Omer Asik all made the first cut, reminding us that our NBA culture really is a wacky world. Even still, the list is mostly accurate.
For another hometown player, the (improbable) Jordan Crawford All-Star Campaign has officially kicked off! With some recent Twitter buzz and a Player of the Week award now under his belt, he’s starting to make some headway. Particularly in the spiraling Eastern Conference, his numbers hold up well among the competition. Crawford actually leads the NBA in effective field-goal percentage, at 51.5%. Who knew? Although he’s nowhere to be found in the fan voting results — he still has a shot.
Thankfully for Steez, head coaches are responsible for voting in a portion of the rosters. Assuming Wade, Irving, and Wall, are all locks, the rest of the East is largely up for grabs. Arron Afflalo and Michael Carter-Williams stand out as potential roster spots, but there could (and should) be room for Jordan, too.
Time will tell.
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