David Lee is listed as a forward on the NBA's All-Star ballot, even though he's been the Knicks' starting center all of this season and 34 games last season.
Not that it would make much of a difference to fans who so far have voted to see Tracy McGrady (who's averaged nine minutes in six games this season) and Allen Iverson (12 games this season) start.
We usually defer to the fans' sentiments because it's their game, but geez. What year is this, 2001?
Actually, that was the year the Knicks last sent someone to the All-Star game for anything other than the freak-show events (i.e. slam-dunk, three-point), when both Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell made it.
Which tells you something about the franchise's just-ended decade.
Anyhow, if Lee's seen as a center, here are the top 12 vote-getters at that spot so far: Dwight Howard, Shaquille O'Neal, Al Horford, Andrea Bargnani, Brook Lopez, Andrew Bogut, Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace, Kendrick Perkins, Samuel Dalembert, Tyson Chandler and Brad Miller.
Howard, of course, deserves to go, and perhaps Shaq gets a "lifetime achievement" spot — if only to lead the pregame introduction dancing.
But among those 12 centers, only Lopez has scored as much as Lee (both are averaging 18.8) and only Howard (13.3) has averaged more rebounds than Lee's 11.0. Shot-blocks, well, Lee's next to last.
So it's a no-brainer. Lee deserves to go.
The coaches (who pick the reserves) have plenty of leeway to choose him. They have to vote for at least one more center and two more forwards — although for the latter, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce and possibly Josh Smith stand in Lee's way.
They also choose two other reserves regardless of position.
So that's basically three to five spots to put Lee, assuming he doesn't fall on his face between now and the Jan. 28 announcement of the reserves.
Lame as the Leastern Conference playoff race may be, he plays for one of its bottom-end contenders and leads them in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage (.573).
He belongs.
Posts
