Aside from "this feeling," the one thing my heart is sure of is that David Stern left dozens of threatening messages on Iverson's Boost Mobile voicemail. Now if only Kevin Garnett can have a tizzy with one of his secret illegitimate baby mamas, Josh Smith can get himself a spot as well.
At any rate, Lee is finally an NBA All-Star. Whoop-dee-fuckin' doo, Proud Ones. Maybe I'm a little jaded, but I'd like to think a team with an All-Star on it doesn't take a massive shit, place both feet into the toilet bowl and pull the flush handle.
As much [deserved] shit as I give Lee for his general lack of interest on the defensive end, he belongs on the Eastern Conference All-Star team... I guess. I absolutely agree with the notion that Al Horford's contributions to a winning team make him more deserving than Lee. From a statistical standpoint, Lee deserves high praise. He's awesome for fantasy basketball, anyway. 20 points, 11-plus rebounds and a position-high 3.5 assists per game read like All-Star numbers to me. However, statistics don't win basketball games.
[Blogger's Note: What position would that be, now?]
Instead, Lee is just as responsible as any other Knick for his team's recent tail spin. If you want to argue that he somehow isn't, then wouldn't an NBA All-Star be the type of player who could rally his team and inspire them to play at their best? Chris Kaman is the only other All-Star coming from a team currently outside of a playoff spot. However, Kaman is also like the Western Conference All-Star team's 25th injury replacement. He doesn't even really count. Aside from Kaman's miracle and a single loss on Derrick Rose's win-loss tally, Lee would be the only All-Star playing for a team with a losing record.
At first, I disagreed with Jeff Van Gundy's stance that All-Stars should only come from winning teams. In all honesty, that disagreement probably came from sentimentality--a desire to see Knick representation with the rest of the league's elite. I've obviously rethought my opposition to Van Gundy's take to an extent. What should "All-Star" represent? Is a selfish player with great statistical achievements to be heralded over one who produces tangible results in the win-loss column? Isn't the rewarding of individual achievements and statistics a big part of the reason many kids only want to become great scorers as opposed to great basketball players? Better still, isn't the pursuit of rebounding statistics part of the reason Lee-fense exists? Aren't these evils eating away at the NBA game?
Needless to say, I'm conflicted on the matter. I'd love to congratulate Lee for his accomplishment, but I can't fully do so with a clear conscience. I can budge as far as to say that even if they don't play for winners, All-Stars should come from competitive clubs. The New York Knicks haven't even been that much. Aside from a magical December run, the Knicks are exactly who we thought they were--a ragtag bunch of bitch-ass niggas waiting for the office time clock to read 0:00.00 every night.
At least Lee's agent Mark Bartlestein has to be fully pleased with this development. That's one more bargaining chip he can bring to the table this offseason. Bartelstein shouldn't have any trouble getting that quibbled-over $10 million per season for an All-Star client.
KG's secret garden?
Posted by: sankofa | Friday, February 12, 2010 at 06:24 AM
It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
Posted by: MBT Sale | Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 07:31 AM