Who SHOULD Start in NBA All-Star Game? Who Cares?

The 2006 NBA All-Star Game will take place on Feb. 19 in Houston. The game is a completely meaningless exhibition. Agreed. Nevertheless, it's still fun to debate who the fans vote in as the starts versus who should be starting. The first returns of the 2006 balloting are in and here's who the fans are favoring so far:

Eastern Conference F - LeBron James (CLE) F - Jermaine O'Neal (IND) C - Shaquille O'Neal (MIA) G - Allen Iverson (PHI) G - Dwayne Wade (MIA)	Western Conference F - Tracy McGrady (HOU) F - Kevin Garnett (MIN) C - Yao Ming (HOU) G - Kobe Bryant (LAL) G - Steve Nash (PHO)

Here's who should be starting based on how they've performed over the first quarter of the 2005-06 season:

Eastern Conference F - LeBron James (CLE) F - Paul Pierce (BOS) C - Jermaine O'Neal (IND) G - Allen Iverson (PHI) G - Dwayne Wade (MIA)	Western Conference F - Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) F - Elton Brand (LAC) C - Marcus Camby (DEN) G - Kobe Bryant (LAL) G - Steve Nash (PHO)

In the East, Pierce gets the nod over Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal - who is really a C/F - gets slid to center in place of Shaq, who's only played seven games. In the West, Nowitzki and Brand get the slightest of edges at forward, leaving Garnett and McGrady (and Duncan!) to come off the bench. Camby is an easy choice at center over Yao Ming.

Interesting to note: The Pistons and the Spurs are the two best teams in the NBA. Yet neither team has a single player listed - on either version - of the above all-star teams. Nevertheless, wouldn't you give the Pistons a decent shot at beating the Eastern Conference stars? Likewise, wouldn't the Spurs give the Western Conference stars all they could handle? Absolutely ... because basketball is a team game -- always has been ... always will be. Just ask any of the "teams" that now routinely beat the hand-picked rosters of U.S. "all-stars" in international competition ...