NBA All Star voting final returns

[Emerson1]

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2007 – In the fourth and final update before the All-Star starters are announced on Jan. 25, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets leads the Western Conference and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers leads the Eastern Conference in returns of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile.

The 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program continues through Jan. 15 for paper balloting and Jan. 21 for online balloting. The 2007 All-Star starters will be announced on Thursday Jan. 25 prior to a TNT doubleheader. Following the completion of fan voting and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Feb. 1 prior to a TNT doubleheader.

Through the 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program, NBA fans worldwide are responsible for voting in the starters for the 56th NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 18. The game will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Tight races for starting spots exist in both conferences. The Denver Nuggets’ Allen Iverson (1,300,248) trails the Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady (1,331,511) by 31,263 votes among Western Conference guards. In the East, the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh (684,620) and the Indiana Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal (621,476) are separated by just 63,144 votes for a starting forward position.

Yao leads all players with 1,775,413 votes. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett leads all Western Conference forwards with 1,068,168 votes, followed by San Antonio’s Tim Duncan (1,025,812). The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (1,536,556) and McGrady lead all Western Conference guards. James leads all Eastern Conference players with 1,774,281 votes, followed by the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (1,371,850). Bosh is second among Eastern Conference forwards. The New Jersey Nets’ Vince Carter (1,002,709) is second to Wade among Eastern Conference guards. Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal leads all Eastern Conference centers with 1,143,904 votes, followed by the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard (978,007).

Fans have the opportunity to vote at all NBA arenas, in 20 languages on NBA.com, on AOL.com/nba, at 1,250 T-Mobile-owned retail locations and at t-zones using T-Mobile service or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. Fans will be able to vote at several locations in Las Vegas, the host city of NBA All-Star 2007, including the Las Vegas Convention Center, Fremont Street and the Thomas & Mack Center. For the first time, 13 NBA team arenas will also carry a Spanish-language version of the ballot. T-Mobile is the presenting partner of 2007 NBA All-Star Balloting program. This year’s other All-Star Balloting partners include 2K Sports, AOL.com, XBOX, GameStop & EB Games.

NBA All-Star 2007 is a week-long celebration that enables fans to experience the thrill of the world’s greatest athletes playing the game they love and features a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals such as NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas.

In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the chance to live out their Las Vegas hoop dreams by entering the Official Balloting NBA 2K7 All-Star Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2007 and play 2K Sports NBA 2K7 on XBOX 360 against an NBA player. In addition, T-Mobile will promote their Fave 5 Sweepstakes by offering fans a chance to bring their favorite five friends to the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the fourth returns of the 2007 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:

2007 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 1,774,281; Chris Bosh (Tor) 684,620; Jermaine
O'Neal (Ind) 621,476; Grant Hill (Orl) 455,018; Paul Pierce (Bos) 442,393;
Rasheed Wallace (Det) 358,998; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 316,491; Tayshaun
Prince (Det) 252,295; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 236,846; Emeka Okafor (Char)
234,542.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,371,850; Vince Carter (NJ) 1,002,709; Gilbert
Arenas (Wash) 788,249; Jason Kidd (NJ) 573,104; Stephon Marbury (NY)
383,204; Chauncey Billups (Det) 298,770; Michael Redd (Mil) 233,038; Steve
Francis (NY) 201,736; Joe Johnson (Atl) 198,918; Ben Gordon (Chi) 177,866.

Centers: Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 1,143,904; Dwight Howard (Orl) 978,007; Ben
Wallace (Chi) 519,871; Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 205,832; Zaza Pachulia (Atl)
165,178; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 146,027; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 123,176;
Nazr Mohammed (Det) 119,888; Eddy Curry (NY) 113,133; Nenad Krstic (NJ)
92,832.

2007 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Minn) 1,068,168; Tim Duncan (SA) 1,025,812; Dirk
Nowitzki (Dal) 884,160; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 870,465; Shane Battier (Hou)
640,238; Shawn Marion (Pho) 332,106; Lamar Odom (LAL) 311,845; Josh Howard
(Dal) 288,539; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 251,889; Pau Gasol (Mem) 237,828.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,536,556; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,331,511; Allen
Iverson (Den) 1,300,248*; Steve Nash (Pho) 992,885; Manu Ginobili (SA)
376,185; Tony Parker (SA) 350,257; Chris Paul (NOK) 316,142; Jason Terry
(Dal) 306,123; Ray Allen (Sea) 267,253; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 252,254.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,775,413; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 727,298; Erick
Dampier (Dal) 283,103; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 232,174; Marcus Camby (Den)
201,177; Francisco Elson (SA) 171,180; Brad Miller (Sac) 109,715; Chris
Kaman (LAC) 107,065; Tyson Chandler (NOK) 98,541; Chris Mihm (LAL) 97,636.

* The Philadelphia - Denver trade involving Allen Iverson was completed
after the media panel's deadline for selecting the ballot and therefore
Iverson is listed on the ballot as a member of his prior team. For
tabulation purposes, Iverson's votes will be counted towards the Western
Conference totals.




LOL at Shane Battier being ahead of Josh Howard and Shawn Marion.

They need to eliminate fan voting all together.

[AggieJohn]

are you kidding me about the shane battier comment....

[Emerson1]

Shane Battier

2006-07 Statistics
PPG 10.5
RPG 4.2
APG 2.5
SPG 1.22
BPG .78
FG% .453
FT% .745
3P% .414
MPG 37.5


Josh Howard

PPG 19.3
RPG 7.0
APG 1.8
SPG 1.21
BPG 1.10
FG% .465
FT% .831
3P% .417
MPG 34.4


I guess I am not kidding

[Bull's-eye]

In Battier's defense, those numbers don't tell the whole story. His primary role with the Rockets is to guard the opponent's top scorer. With Yao and T-Mac, Battier doesn't need to score. He is a very unselfish player that will do all those little things to help his team win. Houston has the top defense in the NBA, largely due to Shane Battier.

The Rockets are probably the top team at promoting fan voting. At every game, they offer prizes for any fan that turns in 30 or more ballots. They also go out to the local communities where they get their fans to vote. They usually have games, food, drinks and the Power Dancers. I know the Chinese population helps, but this is probably why the Rocket players get alot of votes. Don't know if there are any numbers on how many ballots are turned in by each team, but I would bet that Houston is one of the top teams.

[Bull Butter]

Battier doesn't play for the Mavericks. That's Emerson's primary reason for whining.


Last week he was crying about Yao leading the voting, until a couple of KNOWLEDGEABLE NBA fans bombarded him with facts which proved Yao belonged (to which he never responded):D

[crzyjournalist03]

Josh Howard is doing everything that Battier is doing and then some...he defends the opponents' best player night in and night out, and the numbers don't lie...he's better at both ends and is playing fewer minutes on average.

[eagles_victory]

Howard is the second best player on the best team in the league you cant argue against Howard. He has had a much better season then Battier. Batttier ahead of Marion is the biggest joke Marion is an MVP caliber player

[g$$]

Originally posted by Bull's-eye
In Battier's defense, those numbers don't tell the whole story. His primary role with the Rockets is to guard the opponent's top scorer. With Yao and T-Mac, Battier doesn't need to score. He is a very unselfish player that will do all those little things to help his team win. Houston has the top defense in the NBA, largely due to Shane Battier.

The Rockets are probably the top team at promoting fan voting. At every game, they offer prizes for any fan that turns in 30 or more ballots. They also go out to the local communities where they get their fans to vote. They usually have games, food, drinks and the Power Dancers. I know the Chinese population helps, but this is probably why the Rocket players get alot of votes. Don't know if there are any numbers on how many ballots are turned in by each team, but I would bet that Houston is one of the top teams.

Good points, & the fact that Battier endorses a Chinese brand shoe now & is big over there does not hurt (Yao, etc.). That being said, fan voting can be silly at times.

[3afan]

Originally posted by Bull Butter
Battier doesn't play for the Mavericks. That's Emerson's primary reason for whining.


Last week he was crying about Yao leading the voting, until a couple of KNOWLEDGEABLE NBA fans bombarded him with facts which proved Yao belonged (to which he never responded):D

leave Emerson alone - he's just a passionate fan !!!! :mad: :mad:




:D

[3afan]

having said that - fan voting is here to stay and it should stay, but maybe have it as part of a formula to decide the starting lineup along with players or coaches or even writers votes ... IMO

[texasjeremy]

The main thing that helps T-Mac and Battier is that a huge percentage of the votes are placed in China. The Chinese vote for Yao Ming, and just throw in other Rockets players because they are not knowledgable about the entier league.

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by texasjeremy
The main thing that helps T-Mac and Battier is that a huge percentage of the votes are placed in China. The Chinese vote for Yao Ming, and just throw in other Rockets players because they are not knowledgable about the entier league.

I'm sure this helps a little, but read my earlier post. Every time I attend a Rockets game, there are long lines of people voting. People are sitting on the floors punching large amounts of ballots. They receive prizes for at least 30 ballots. The Rockets were just out to Sugar Land, promoting and getting many fans to vote. Do the Mavericks and Spurs do this?

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
Howard is the second best player on the best team in the league you cant argue against Howard. He has had a much better season then Battier.

I won't argue with Howard being selected ahead of Battier. He is an outstanding player. Battier plays a type of game that won't show up on his stats. He just held Kobe to 6-18 shooting and helped the Rockets blow out one of the NBA's hottest teams. Battier was 5-8 from the 3 point line and scored 17 points. Most Rocket fans would like to to see him shoot a little more. Battier was also selected to Team USA, largely due to his hustle and defensive play.

[3afan]

Originally posted by Bull's-eye
..... The Rockets were just out to Sugar Land, promoting and getting many fans to vote. Do the Mavericks and Spurs do this?

I'm sure all NBA teams promote their stars in some way ........

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by 3afan
I'm sure all NBA teams promote their stars in some way ........

The Mavs send out players on a fairly regular basis to events throughout the Metroplex. The players they send out the most are Terry, Stack, and Diop. At least once a month, they'll have something at the Mavs Fan Shop @ Northpark Center.

[Bull's-eye]

Originally posted by 3afan
I'm sure all NBA teams promote their stars in some way ........

I was talking about getting fans to vote. Does the Mavs and Spurs go out and get their fans to vote?

[charlesrixey]

IMO, Battier and Howard should both be on the All-Star team

of course, my two favorite teams are duke and the Mavericks, so i may be biased

[charlesrixey]

it's not a machine like some of the other teams, but cuban does put out the word.

the mavericks have just been too busy winning to worry about it, and i don't mind