Howard maintains sizable lead in All-Star voting

[Teddy Roosevelt]

NEW YORK (SI.com) -- The rosters for the 58th NBA All-Star game are beginning to take shape following the third balloting returns.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant continue to lead the voting for their respective conferences, the league announced Thursday.

The defending slam dunk champion, Howard leads all comers with 1,709,088 votes and is running away with the starting center spot on the Eastern Conference squad.

Cleveland's LeBron James (1,521,272) and Boston's Kevin Garnett (1,101,541) are the top forwards for the East. Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (1,473,225) is tops among Eastern Conference guards.

Bryant (1,534,020), the reigning league MVP, is the clear leader out West. Houston's Tracy McGrady (961,852) will join him in the backcourt if he can hold off New Orleans guard Chris Paul (867,889).

San Antonio's Tim Duncan (1,132,095) is the leading vote-getter among Western Conference forwards. Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire holds a slim lead over Denver's Carmelo Anthony (725,411) for the second starting spot.

Houston's Yao Ming (1,396,126) leads all West centers in votes.

Paper balloting will continue through Jan. 11 with wireless tallies ceasing Jan. 19, three days before the announcement of the starters for both conferences.

The All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 15 in Phoenix.


Eastern Conference

FORWARDS:
LeBron James, Cleveland, 1,521,272
Kevin Garnett, Boston, 1,101,541
Yi Jianlian, New Jersey, 959,324
Chris Bosh, Toronto, 601,204
Paul Pierce, Boston, 387,105
Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando, 236,360
Shawn Marion, Miami, 230,119
Danny Granger, Indiana, 155,484
Josh Smith, Atlanta, 131,281
Michael Beasley, Miami, 121,632
Tayshaun Prince, Detroit, 114,869.

GUARDS:
Dwyane Wade, Miami, 1,473,225
Allen Iverson, Detroit, 1,027,153
Vince Carter, New Jersey, 708,699
Ray Allen, Boston, 435,945
Devin Harris, New Jersey, 359,442
Gilbert Arenas, Washington, 283,030
Luke Ridnour, Milwaukee, 276,009
Derrick Rose, Chicago, 242,740
Jose Calderon, Toronto, 221,946
Jameer Nelson, Orlando, 198,050
Joe Johnson, Atlanta, 189,343.

CENTERS:
Dwight Howard, Orlando - 1,709,088
Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia, 239,089
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit, 197,785
Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto, 177,121
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee, 151,043
Al Horford, Atlanta, 140,637
Ben Wallace, Cleveland, 112,014
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte, 100,114
Brendan Haywood, Washington, 89,664
Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland, 78,035
Kendrick Perkins, Boston, 68,513.

Western Conference

FORWARDS:
Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 1,132,095
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix, 743,639
Carmelo Anthony, Denver, 725,411
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas, 673,720
Ron Artest, Houston, 662,510
Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers, 495,835
Bruce Bowen, San Antonio, 375,079
Shane Battier, Houston, 374,413
Luis Scola, Houston, 228,598
Josh Howard, Dallas, 228,157
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland, 170,056.

GUARDS:
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, 1,534,020
Tracy McGrady, Houston, 961,852
Chris Paul, New Orleans, 867,889
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio, 500,158
Tony Parker, San Antonio, 459,718
Steve Nash, Phoenix, 345,948
Jason Kidd, Dallas, 331,203
Rafer Alston, Houston, 282,767
Jason Terry, Dallas, 265,521
Brandon Roy, Portland, 210,755
Chauncey Billups, Denver, 205,554.

CENTERS:
Yao Ming, Houston, 1,396,126
Shaquille O'Neal, Phoenix, 727,975
Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers, 294,381
Mehmet Okur, Utah, 256,902
Greg Oden, Portland, 162,299
Andris Biedrins, Golden State, 129,488
Tyson Chandler, New Orleans, 112,949
Al Jefferson, Minnesota, 100,480
Nick Collison, Oklahoma City, 69,039
Marcus Camby, L.A. Clippers, 57,474
Chris Kaman, L.A. Clippers, 21,814.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/01/01/all.star.voting.ap/

[OchoCinco]

lmao that tracy mcgrady had more votes that chris paul

[Chamillitary Click]

lmao that tracy mcgrady had more votes that chris paul

& that Yi is even on that list!

i swear its a fucking joke!

but does this mean that my boy Sammy D is going as East Center?

[Teddy Roosevelt]

lmao that tracy mcgrady had more votes that chris paul

& that Yi is even on that list!

i swear its a fucking joke!

but does this mean that my boy Sammy D is going as East Center?

Ask Mike Brown.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.


Dwight has that many votes because the best option behind him to vote for is Dalambert.

[OchoCinco]

brandon roy and chauncey should be higher in the west too

[7even]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.

They might change the system if that happens.

As for Howard, come on now.. there is absolutely no alternative.

[wcsoldier]

The reserves choice has never been so evident for a while imo in the West due to injuries (Boozer, D-Will , Gino ,or even J.Howard) .. unlike the previous years when 3 to 5 players who had great years were left out.

Guard:
CP3
Billups
Roy (or Parker)

Forward
Melo,
Dirk
Pau (could make a case for West but he got his 1st last year , Pau outplayed him in their 2 matchups, and LA got the best record)

Center :
Shaq

PS ; T-Mac shouldn't be part the roster, keep voting for CP3 you motherfuckers !

Regarding the East , Nelson deserves to make it over Rondo and Harris ( Orlando record is much better) , no backup center should be there

Guards:
Allen
Nelson
Johnson

Forward
Bosh
Pierce
Granger

Center
Big Z

A.I shouldn't make the team aswell , Harris (which deserves it way more) could get in .. at least if you want to go with a popular player , pick VC ...

[wcsoldier]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.

They might change the system if that happens.

As for Howard, come on now.. there is absolutely no alternative.

Next year if the Knicks acquire Wang Zhi Zhi , he will start over Howard .. mark my words

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.

They might change the system if that happens.

As for Howard, come on now.. there is absolutely no alternative.

Next year if the Knicks acquire Wang Zhi Zhi , he will start over Howard .. mark my words

LOL...China aint THAT dumb. Dude played for the Clippers and sucked ass, didn't get any votes. not even from Asians.

[wcsoldier]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.

They might change the system if that happens.

As for Howard, come on now.. there is absolutely no alternative.

Next year if the Knicks acquire Wang Zhi Zhi , he will start over Howard .. mark my words

LOL...China aint THAT dumb. Dude played for the Clippers and sucked ass, didn't get any votes. not even from Asians.

yeah I was just kidding but I mean Asian people are really ruining the votes .. I'm sure a lot of T-Mac votes come from them , I don't think he's very appreciated by the average fan in the US or Europe anymore ... anyways why has he been always listed as a guard , he's a SF for me .?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I'm gunna LMAO if Yi makes it over Garnett. Shit would be tight as hell.

They might change the system if that happens.

As for Howard, come on now.. there is absolutely no alternative.

Next year if the Knicks acquire Wang Zhi Zhi , he will start over Howard .. mark my words

LOL...China aint THAT dumb. Dude played for the Clippers and sucked ass, didn't get any votes. not even from Asians.

yeah I was just kidding but I mean Asian people are really ruining the votes .. I'm sure a lot of T-Mac votes come from them , I don't think he's very appreciated by the average fan in the US or Europe anymore ... anyways why has he been always listed as a guard , he's a SF for me .?

he starts at sg...

['EclipZe]

WTF @ YI ABOVE BOSH?


what kind of retards are voting for this?

[7even]

^Not retards... patriotic Chinese people. 


It's not THAT crazy, imo. Stern loves how the NBA is global and taking over Asia. Unlike the MLB or NFL. Nobody in Europe or Asia knows anything about those leagues.

[Chamillitary Click]

Unlike the MLB or NFL. Nobody in Europe or Asia knows anything about those leagues.

well if there voting like this, apparently they dont know much about the NBA either.