Rosters For The 2008 NBA All-Star Game Has Been Revealed

2008 NBA All-Stars
Rosters for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, to be played Feb 17 in New Orleans. (x-starter; reserves were named Thursday):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Player, Pos.	Team
Chauncey Billups, G	Detroit
Chris Bosh, F	Toronto
Caron Butler, G	Washington
x-Kevin Garnett, F	Boston
Richard Hamilton, G	Detroit
x-Dwight Howard, F	Orlando
x-LeBron James, F	Cleveland
Antawn Jamison, F	Washington
Joe Johnson, G	Atlanta
x-Jason Kidd, G	New Jersey
Paul Pierce, F	Boston
x-Dwyane Wade, G	Miami
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Player	Team
x-Carmelo Anthony, F	Denver
Carlos Boozer, F	Utah
x-Kobe Bryant, G	LA Lakers
x-Tim Duncan, F	San Antonio
x-Allen Iverson, G	Denver
x-Yao Ming, C	Houston
Steve Nash, G	Phoenix
Dirk Nowitzki, F	Dallas
Chris Paul, G	New Orleans
Brandon Roy, G	Portland
Amare Stoudemire, F	Phoenix
David West, F	New Orleans

--Chris Paul and David West were picked for their first All-Star Game Thursday night, giving the hometown Hornets a pair of players for the event New Orleans will host next month.

--Boston will only send two of its Big Three to the Big Easy. Paul Pierce was voted in by Eastern Conference head coaches to join starter Kevin Garnett, but Ray Allen fell short.

--The Pistons' Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton are headed back for the third straight year.

--Toronto's Chris Bosh and Atlanta guard Joe Johnson were the other players picked for the East, which will be coached by Boston's Doc Rivers. Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, the reigning NBA MVP, Utah's Carlos Boozer and Portland guard Brandon Roy were selected from the West.

--Missing out during the worst season of his career was Shaquille O'Neal, ending his streak of 14 consecutive All-Star selections. That tied the record held by Jerry West and Karl Malone.

--Garnett, LeBron James, Orlando's Dwight Howard, New Jersey's Jason Kidd and Miami's Dwyane Wade were voted by fans to start for the East. The West starters are Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, San Antonio forward Tim Duncan and Houston center Yao Ming.

--Predictions?? Well, from looking at these rosters, I really would have a hard time if I had to bet on this game. The Eastern and Western rosters are fully stacked with the top guys, but the combination of Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce, and Jason Kidd provide the speed, passing, and scoring edge over the Western players. For years I've heard the Western Conference has always been better. That statement doesn't have much weight to it anymore.

Marc Savard's Efforts Edged the East Over The West In NHL's 2008 All Star Game

This is what hockey should be like more often. Hockey games are more exciting for me when the scoring is high and the action comes right down to the wire.

Marc Savard made Atlanta feel like home all over again.

With hockey luminaries such as Sidney Crosby sitting home, Savard stepped up. The Boston Bruins forward scored the winning goal with 20.9 seconds left Sunday night to lift the Eastern Conference to an 8-7 win over the Western Conference.

Real early it looked as though it would be a night for the West when Rick Nash scored the first of his three goals a record-quick 12 seconds into the game. But the East took charge with five straight, including two by Alex Ovechkin -- Crosby's rival for top player in the NHL.

"We came out a bit slow and they took it to us," Nash said.

In the end, after the West erased a 5-1 deficit to go ahead 7-6, Savard -- a former star for the host Atlanta Thrashers -- brought the local fans out of their seats to cheer for him again.

Leading up, there was much talk about who wouldn't be at the All-Star game. Crosby, the defending NHL MVP and scoring champion pulled out due to a sprained ankle, and starting goalies Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo both withdrew for personal reasons.

That left it wide open for others to grab the attention. Of the 42 players, 15 made their All-Star debuts.

Ovechkin made an early bid, followed by Nash, and even goalie Evgeni Nabokov. In the end it was Savard, known way more for passing the puck than shooting it. The play-making forward, second in the NHL in assists, buried the puck behind first-timer Manny Legace just when it seemed overtime was inevitable.

Carolina's Eric Staal got the East even at 7 with 7:25 left by scoring his second of the night, then helped set up Savard for the winner. His three points were enough to skate off with the MVP award.

"I'll take it," Staal said.

Nash nearly became the fifth straight All-Star MVP winner from the losing side, instead ceding the award to Staal -- whose brother Marc took part in the YoungStars game on Saturday night.

Savard spent parts of three seasons in Atlanta before leaving for Boston as a free agent before last season. The crowd was rooting for current Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk to win it, but happily settled for a former favorite.

Ryan Getzlaf cut the West's deficit to 5-4 41 seconds into the third, and Nash completed his hat trick 1:15 later to tie it.

Marian Hossa of the Thrashers -- for now -- made it 6-5 at 4:08 as the East scored for the first time since the opening period. Hossa was cheered by these fans, but he could be a former Thrasher soon if he can't reach a new deal with Atlanta before next month's trade deadline.

Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf tied it again and Marian Gaborik gave the West its only lead at 7-6 with 9:03 left.

It sure didn't look as though it would be an Eastern Conference day when Nash set an All-Star game record with the first goal of the 15th All-Star hat trick.

You can forgive New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro for that one as he was answering a television interviewer's question about the hip injury he sustained the night before in the skills competition as Nash raced his way.

The hip was fine, the attention span was a bit lax.

No worries. In this game of few whistles and fewer checks, the All-Stars skated freely and creatively. That didn't help Kovalchuk, who was stopped twice in the final 1:03 of the second period by San Jose's Nabokov.

Kovalchuk was parked in the slot and fired a one-timer that was labeled for the top right corner when Nabokov snatched it with a stabbing glove as he fell to the seat of his pants. Kovalchuk dropped to his back -- snow angel style -- in exasperation.

He tapped the goalie on the helmet when he got up, then set his aim on him again. Sent in on a breakaway with a long lead pass, Kovalchuk streaked toward the net as the final seconds of the period ticked off.

Kovalchuk let go a low shot that Nabokov met with a double stack of his pads. The puck slid safely away, Kovalchuk threw his stick to the ice and the Russian forward gave it a kick as he quickly headed to the tunnel.

"He's quick for a small guy," Kovalchuk said with a smile.

It might not have been so bad if not for the two stops Chris Osgood made on him in the first.

Staal answered Nash's early haymaker with one of his own 1:20 into the game to tie it at 1 and set the East's offense in motion.

Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov gave the East a 2-1 lead before Ovechkin and Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell scored 1:35 apart to push the advantage to three goals.

Ovechkin's second, off a perfect feed from Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis, was scored from right in front of the crease into an empty net to make it 5-1 with 2:11 remaining in the first.

Hard-hitting Phaneuf let Ovechkin stay there without hassle, and five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom gave him a halfhearted tug from behind with his stick.

The second period belonged to the West and the goalies.

Nabokov stopped all eight shots he faced, while Florida's Tomas Vokoun made 18 saves in 20 attempts as the East's lead was cut to 5-3.

Around the NBA 11.2.2007

• The Toronto Raptors blow away the New Jersey Nets. The Raptors came out on fire and the Nets didn't have an answer. Richard Jefferson was the only player for the Nets scoring.

• The King has returned. After an awful game in the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks, King James scored 45 points against the Knicks to lead his team to a victory.

• What a marvelous opener for the Boston Celtics. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce looked as if they have played together forever. KG had 22 points and 20 rebounds, to solidify himself as a force in the East (not like he needed to solidify anything).

• Boston may have the best 1-2-3 combo in the league, but no 1-2 punch can compete with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. They combined for 57 of their teams 99 points in an 8 point victory over the T'Wolves. Watch for them to compete for the top seed all year.
  

Complete Western Conference Preview

Now onto the conference that is far superior in every aspect of the game. They have more stars, more talent, simply put, better teams. Here is how I see the season ending up:

Northwest:

1. Denver Nuggets (2): This is my team to beat in the Western Conference. They have two of the best players in the league and plenty of low post talent to stick with the best in the west. Look for them to be around come championship time.

2. Utah Jazz (6): Last year they showed how good they can be. It is now up to the players to continue to improve this season. If they do, they should be right there in the thick of the playoff race.

3. Portland TrailBlazers: Beat this team now while you still can. In 2-3 years they will be the best team in the league. Unfortunately they play the games now, they are not there yet.

4. Seattle Sonics: They are a team that has a lot of talent. But not enough to get them anywhere near the playoffs this year.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: They traded away the franchise after not surrounding him with talent. To bad, this team could have done big things.

Pacific:

1. Phoenix Suns (4): Every year they are the most overrated team in the NBA. They don't play any defense. Steve Nash is a good PG but he can't play defense. They'll have a great regular season and fail miserably in the playoffs as always.

2. Golden State Warriors (7): Last year this team found out they can compete with anybody in the league. However, they are going to be the Cinderella team again. There are too many good teams for them to be in the top of the west.

3. Los Angeles Lakers (8): If they trade Kobe, forget the playoffs. If they keep Kobe they'll make the playoffs but lose in the first round.

4. Los Angeles Clippers: When Elton Brand went down, so did their season.

5. Sacramento Kings: Remember when this was a team to be reckon with? Yeah, not anymore.

Southwest

1. San Antonio Spurs (1): The most well rounded team in the league. I think they will finish with a slightly better record than the Mavs and be the top team in the West. Look for them to be in contention for a repeat.

2. Dallas Mavericks (3): They have something to prove going into this season. They want to show the world that last year was a flux. They are going to succeed, because I don't see them losing many games.

3. Houston Rockets (5): This team has the potential be the best in the league. However, until they prove they can get it together I am not going to put them at the top.

4. New Orleans Hornets: They are going to be good.....in time.

5. Memphis Grizzlies: They are going to be bad.... now and in the future.