2008 Woodie Awards
Conoscenti's Corner: The wild West all-star show
Steve Conoscenti
Issue date: 1/26/06 Section: Sports
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The game itself hardly means anything. However to the players involved and to their fans, it means a whole lot.
The 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend begins on Feb. 17 in Houston, Texas. More crowd-pleasing events like the Three Point Shoot-out, Rookie Challenge and Dunk Competition are only opening acts for the big game, which is the last event of the weekend. Of course, being part of any All-Star Weekend event is an honor, but being an actual All-Star, is one personal goal every player strives for.
So far in this young season, the Western Conference has been one big mystery. First the Los Angeles teams swapped spots and the Clippers were finally able to call LA "theirs", but now find themselves only one seed above the Lakers, who were off to a slow start. The New Orleans Hornets were forced to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina, yet have risen above all expectations and are currently eighth in the conference. The Western Conference All-Star roster is no different.
One of the big stories before the season began was the injury to Amare Stoudemire. Most people thought for sure that the Phoenix Suns would be in for a very long season without Stoudemire playing 40-plus minutes a night. Wrong.
Not when you have the reigning MVP. Steve Nash has led the Amare-less Suns to a, so far, very successful season. They currently have the third best record in the conference and lead their division, giving them the second seed in the conference. Nash is putting up career numbers in scoring while leading the league in assists per game. For these reasons, Nash will be one of the West's starting guards.
Is there any other player that's in the headlines more than Kobe Bryant? Whether it's his feuds with teammates and coaches, his rape trial or his last 81-point game, you are guaranteed so see a Kobe story somewhere in the news.
Let's put the feuds and off-court issues aside for a second. Kobe Bryant has been a monster this season. He's playing 40 minutes per game and scoring a league-high 34 points per game. Not to mention he's pulling down five boards and dishing out four assists per game as well. He's already looking to break records, scoring 40 or more points in nine straight games so far. There should be no argument when it comes down to who starts along side Nash this year for the West: Kobe Bryant.
The 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend begins on Feb. 17 in Houston, Texas. More crowd-pleasing events like the Three Point Shoot-out, Rookie Challenge and Dunk Competition are only opening acts for the big game, which is the last event of the weekend. Of course, being part of any All-Star Weekend event is an honor, but being an actual All-Star, is one personal goal every player strives for.
So far in this young season, the Western Conference has been one big mystery. First the Los Angeles teams swapped spots and the Clippers were finally able to call LA "theirs", but now find themselves only one seed above the Lakers, who were off to a slow start. The New Orleans Hornets were forced to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina, yet have risen above all expectations and are currently eighth in the conference. The Western Conference All-Star roster is no different.
One of the big stories before the season began was the injury to Amare Stoudemire. Most people thought for sure that the Phoenix Suns would be in for a very long season without Stoudemire playing 40-plus minutes a night. Wrong.
Not when you have the reigning MVP. Steve Nash has led the Amare-less Suns to a, so far, very successful season. They currently have the third best record in the conference and lead their division, giving them the second seed in the conference. Nash is putting up career numbers in scoring while leading the league in assists per game. For these reasons, Nash will be one of the West's starting guards.
Is there any other player that's in the headlines more than Kobe Bryant? Whether it's his feuds with teammates and coaches, his rape trial or his last 81-point game, you are guaranteed so see a Kobe story somewhere in the news.
Let's put the feuds and off-court issues aside for a second. Kobe Bryant has been a monster this season. He's playing 40 minutes per game and scoring a league-high 34 points per game. Not to mention he's pulling down five boards and dishing out four assists per game as well. He's already looking to break records, scoring 40 or more points in nine straight games so far. There should be no argument when it comes down to who starts along side Nash this year for the West: Kobe Bryant.