Big Al: All Star...Yea or Nay?

[MBz]

He is covering out of position though in my opinion.  I'd like to see how he would cover 4's on a regular basis.  Guy's he could muscle instead of being muscled.

[Celtic]

Absofruitly he should be, but he wont be.

[Amonkey]

One question, who's he going against?  Shaq and who else, Amare? Bynum?

I think he def deserves All Star.  The thing about fan voting is that are only a few games on national TV (Spurs, Lakers, Celts, Suns, Heat, Mavs, Hornets, Cavs and now Portland) so we barely get to see these young guys playing well.  Granted they're on a weak team, but still.  We are overlooking Al Jefferson, Kevin Durant that are having a tremendous season.

Another thing too, I can see picking MVP based on league record, but I think All Star should not ALL be based on this criteria.  The guys on a bad team are still out there busting their butts for their team.

With that said, Al Jefferson might be only second to Tim Duncan in scoring ability (and by that I mean variety of offensive moves).  Other players may be more athletic than him, but he has such a great touch that cannot be overlooked.  He def deserves the All Star notch.

[Big Ticket]

Well, Al is not a good defender on the ball but he's an excellent defensive rebounder, so he's not as bad defensively as some think.

That is true.... but you can't rebound a made basket.

Al will almost always outscore the man he's covering, so he's a net positive there.  And his rebounds will come when the other team misses from the outside.

I agree and I love having him on the Wolves... but simply outscoring your man to create a "net positive" is not always enough, especially when you are the cornerstone of the team.

[Big Ticket]

He is covering out of position though in my opinion.  I'd like to see how he would cover 4's on a regular basis.  Guy's he could muscle instead of being muscled.

Which is why I was desperately hoping they traded McCants + expiring contracts for the best possible center they could get (and keep Mayo).... instead of getting Love and turning Al into a center.

Oh well...

[footey]

He would have my vote.

I love Big Al. Miss him too.

[Cman]

He is covering out of position though in my opinion.  I'd like to see how he would cover 4's on a regular basis.  Guy's he could muscle instead of being muscled.

Which is why I was desperately hoping they traded McCants + expiring contracts for the best possible center they could get (and keep Mayo).... instead of getting Love and turning Al into a center.

Yeah, i am still scratching my head over that Mayo for Love trade.  Still, Miller was a nice pickup.

[Brickowski]

I think he's out of position at pf.  He's a center.  Undersized, but that's the way it is.  He lacks the lateral mobility to defend quicker pfs, and gets into foul trouble.

[BigAlTheFuture]

He deserves to make it. He really elevated his game this season. Haven't watched many Wolves game but from the games I did see, he looks like he has improved his defensive game.

[BballTim]

I think he's out of position at pf.  He's a center.  Undersized, but that's the way it is.  He lacks the lateral mobility to defend quicker pfs, and gets into foul trouble.

  He didn't get into much foul trouble as a starting pf for us. His opposing PER is lower as a pf than a center every year, I think.

[Actionjakson]

i have voted for him several times for the All Star Game. his numbers are better than Yao's (22.2 and 10.6 compared to 19.9 and 9.6). Al has no supporting cast, so he has to carry the T-wolves. In my eyes he is all star no doubt.

[RebusRankin]

Imagine if the Wolves had taken Lopez.

[Brickowski]

A tidbit from tonight's game thread on Yahoo.  (I wish the game wre on TV)

"4:32  MIN - C. Smith dunks the ball. Assist: A. Jefferson
4:35  MIN - A. Jefferson steals the ball from R. Sessions"

I would have loved to see that play.  Maybe he's learning. His BBIQ was pretty good.

[Schupac]

I think he deserves to go, but so do too many other PF/C players in the West.  Someone has to get snubbed, so it's going to be the young guy who plays for a bad team in a small market.

I think Duncan and Shaq are clear cut above him (Shaq not for stats but you have to give him a bump because he is so fun to watch, and that's what it is all about).  Then it's tough with Yao, Dirk, and Amare all of whom are more established than Big Al in the minds of fans and coaches.  I'd probably notch him ahead of Dirk and Amare, but I can understand how some people wouldn't.

Don't worry.  I think in 2-3 years, barring injury or some amazing regression, Big Al will start making multiple all star games.

[Big Ticket]

A tidbit from tonight's game thread on Yahoo.  (I wish the game wre on TV)

"4:32  MIN - C. Smith dunks the ball. Assist: A. Jefferson
4:35  MIN - A. Jefferson steals the ball from R. Sessions"

I would have loved to see that play.  Maybe he's learning. His BBIQ was pretty good.

Saw it.... the steal was more a bad play by Richard Jefferson than a good play by Al, and Smith was cherry picking... nevertheless, Al has been playing decently well.

Like I said, I love him on the Wolves... but he still has a long way to go before he's a superstar... I think he can get there though, he just needs the right mindset and willingness to do the little things.