In honor of the All-Star game coming up this weekend, I figured I'd start an All-Star debate.

Josh Howard, Caron Butler and Carlos Boozer made it this year. Rashard Lewis, Manu Ginobili and Antawn Jamison made it in 2005.

So which current NBA player is the best that hasn't been on an All-Star team yet. My vote would go for Tayshaun, but most NBA fans don't see what he does for this team and just looks at the stat line.

Who gets your vote?

Good topic, Mo.

I'll have to give it more thought, but my early choice is Zach Randolph, as much as I can't stand the guy.

Would you pick Tay over Marcus Camby, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams?

Joe Johnson gets my vote for two snubs.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/joe_johnson/index.html

deron williams is playing at an all-star level, but he's too young to be in this discussion.

How about Emeka Okafor?
He was having a great start, a Boozer type start but slowed down.

I'd go with Joe Johnson. Tay has been good but not really an All-Star. I think that if he just got a little more aggresive he'd be there but he seems to disappear in games from time to time.

I agree with the JJ vote as well.

Tay is a rich mans Shane Battier... if that makes sense. His value is an all-star level to us because he is the glue guy. However, he is not all-star caliber like them simply because his stats are not inflated like theirs.

But it has to be Deron Williams, Zach Randolph, and Joe Johnson. Theres no reason for Randolph and Williams to not sneak in this year though.

Tay's not quite as good a shooter as some of those guys you listed. I would say Joe Johnson is the best of those guys, I think Randolph is a great athlete but overrated basketball player. I don't know anything about Deron Williams, don't think I've ever seen him play.

Is Chris Paul in the All Star game? If not, I bet that New Orleans could trade him for any of the other players listed. I just rattled off three names that were in recent news as "first-time All-Star maybes", and didn't do a lot of conscious thought about it.

Probably Joe Johnson....Tay will never take over a game like he can, and should (too busy displaying his wingspan to the refs?)

Deron Williams is too early to be a snub....dude will be an all-star though -frickin' sick skills-

I'll take Tay over Shawn Marion in the playoffs.

But being a playoff beast doesn't really matter in terms of the all-star game.

Joe Johnson may not make this list much longer. To me, he seems the logical choice to replace Kidd in the ASG this year.

Yeah, it'll be him or Ben Gordon.

I'll take Tay over Shawn Marion in the playoffs.

But being a playoff beast doesn't really matter in terms of the all-star game.
Hunh? Marion had one series against the Spurs that was bad, in 2005 and only after he had been injured and playing out of position. In another series against basically the same lineup of Spurs in 2003, he posted Marion-like numbers and personally did quite well. His 2006 playoff numbers and D were fine and Marion certainly wasn't the reason the Suns lost to the Mavs last year (Tim Thomas' D and the Mavs depth had an awful lot to do with it). I like Tay, but I bet he'd crumble playing the minutes and positions that Marion does.

Hunh? Marion had one series against the Spurs that was bad, in 2005 and only after he had been injured and playing out of position. In another series against basically the same lineup of Spurs in 2003, he posted Marion-like numbers and personally did quite well. His 2006 playoff numbers and D were fine and Marion certainly wasn't the reason the Suns lost to the Mavs last year (Tim Thomas' D and the Mavs depth had an awful lot to do with it). I like Tay, but I bet he'd crumble playing the minutes and positions that Marion does.


You know, I had written this very long post that broke down the entire playoff failure of Shawn Marion , and contrasted it against how Tay raises his game. The fucking thing was at least 3 pages ......

And my comp crashed.

So the cliff notes version.
Shawn Marion can't adjust to the playoff tempo, he becomes inconsistent and makes terrible decisions. His great games are the exception to the rule.

Tay consistantly steps up his game. He is the reason T-mac needs therapy , why Kobe has to rape women to feel superior, why Reggie Miller has crooked teeth, and why Lebron James is in strugglesville.

No one was really surprised at what Marion did in the 2005 finals, and that should say a lot about the expectations based on reputation.

Both players can do things the other guy can't do.
I rather have a playmaker in the playoffs, not a deer in headlights.

Yeah, it'll be him or Ben Gordon.

deng > gordon.

It would be pretty fucked if a 6th man made it, although he's starting recently?

^LMFAO Bubbles

You know, I had written this very long post that broke down the entire playoff failure of Shawn Marion
I'll grant you that Marion doesn't really step it up in the playoffs relative to the regular season, but he's not too shabby during the regular season. Does David Robinson suck because he's not a playoff stud the way Olajuwon was?

Here were some #s in Marion's failed playoff series against Dallas: 16 ppg, 13 rpg, 50% shooting, 1.6 steals, .8 blocks

Here are some #s in Tayshaun's equally-failed playoff series against Miami: 16 ppg, 6 rpg, 44% shooting, .7 steals/blocks

Stats aren't everything, of course, but last year was the first year Tayshaun didn't suck offensively when road playoff games happened. The series with the legendary block by Tay against Miller is one in which he averaged 6 ppg. And most of the time Marion has fallen defensively, he was at PF against true PFs. We saw in 2005 that Tayshaun does well against true PFs in the Spurs series... NOT.

But all this Marion-Tayshaun stuff is academic, because I still think the best player to not be in an All-Star game is CP3. :)

Marion's problem is that he is not a playmaker. Doesnt build his own offense much. With that said he's the best player out there who can't create on his own. But lining him up on ISO will get you nowhere.

I give Stoudemire credit though, he has improved his creating skills ten fold and may be the extra piece for Nash to get them over the hump this year.

Strike all of the Joe Johnson replies from this thread: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2007/02/14/0215jjohnson.html

Did we come up with this thread simply so Tay could have his worst start this year? Fu-uck!

Did we come up with this thread simply so Tay could have his worst start this year? Fu-uck!

The God of Shawn Marion is a vengeful God.