All Star Reserves

West: G- Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Tony Parker. F- Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, C- Amare Stoudemire

East: G- Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Jason Kidd. F- Vince Carter, Caron Butler, Dwight Howard. C- Jermaine O'Neal

And of course the starters:
West: G- Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady. F- Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett. C- Yao Ming
East: G- Gilbert Arenas, Dwyane Wade. F- LeBron James, Chris Bosh. C- Shaquille O'Neal

Now everyone's in a hrumph over 'Melo getting shut out again. But I wouldn't sweat it, he deserves to go, and with Boozy and Yowser on the rack, it falls to David Stern to name 2 alternates. I wouldn't be close to surprised to find out that Stern ordered the West coaches to leave him off, assuring them that he'd name the Nugget to replace Boozer. This way Stern gets to send 'Melo (and the white American audience he covets so much) the message that punching out dudes makes the NBA look bad. And 'Melo, who deserves to be an All Star, still gets to go, but the honor is tarnished by having to be an injury replacement. And the coaches essentially get a freebie choice, by getting Melo' who they wanted anyway, and getting to give Carlos the shout out he (begrudging admission) so richly deserves. I would expect Amare gets the bump to first class to replace Yao, and Stern (who may have thrown in choice of the player as a cherry on top of the sordid agreement with the coaches) will then name Josh Howard, Zach Randolph, Elton Brand, or maybe even Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol, though my money's on Brand.
Personally, as much as I like Dwight Howard, I feel like Emeka Okafor's having a better season. He posts a half a rebound less and 2 points less per game, but he does give an extra block, more steals, and almost half the turnovers with comparable percentages. And old Okey has done it while everyone hails Dwight, who he beat out for rookie of the year, as the second coming of the Shaqalacka. But Okafor's return has brought Charlotte to the brink of respectability and he's done it with no fanfare, just ruggedly under the hoop. I would also rather see Deron Wiliams, Josh Howard or Baron Davis, than Tony Parker. And I wouldn't mind Ben Gordon or Luol Deng over Chauncey or Rip. Chauncey is a stud, but missed significant time, and Rip's not as much of an uberstar, but has been a consistent boon, so I could go either way.

Progs: We'll see a nice game, with Brand and 'Melo receiving late invites. West wins it, 146-128.