I have to admit that I am a bit of a fan of the NBA all star weekend, but mostly for just the Sunday All Star game. I don't care much for the rest of it. What I don't like is fans selecting thye starters. In fact, I am vehemently opposed to it. Yet to be disingenuous, I have been known to vote.

One thing I have not done and won't do is vote for a player just because he is on my favorite team. I won't vote for Blazers just because they are Blazers. Every few years (pretty much every year) there is a debate about someone starting who doesn't deserve it. It ranks right up there with the BCS process for me. End the debate. Let coaches have the biggest input. Maybe general managers, referrees, sports press. Anyone but the fans, because fans win generally be fans for thier own team.

All of that being said, I feel the only huge mistake was picking  Allen Iverson as a starter. I'm not sure he sould even make the team this year. I think it's fine for fans to weigh in and debate NBA all stars like they debate all manner of NBA minutia. Maybe they should even have some minimally weighted input that actually counts, but it should be very small.

Now for my miscellanious thoughts about who should be all stars this year,... to be taken with a grain of salt. Only one grain.

WEST:  Starters. Center - Yao Ming, Forwards - Tim Duncan & Dirk Nowitski, Guards - Kobe Bryant & Chris Paul.  Reserves. Brandon Roy, Al Jefferson, Amare Stoudamire, Chauncey Billups, David West, Tony Parker, Kevin Durant. In Consideration. Shaquile O'Neil, Lamarcus Aldridge, Andris Biedrins, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Deron williams, Carmello Anthony ( but injured currently. Replace any reserve if healthy), Stephen Jackson, Mehmet Okur

EAST: Starters. Center - Dwight Howard, Forwards - LeBron James & Chris Bosh, Guards Dwayne Wade & Joe Johnson.  Reserves. Devon Harris, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Danny Granger, Antawn Jamison, Andre Iguodala.  In Consideration.  Mike Bibby, Jameer Nelson, Allen Iverson, Michael Redd, Rajon Rondo, Andre Miller, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis

I found that It gets tough past the starting five and maybe a few reserves. Clearly some things that players do to help don't reflect in the stat line. I tired not to choose just from winngin teams. There have been some great players stuck in bad situations. Feel free to debate. Yes, I may have been able to make a case for LMA to be a West reserve, But I tried to select as thought I am not a Blazer fan.

I peruse a number of other fan sites from time to time, even thought I read this one the most. Mostly any news about the Blazers is what I seek. It's been a fun season so far. Better that expected or worse? Hard to tell for me. As far as the record goes, about what the realistic part of me expected.

I hoped Oden might come around a little more quickly and be more consistent, but I am not surprised about his development so far. We have seen the flashes and I believe there are more good things to come from him. I don't think I could stress enough the significance of coming off micro-fracture surgery, regardless of whether or not he were a rookie. But adding that to the surgery without a doubt would make for rough year for anyone. I feel pretty comfortable in expecting nothing but erratic growth from Greg, but growth none-the-less. I have seen the flashes of great play just enough to make me believe it will come. Hopefully he goes to Pete Newell's Big Man Camp next year.

Anyway, the team has hit the doldrums a bit. They have lost a few games we expected them to win. The bar got raised earlier in the season. Our expectations increased. Really though, are they off the pace you honestly predicted before the season started? They are still slightly ahead of mine. I was not one of those who made an 82-0 prediction. I conservatively predicted 48 wins, but thought in the low 50s was possible.

Some points to ponder. Brandon seems to be getting better. LMA is about the same, if slightly behind last year. He is gaining momentum though. Sergio, Travis, and Channing seem to be the rotating whipping boys. Joel is a rock and Greg is vey inconsistent. Rudy and Nic have become favorites and are contributing meaningfully, although not always consistently. The absense of Martell has been of the the bigger disappointments for me. The guy did the work and got injured. There is no justice. We get lifted high when they win, and plunge to the depths of despair and loathing when they lose a winable game.

It is important to dissect and analyze a game when we lose, but you do the same when you win as well. The point is to see what is and what is not working. As we know, the best laid plans don't always succeed. The woeful lamentations from those who decry Nate's coaching, Steve and Sergio's lack of defense, and Channing and LMA's softeness make me want to grind my teeth. The coach changes line-ups to often or not enough. He waits to long or does it to soon. Sergio is more productive, trade Blake. Bayless is the future, trade Blake and Sergio. It goes on and on. Gte rid of Travis now some say. Bench Oden, no start him.

The fervor with which these solutions are presented makes them gems of wisdom and knowledge right? Probably not. I will say that there are some great ideas from time to time. Let it be known though, that coaches often have to tinker more or less with players and line-ups before they find the best one. Bemoan the losses, toss out the ideas, but try to keep some patience and perspective. There are many different defensive and offensive schemes. One key is figuring out which works best for your collections of players. The Celtic lost 2 in a row, gasp! One loss was to the Warriors no less. Blow up the team! New Orleans and Utah have had some mild struggles early. They must be underachievers. No, I'd say not. New Orleans is finding their form again, and Utah has had several injuries. Panic when you have teams like the Warriors and Clippers, or the underachieving Raptors.

I for one think the Blazer's are having a nice season so far. I still expect around 48 wins, and hopefully more. I hate the losses. They really "bum me out," but I still think it is way to early to start calling for drastic changes, trades, firing, etc. Some of you might know as much as the coaching staff, but I know I certainly don't. I can barely coach my fantasy league team. I think the players have tuned me out.

I shouldn't be, but I am mildly surprised at Joel's numbers so far this year. Many expected his productivity  - along with his minues - to drop because of Oden's presence. Neither has happened. Joel is a model of consistency. Everyone has an off night at times, but Joel doesn't have too many.

Joel's scoring pace increased from last year (4.8 to 6.1), and his rebounding (8.4 to 8.2) and blocks(1.3 to 1.2)  are virtually identical. His steal rate has increased and his turnover rate has decreased. These last have minimal impact because they are not Joel's forte. Increasing steals from 0.2 to 0.4 double the rate. Nice, but still not like going from 2 to 4 steals. Then we can't forget about his 75% FG accuracy so far. I expect that it might not be that high at the end of the season, but there is no reason to believe it couldn't stay in the 60-70% range. Joel's FT percentage has remained relatively high as compared to earlier seasons except last year. It looks like the FT work has paid off.

Joe'ls minutes have remained steady because Oden is still developing slowly, and now the center position is more clearly defined with Oden and Przybilla. Frye and Aldridge are no longer needed at center, "small ball" aside.

I wonder if other teams take Joel lightly. If I were scouting the Blazer's, I wouldn't overlook his defense (rebounding and shot blocking). He rotates well and gets down the court. While others get the highlights, Joel is my current MVP (in a metaphorical sense). Yes, and he does those things (like setting picks) that don't show up on the stat sheet.