Looking at the Eastern Conference, our dear Crash has a lot of competition on his hands.
Let’s look at the players contesting with Wallace for the All-star position in the Eastern Conference for All-star.
Boston Celtics:
Paul Pierce, a seven time All-star. Impressive record, and last season he averaged 20.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Pierce has given up numbers due to age and having Allen and Garnett on the floor at the same time. Pierce is a tough one for Wallace to beat, due to his great scoring and rebounding, as well as his good assist mark. His averages are expected to decrease due to age.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Lebron James, is the new face of the NBA. Talented, big, athletic and charismatic, he amplifies what the NBA is looking for. He’s a highlight reel, can score and pass with ease and can have huge blocks too. He also has massive media coverage and a shoddy team for him to carry (seriously…Verajao?, raising his numbers. Expect him to start in the All-star game, unless he pulls up with a massive injury that keeps him out for months/season.
Indiana Pacers:
Danny Granger is a great player. He’s the sole reason that the Pacers are being carried. Last season he averaged 25.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The guy seemingly can almost score at will.However, one thing to note is that the guy turns the ball over. A LOT. Last year he was an all-star, but so far this season he hasn’t been his dominant self.
Washington Wizards:
Caron Butler is a two-time all-star. He averaged 20.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists last season. The thing that will keep Butler out of the race is his durability. He has NEVER played a full season uninjured. NEVER. Expect him to fall down the ranks if he gets hit by an injury.
The media:
The media barely knows Wallace exists. Crash has been spoken of as the most underrated player in the league, which is true. When he averaged 20 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a season and wasn’t chosen for the all-star game, it shows that the media cares more about points than anything else. Not to mention most of the NBA doesn’t even know we exist. Thus, our greatest enemy is the media.
Honourable Mentions:
Michael Beasley is a troubled troubled man. However, he has decent averages considering they have a go-to-guy in Dwayne Wade. Expect him to pick up more of the slack this year, however whether he will truly contest Crash for an all-star spot remains to be seen. He’s here as an honourable mention, but I doubt he will contest really for an all-star position unless Wade goes down with an injury.
Hedo Turkgulu is a great player. Versatile and tall, with great basketball IQ. Not to mention he has great ball handling skills. However, he has one thing against him, lousy defence and Age. With age, he’s become more and more tired. Expect his stats to drop and him to drop out of all-star contention. Clutch player, yes. All-star, no.
Rashard Lewis is not worth a 118 million salary for 6 years. The guy can score in clutch, he can shoot 3’s. But he’s got horrible defence. Not to mention he mainly plays PF. I get confused whether he plays PF or SF, Magic can’t make their mind up. Should I also mention that generally his averages are going down? Either way, I wish at times Vlad was as good as Lewis, and then it would justify Vladdy boy’s huge-ass contract. But he’s gone now. Say bye Vlad. And say bye to Rashard to All-star SF/PF, whatever he decides to become.
Crash has alot of competition. But if Crash is able to keep up the level he’s playing by averaging a double double, add a few more points to raise that scoring average to 20, we may just have our first all-star in our franchises history.
