McGrady over Paul in All-Star Voting
I'm sure that David Stern will pull out the frozen/bent envelope on this. Don't be surprised to see a sudden surge for Paul.
All the better for Millsap's chances to get in.
5 months ago
Basketball John
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As much as I love Millsap
I think it should stay in the hands of the fans. Yes, it’s retarded that McGrady is gonna start, but the FANS voted. McGrady is a STAR. If we changed this, we’re basically saying Chinese fans aren’t worth what American fans are worth. They have their say, too and they like McGrady. If we want to make sure this doesn’t happen, then maybe we need to increase the exposure of the other players in China. But they ALL got to see what Chris Paul can do during the Olympics. No excuses.
by mcjazzman32 on
Jan 12, 2009 4:26 PM MST
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agreed
As much as I dislike the popularity contest that is the All-Star starting lineup, it is the fans who make these players superstars. So they should have a say.
I agree with Sloan’s comments from the article:
“I guess if the fans want to see them, they are the ones who pay the bills when you look at the whole picture.”
And I agree with mcjazzman32 that if all these Chinese are voting, then the league needs to do better at exposing other talent.
by P_Dizzle on
Jan 12, 2009 4:45 PM MST
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disagreed
They’re not voting as fans of the NBA. They’re voting as Chinese people. They’re voting for McGrady because they’re voting for Yao and McGrady plays with Yao. For crap’s sake, Shane Battier always gets a ton of votes, too, and no real NBA fan in their right mind would call him an All-Star.
I don’t mean to disparage the Chinese fan vote as worth less than the American fan vote. And yeah, you could say that the NBA just needs to do a better PR job with the whole league instead of just Yao/the Rockets. (You heard stories during the Olympics that there were lots more Chinese people wearing LeBron and Kobe jerseys than Yao jerseys.) And obviously I don’t know any actual Chinese fans. But it sure seems like they are throwing away any semblance of reason in favor of pure patriotism — supporting the team that supports their favorite son.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
by Shums on
Jan 12, 2009 5:01 PM MST
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I agree with your take.
I mean…friggin’ Luis Scola finished in the top nine. It’s ridiculous.
Grammar is not a time of waste
by Patrick517 on
Jan 12, 2009 5:05 PM MST
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And Ridnour is really high for guards.
He played with Yi.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
by clarkpojo on
Jan 12, 2009 9:55 PM MST
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well spotted
I didn’t notice that. Yet more proof of the Chinese voting bloc.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
by Shums on
Jan 12, 2009 10:12 PM MST
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I still think that there should have to be some qualifications first. You should have to play in a certain % of games. I hate it when an injured player gets voted in and they don’t play anyway.
I would also like to say that you have to have certain stats, I don’t know how that would be measured though. Maybe you would have to be at least above average?
The other sticking point is that there are players that have bonuses based on All-Star appearances (do they all get paid for the game as well?). That’s something the players wouldn’t give up.
And my final beef with the fan vote is that All-Star appearances are usually factored in later when HOF voting comes up. If they’re just a popular vote, then why should they matter?
Anyway, it’s not a big deal. I would just hate to see Millsap potentially get shafted because of it. Yes, I’m biased, why do you ask?
by Basketball John on
Jan 12, 2009 5:01 PM MST
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fame
hehe well when you think about it, isn’t “fame,” as in the hall of “fame,” just another word for popularity? Technically, they don’t get voted into the “Hall of Accomplishments”
by mcjazzman32 on
Jan 12, 2009 6:24 PM MST
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Hall of Famers aren't voted in by popularity at all.
That may be the literal meaning of fame to you, but it really means exactly the “hall of accomplishments.”
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
by clarkpojo on
Jan 12, 2009 9:55 PM MST
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you guys are forgetting something...
I’m sure that David Stern will pull out the frozen/bent envelope on this.
the nba is desperately, desperately trying to tap the china market. they are doing their all to promote the league in china. i live in asia, i see it. they didn’t need to open all-star voting up to international fans at all. if china gets the players it wants to see into the all-star game, all the better for stern/the nba’s int’l marketing plan. that’s a 1.3 billion+ people market.
by moni on
Jan 13, 2009 2:13 AM MST
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that makes a lot of sense.
I definitely can’t fault Stern for that line of thinking. It’s good business. But still, it isn’t “the players China wants to see in the All-Star game.” It’s “the players that have a random association with Chinese NBA players.” If Yao or Yi were on the Jazz, Deron Williams would be a leading vote-getter. It has nothing to do with the player on his own merits.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
by Shums on
Jan 13, 2009 3:31 AM MST
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well
the players China wants to see in the All-Star game=the players that have a random association with Chinese NBA players
there’s not really any difference…
by moni on
Jan 13, 2009 5:14 AM MST
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p.s. you can't tell me the lakers picked up sun yue
(mostly) for his basketball skills.
his connection to china definitely had something to do with it. same goes for why milwaukee drafted yi when he wouldn’t even work out for them.
by moni on
Jan 13, 2009 5:16 AM MST
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one more thing...
more than 50% of the jazz game video feeds available online (which for fans outside utah (like me) are the only way to watch games) are chinese feeds, so it’s definitely inaccurate to say that chinese fans are not exposed to other teams/players. maybe they choose not to watch other teams/players, but the access is there.
anyway, i’m not defending the nba or china; tmac is one of the players i dislike the most; i think the all-star game has turned into a joke and i haven’t watched it in years. but i just thought that i’d throw in my two cents.
by moni on
Jan 13, 2009 2:19 AM MST
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