Picking the All-Stars

Tracy McGrady is certainly an All-Star caliber player. So is Yao Ming — especially considering the lack of outstanding centers in the Western Conference.

Still, neither one should have been picked to be starters for the annual All-Star Game — which will be played two weeks from today.

Why should Houston, with just 17 wins — fewest in the West— have two-fifths of the All-Star starters? Both Yao and McGrady have been hobbled by injuries this season and have missed a considerable number of games, 21 and 13, respectively.

Beyond that, the All-Star starters — named earlier this week as determined by fan voting — weren't too shabby. Starting alongside Yao and McGrady in the West will be San Antonio's Tim Duncan at power forward, with a backcourt of Phoenix Sun Steve Nash and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. Certainly there are no arguments against any of those players.

The Eastern Conference starters, meanwhile, are Philly's Allan Iverson and Miami's Dwayne Wade at guard, Cleveland's LeBron James and Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal at forward and Miami's Shaquille O'Neal at center. The only questionable starter there, really, is Shaq, who is having a bit of a down year by his standards and has missed 18 games with injury. The Pacers' O'Neal, meanwhile, will have to be replaced since he is currently injured.

Detroit's Flip Saunders earned the right to coach the East because his team had the best record in the league to this point. Dallas' Avery Johnson will coach the West, since his team had the best record in the conference.

The reserves for the All-Star Game will be chosen by the league's coaches. Each one must select seven players from his own conference (but they can't be from the coach's own team). Of the seven players on the coaches' ballots, two must be guards, two forwards and one center with two from any position.

While I haven't been asked by Jerry Sloan or anyone else for advice on this matter, here are my choices to round out the All-Star teams:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Guards — Ray Allen, Sonics; Tony Parker, Spurs.

Allen, a five-time All-Star, is averaging a career-high 25.0 points, and his shooting percentage is his personal best in the past five years. Parker just continues to get better, too. He's averaging a career-high 19.4 points and 5.7 assists and is second in the association in field goal percentage, making 54.8 percent of his shots. Plus, Parker is dating the hottest of the Desperate Housewives, and that should count for something.