Last week, former Seattle star Gary Payton said Minnesota power forward Al Jefferson was more deserving of a starting spot on the Western Conference All-Star team than the Spurs' Tim Duncan.
Now Payton thinks the Western Conference coaches got it wrong, too, because they left Jefferson off the roster all together when reserves were announced Thursday. This time, he has a more valid point. Jefferson has had a better season than Lakers power forward Pau Gasol, and there's only one reason Gasol got the nod over the Timberwolves' big man: He plays for the team with the best record in the NBA. Jefferson, meanwhile, plays for a team that has won only 16 games.
Do the coaches factor in a team's record when they vote for the reserves?
"I think it's important," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said a couple of hours after casting his All-Star votes. "Somebody's going to score on a bad team. It just ends up being that way. Somebody's going to get opportunities."
Of course, a great record wasn't enough to get Mo Williams a spot on the Eastern Conference team, and that is an even more glaring miscarriage of All-Star justice. LeBron James is the front-runner for this season's Most Valuable Player award, but he isn't winning games for Cleveland by himself.
Putting Williams on the team instead of Orlando's Jameer Nelson would have given the Cavs, Magic and Celtics two players apiece. As it is, the Magic have three All-Stars, which may make some of us reconsider our belief that Stan Van Gundy is the top candidate for Coach of the Year.
