Ham Express

http://www.nba.com/2009/allstar2009/01/22/starters.garcia.0122/index.html

Eastern Conference Starters

Allen Iverson
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard

Western Conference Starters

Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Amare Stoudemire
Tim Duncan
Yao Ming

Brief Midyear Review

Biggest Surprise:

Orlando Magic: Yes they are my home team, but you CAN NOT deny their dominant season. They proved themselves as an elite Eastern team by sweeping the Spurs and the Lakers, as well as crushing the Denver Nuggets afterwards. Dwight Howard is by far the best center in the league. Yao Ming is good, but Howard is a monster. He leads the league in rebounding (14.1) and blocking (3.21). They are currently ranked 1 in the Eastern Conference, right above the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.

Jameer Nelson: I had to put this in a separate category. I still remember fans, and even my friends saying how the Magic need to get a new point guard. They claimed Nelson was not delivering as a point guard for a team that was considered an Eastern powerhouse. I admit…I said the same thing. But wow, look at him now. He’s having a career season: 17.1 pts/3.4 reb/5.4 ast/1.0 stl per game. But his stats don’t even really let you see the inside of his game. He’s helped the Magic come a long way.

Danny Granger: He was the projected 11th rank draft pick, but wow. He’s averaging over 26 points. Every night I check the box score, he’s nearly always on the daily leaders section. The Indiana Pacers have had a terrible season so far, but you certainly cannot write off Danny Granger. He’s not afraid to take the game-winning shot, and has delivered a few buzzer beaters this season. However, with Mike Dunleavy back, his stats may go down…but probably not though.

Biggest Disappointments:

Michael Beasley: Call me biased, but I had extremely high hopes for him, even before I drafted him in my fantasy league. You know what they say, “You can’t trust a rookie in fantasy.” Well that was damn near about right. The month of January has been kind to him, but he’s still nowhere near the caliber of player the media hyped him up to be. With Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, and now Russell Westbrook capturing the critics’ attention, Beasley will surely be out of the race unless he changes his game.

Elton Brand: Before the season, ESPN kept saying how dominant the 76ers were going to be. They even placed the 76ers above the Magic for the Eastern contenders. I, however, did not agree at all. Yes, Elton Brand was a good player. But he’s certainly a huge disappointment to Philly fans. He’s not putting up numbers everyone thought he was going to. He’s lucky Andre Iguodala has stepped up to help the 76ers reach the playoffs.

Houston Rockets: This sounded like a dynamite team before the season. Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and now, Ron Artest. Health problems and injuries plague this team, no one can doubt that. But even when they were together, they still didn’t play like a Western powerhouse team. It’s hard to tell if they still have a shot as Western Conference Finals contenders, but at this rate, it doesn’t seem like it. Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest continue to sit on the bench as they try to get healthy for the 2nd half of the NBA season. I was looking forward to seeing the Rockets become possibly Finals contenders…but it seems unlikely as of right now.