Thursday evening the official reserves (bench players) for the 2008 NBA All-Star team were announced. Fans picked the starters, but NBA coaches picked these reserves. Here are the 14 players (seven East, seven West) selected to come off the bench in the 2008 All-Star game.
East: Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Joe Johnson, Caron Butler, Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison, Chris Bosh
West: Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, David West, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire
InsideHoops.com analysis coming over the next hour or two. Watch our front page. And of course we’ll add reactions from newspapers around the country to our NBA rumors page late tonight and Friday morning.
The host New Orleans Hornets are one of four teams which can claim two All-Star reserves as the NBA today announced the list of 14 players that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. The Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards also have two All-Star reserves in the 57th NBA All-Star Game which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 17 at New Orleans Arena.
First-time All-Star selections Chris Paul and David West of New Orleans are joined by fellow first-time selection Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers as Western Conference reserves, along with Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, Steve Nash and Amaré Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki.
The East reserves feature the Detroit Pistons’ Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards, Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce.
The 14 players selected — seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences — were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences — two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.
Previously selected as starters for the East through the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting Program were Boston’s Kevin Garnett, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, New Jersey’s Jason Kidd and Miami’s Dwyane Wade. Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, Houston’s Yao Ming, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan will start for the West.
The selections of Nash (Canada) and Nowitzki (Germany) along with voted-starters Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Yao (China), gives the 2008 NBA All-Star Game four international players.
Should any player be unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to injury, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement.
Boston head coach Doc Rivers and his coaching staff will be on the sidelines for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, as the Celtics previously clinched the best winning percentage through games of Feb. 3 among eligible Eastern Conference teams for All-Star coaching honors. The Western Conference coaching scenario has yet to be determined, with the staffs of the Dallas Mavericks (31-13, .705) and New Orleans Hornets (32-13, .711) still in contention. The coaching staff of either Dallas or New Orleans, depending on which owns the best winning percentage through games of Feb. 3, will lead the Western Conference All-Stars.
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