Here is the Indianapolis Star reporting on Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, who has steadily emerged as a legit force in this league. And was deemed worthy by the basketball masses of perhaps being named an All-Star this season, but was not named a reserve by NBA head coaches:
“I’m mad,” Stephenson said. “I feel like I had my breakout year last year. I showed I can play with anyone on the floor and I felt like this year, I brought a little bit more to my game.
“But other people saw it differently. I’m just going to keep working hard and prove everyone wrong.”
Stephenson not being included among the All-Star reserves was the talk of the league when they were announced Thursday night. Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley chimed in with: “That’s a joke. I see why they’ve got so many crappy teams in the East because the coaches don’t know what they’re doing.”
No Pacers player thrives off emotion more than Stephenson. He plays with an edge. Some, including Vogel, thought that emotion may have turned off coaches and convinced enough not to vote for him.
