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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – It wasn’t a surprise that NBA fans voted retiring superstar Kobe Bryant as a Western Conference All-Star starter despite his struggles this season.
The oddity is that if Bryant were listed at guard, the position he played for the majority of his career, instead of in the frontcourt, Zaza Pachulia of the Dallas Mavericks would have been voted a West starter.
That’s one of the reasons Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who scored a career-high 56 points Monday in a 129-128 double-overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets, told Yahoo Sports recently that the All-Star starter balloting system should be changed for the All-Star Game on Feb.14.
As it stands now, fans are asked to vote for three frontcourt players (regardless of position) and two guards per conference as starters.
“It’s disrespectful to big men,” Cousins told Yahoo Sports. “It’s not really fair. But that’s how it is.”
Cousins was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday and has averaged 27.6 points and 11.4 rebounds this season. When asked what changes he would make to All-Star voting, Cousins was quick to respond.
“There definitely wouldn’t be fan voting,” Cousins told Yahoo. “You can’t base it off of who is on TNT and ESPN every night. Of course, it’s going to be most winning teams’ [players], the most popular players [selected]. The other guys that play for the Milwaukee Bucks, and in our case the Sacramento Kings, who are playing just as good basketball, will never be seen. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Cousins has a strong chance Thursday of being named one of the seven West All-Star reserves, chosen by the conference’s head coaches. But it may not be a slam dunk.
“If it were all about talent, he’d be the first big man picked,” a Western conference head coach told Yahoo Sports. “The only question is: Will enough people look past his reputation to give him a chance?”
The Kings are 20-24, but have won five of six games and are 19-16 with Cousins.
“My play speaks for itself,” Cousins told Yahoo. “If it was about play, I don’t think there would be a question. There are a lot of politics involved. Popularity has a lot to do with it. … There is a lot of stuff out of my control. That’s just the card I am dealt.
“I’m comfortable with the coaches picking and I believe they will make the right choice. They are more aware and more knowledgeable of who is an All-Star in this game.”
Source:
DeMarcus Cousins on how he would change All-Star balloting: 'There definitely wouldn’t be fan voting'
The oddity is that if Bryant were listed at guard, the position he played for the majority of his career, instead of in the frontcourt, Zaza Pachulia of the Dallas Mavericks would have been voted a West starter.
That’s one of the reasons Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who scored a career-high 56 points Monday in a 129-128 double-overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets, told Yahoo Sports recently that the All-Star starter balloting system should be changed for the All-Star Game on Feb.14.
As it stands now, fans are asked to vote for three frontcourt players (regardless of position) and two guards per conference as starters.
“It’s disrespectful to big men,” Cousins told Yahoo Sports. “It’s not really fair. But that’s how it is.”
Cousins was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday and has averaged 27.6 points and 11.4 rebounds this season. When asked what changes he would make to All-Star voting, Cousins was quick to respond.
“There definitely wouldn’t be fan voting,” Cousins told Yahoo. “You can’t base it off of who is on TNT and ESPN every night. Of course, it’s going to be most winning teams’ [players], the most popular players [selected]. The other guys that play for the Milwaukee Bucks, and in our case the Sacramento Kings, who are playing just as good basketball, will never be seen. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Cousins has a strong chance Thursday of being named one of the seven West All-Star reserves, chosen by the conference’s head coaches. But it may not be a slam dunk.
“If it were all about talent, he’d be the first big man picked,” a Western conference head coach told Yahoo Sports. “The only question is: Will enough people look past his reputation to give him a chance?”
The Kings are 20-24, but have won five of six games and are 19-16 with Cousins.
“My play speaks for itself,” Cousins told Yahoo. “If it was about play, I don’t think there would be a question. There are a lot of politics involved. Popularity has a lot to do with it. … There is a lot of stuff out of my control. That’s just the card I am dealt.
“I’m comfortable with the coaches picking and I believe they will make the right choice. They are more aware and more knowledgeable of who is an All-Star in this game.”
Source:
DeMarcus Cousins on how he would change All-Star balloting: 'There definitely wouldn’t be fan voting'