Between the Knicks and Nets, our two New York basketball teams have combined for all of 25 wins in close to three months of action, with the Knicks in a race to claim the NBA’s worst record and the Nets seven games under .500 and perilously close to falling out of the playoff chase in the East.
You bet it’s been a nightmare season for Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher, Carmelo Anthony, Lionel Hollins and Deron Williams -- not to mention Jim Dolan and Mikhail Prokhorov, the owners of the Knicks and Nets who have gotten very little bang for their bucks. But at least New York will get to see some great basketball when it hosts the NBA’s 64th All-Star Game on Feb.15.
Coaches are in place and the starters for the game were announced on Thursday, with a little something for everyone. But especially for:
Phil Jackson -- If he stays around for the weekend, he’ll get to see the coach he wanted to hire for the Knicks post, with Steve Kerr heading up the West. Kerr was all set to come to New York to coach the Knicks, but got scared off by Dolan’s well-earned reputation as a constant meddler, and then found himself a much better situation in Golden State. Kerr looks like the smartest guy in the room, coaching a talented Warrior team with a shot to go deep in the playoffs, while passing on a Knick team that can do nothing right, even with his close buddy, the Zen Master, now in charge.
Canada -- Thanks to a huge ballot-stuffing campaign north of our border and with Twitter support from no less than the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper and Toronto Mayor John Tory, the Raptors will have Kyle Lowry in the starting lineup. Lowry made up a deficit of nearly 100,000 in the last three weeks to pass Miami’s Dwyane Wade at the last minute. He will become the first Toronto player to start in the All-Star Game since Chris Bosh in 2008.
Washington fans -- Wizards fans have had precious little to cheer about since the franchise’s last title in 1978, but now they can celebrate the ascension of star point guard John Wall into a starting berth. The other time Wall made the exclusive team came last season as a reserve, voted in by the coaches. The franchise hasn’t had a player it drafted start in the All-Star Game since 1971, when they were still known as the Bullets and playing in Baltimore. That’s when Earl “The Pearl’’ Monroe opened the game in the East’s backcourt. Their only starters since were imports -- Michael Jordan (drafted by Chicago) in 2002 and 2003 and Gilbert Arenas (drafted by Golden State) in 2007.
Atlanta supporters -- Actually, there’s little to cheer about for fans of the Hawks, who have been the surprise team of the NBA with their astounding 35-8 record, including the best road mark in the league (17-5) and a terrific record against the West (10-2). While they have challenged the Warriors for top record and have been called the NBA’s best team by some players, including Houston’s Dwight Howard, an Atlanta native, they did not have a single player voted to the East’s starting five. But their coach, Mike Budenholzer, will coach the East, and when the 30 coaches vote for reserves, they could have as many as three reserves (Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Al Horford) come to the Garden. Budenholzer is the franchise’s first coach to coach the East since Lenny Wilkens in 1994. Reserves will be announced Jan. 29.
Spike Lee -- The Knicks’ unofficial mascot and all the other New York fans who have suffered through this seven-win disaster can at least get to watch Carmelo Anthony play in the game. This will be ‘Melo’s eighth All-Star appearance and he boasts the fourth-highest scoring average in the game’s history at 21.1 ppg. This will be the first time that he will be hosting the game, a honor that not everyone feels he deserves due to the Knicks’ awful record. As Charles Barkley admitted when the starters were announced on TNT, “I do have a problem with that. I just don't understand. ... If I'm a fan, you have to be honest and realistic." Let’s be realistic, Charles: It is a popularity contest and ‘Melo is a fan favorite.
Dan Gilbert -- The Cavs’ owner hasn’t had a real reason to attend an All-Star Game since 2010, but he’ll be back on the red carpet in the Garden and over at Barclays Center for the Friday night and Saturday night events, thanks to LeBron James’ decision to return to Cleveland. He might not be having the monster season everyone expected after he left Miami to go back home and try to give Cleveland its first title since the 1964 Browns. But James is a shoo-in for the All-Star Game and will be making his 11th start in his NBA 12 seasons.
Dell Curry -- The former Charlotte Hornet will play the role of Proud Papa during All-Star because one of his basketball-playing sons, Stephen, was the top vote-getter among all players. That’s no small feat when the competition includes James, a four-time MVP. Leading the Warriors to the top of the West, Curry finished with 1.51 million votes, overtaking James (1.47 million) in the last balloting period after trailing by 13,000. Curry is the first Warrior player to be selected a starter in back-to-back seasons since New York hoops legend Chris Mullin in 1991-92.
The Gasol Family -- The Bulls’ Pau Gasol and younger brother, Marc, of the Grizzlies, are the first brothers in history to start in an All-Star Game. Cool Moment No.1: They’ll be opposing each other at the opening tip. They’re the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Tom and Dick Van Arsdale in the 1970 and ’71 games. “Knowing that I will be facing my brother Pau for the opening tip, it will be a true accomplishment for our family and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my career,’’ said Marc, the first Grizzly player ever to be selected a starter, in a statement released by the team.
Laker fans -- Actually, the legion of Kobe Bryant fans aren’t going to have anything to cheer about, with Bryant being sidelined by yet another injury that could KO him for the rest of the season. Bryant was voted in as a starter for his 17th All-Star Game, only to find out a few hours later that he had suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. His place will likely be taken by Houston’s James Harden, who has been mentioned, along with Stephen Curry, as a favorite for the MVP award.
Fans of new blood -- New Orleans’ Anthony Davis will be making his first start after being selected as a reserve last season. He’s the youngest All-Star starter, at 21. Wall and Lowry are first-time starters and the last time the East had two first-time starters in the backcourt came in 2000 when Allen Iverson (Philly) and Eddie Jones (Charlotte) won the honors.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 22 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter @Mitch _ Lawrence
