The starters for the 2012 NBA All-Star game were announced Thursday night, live on TNT, before the Knicks/Bulls game at the Garden. The winners of the fan vote were Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Andrew Bynum for the West, while the East will be sending out Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard come tip off, February 26th, in Orlando. All of these players are exceptional athletes, and deserving of this honor, in the midst of having great seasons for contending teams. Well, every player with the exception of one.

Carmelo Anthony is the only starter whose team doesn’t boast a winning record.  It’s not like the Knicks are hovering around the mediocrity level either, they’re an uninspired 8-14.  To the untrained eye, Anthony’s stat line this season looks a lot like what the prototypical All-Star starter’s stat line should look like.  He’s averaging 23.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg, but if you look a little closer you will also see that only Kobe Bryant has taken more shots per game, and that no other top 20 scorer is shooting worse than he is (a career worst 40.3%).  Another stat for you- Carmelo hasn't hit a field goal in 12.5% of the Knicks wins.  Deserving of a starting spot to represent his conference?  Hardly. 
 
The fan voting system has and always will be flawed. Remember, this is a system that once elected Yao Ming a starter in a year in which he didn’t step one size 18 foot on the court in uniform.  This is also a system that just two years ago saw Allen Iverson get awarded a start despite putting up brutal career lows and only appearing in 19 games. That same year, 2010, Tracy McGrady went into the final hours of voting primed for a starting slot before finally getting overthrown by Steve Nash as the buzzer went off on the fan voting.  Tracy had played in just 45 minutes that whole season.
 
When this kind of stuff happens it always serves as a reminder that events like the All-Star game are strictly put in place for two reasons. To make money while making the fans happy, and those two things go hand in hand.  Stars sell and the fans want to see their stars align together, which is why year in and year out it’s the biggest names, and not always the most deserving players, that get to bask in the All-Star limelight.   
 
This year there are a slew of Eastern Conference forwards on contending teams worthy of Anthony’s starting spot.  For instance, Chris Bosh is averaging 20.4 ppg and 8 rpg while anchoring the front court of the East’s second best team.   Midway up the coast you have Andre Iguodala who has helped right the 76ers ship back their winning ways, and he’s been doing it with his defense, a rarity in today’s NBA. Philly is ten games over .500 and Iguodala is one of just four players in the league averaging more than 13 ppg/6 rpg/5 apg (the other players to do so are LeBron, Kobe and Kyle Lowry).   Danny Granger is averaging 18+ppg for Indiana and has the Pacers sitting pretty at fourth place in the East.  Hell, I’d even argue that Luol Dang, Paul Pierce and Ryan Anderson’s play all merits contention for a starting spot over Melo. At least their performance has translated to wins.

So when you’re sitting at home in a couple of weeks checking out All-Star weekend, remember that you’re watching Basketball With The Stars, not necessarily basketball with the best.
 
Dan Chiavetta is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2 man weave.