No one except Chuck Swirsky expected Jose Calderon to make the Eastern All-Stars, and on Thursday the league confirmed that the "Spanish Fly" won't be joining his bud, Chris Bosh, in New Orleans on Feb. 17.Even if you're the type of hoops fan that only watches Raptors' games you might have heard of Joe Johnson, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton, all of whom were - deservedly - selected ahead of Calderon. Those guys are All-Stars, and although a cogent case could be made for Calderon, the East, and those in attendance, probably aren't so interested in a conservative, pass-first point guard to steady the ship in the third quarter while Kidd's deciding which cheerleader he wants to plough, consensually or not.
Plus, Calderon's been averaging 39 minutes a game over the last 15, even logging 54 minutes against Portland on Jan. 13. So relax, Jose, invite Garbo over for a cream soda and enjoy the game in your home.
2 comments:
I love the blog, but I'll politely disagree.
Jose is a deserved All-Star. Hamilton has put up nice numbers on a top team, but I think Jose has meant far more to Toronto than Hamilton has to Detroit.
Season Averages
Hamilton: 19 points, 4 assists, 3 boards, and 1 steal, 50% from the field, 47% from three, and 1.89 turnovers/game.
Calderon: 12 points, 9 assists, 3 boards, 1 steal, 52% from the field, 45% from three, and 1.58 turnovers/game.
Both of them get you 3 boards, a steal, shoot above 50% from the floor and above 45% from three. A nice coincidence, making it look closer than it really is.
Where Jose Stands Out
Jose as a starter is getting 14 points and 10 assists a night. The only other point guards getting those numbers are also All-Stars (minus Deron Williams). As a starter, Jose's averages easily eclipse Hamilton's season averages.
Jose has a 5.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, currently the best in the NBA by a mile. What does Hamilton lead the NBA in? Nothing. The best he can do is 6th in three-point shooting, and Jose is 9th. Jose is also 3rd in free-throw percentage, and 5th in assists.
Finally, the most important consideration: who has meant more to their team? Jose has saved the Raps' season - can Rip claim that sort of significance to the Pistons?
Thanks Chris.
I like your reasoning, and I agree, jose was more important to his team. Rip was also the one guy I had my doubts about, but the all-star game isn't the mvp trophy. I don't see importance to your team as that critical.
Coaches know that fans want to see familiar faces with a bit of excitement to their game. In my mind there's no one better coming off a screen then Rip. There's no one, just by trying to shake off his man, that's more fun to watch than Rip. And while I've enjoyed watching Jose this year, I just don't see him as an all-star.
In fact, I would argue that jose's assist/turnover ratio might have hurt his chances. Jose rarely (like, once every 10 games) takes a chance on a spectacular play. i love this in the regular season, but when I was 12, when I actually watched the all-star game, I wouldn't have appreciated it as much. I wanted to see - and this is embarrassing - kenny anderson throw oops to shaq.
Apart from CP3, who rounds out the top five of asst/TO ratio with Jose? Brevin Knight, Anthony Johnson and Jason Williams. And who leads the league all-time? I think it's Muggsy Bogues. Good player, but not great.
That being said, I like Jose - a lot - I just think this asst/TO is a bit over rated. Especialy when I see Jose pull up on a 3-2 break.
Thanks for reading - and contributing! I didn't even know anyone read this except for me and my girlfriend.
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