NEW YORK -- Karl Malone won't be going fishing on All-Star
Weekend, he'll be going to Washington instead.
Stephon Marbury and Antonio McDyess are going, too, but Antoine
Walker, Steve Francis and Latrell Sprewell are not -- at least not
yet.
The NBA on Tuesday announced the results of the coaches' voting
for the All-Star reserves. Picked as the Western Conference
reserves for the Feb. 11 game were Malone (Utah), McDyess (Denver),
David Robinson (San Antonio), Gary Payton (Seattle), Michael Finley
(Dallas), Rasheed Wallace (Portland) and Kevin Garnett
(Timberwolves).
Marbury (Nets), Theo Ratliff (76ers), Allan Houston (Knicks),
Anthony Mason (Heat), Jerry Stackhouse (Pistons), Ray Allen and
Glenn Robinson (Bucks) were chosen for the East.
Two spots remain open on the East roster because Alonzo Mourning
and Grant Hill -- chosen as starters in fan balloting -- will not be
able to play.
Commissioner David Stern will choose their replacements
Wednesday.
Stern may get an additional pick if Shaquille O'Neal is unable
to play. He was expected to miss his second consecutive game
Tuesday night with an inflamed arch on his right foot.
For now, there are five first-timers -- Marbury, McDyess, Mason,
Ratliff and Tracy McGrady -- among the 24 All-Stars.
"When I came in this morning and Dan (Nuggets coach Dan Issel)
told me, he was excited but I was WAY excited," McDyess said. "I
jumped up and down about two or three times.
"I was kind of shaking, shivering. A chill came through my body
when I got the good news," McDyess said.
Previously announced as All-Star starters are Hill (Magic),
Mourning (Heat), McGrady (Magic), Vince Carter (Raptors) and Allen
Iverson (76ers) for the East; O'Neal (Lakers), Tim Duncan (Spurs),
Chris Webber (Kings), Jason Kidd (Suns) and Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
for the West.
Malone will be making his 13th appearance, while Robinson was
picked for the 10th time, Payton for the seventh and Garnett for
the fourth.
Allen, Finley, Houston, Robinson and Stackhouse were selected
for the second time each.
Among the league's top 20 scorers, Antawn Jamison (25.1 points
per game) of Golden State, Walker (22.4) and Paul Pierce (24.0) of
Boston, Dirk Nowitzki (21.5) of Dallas and Elton Brand (20.8) of
Chicago were left off.
"I'm not disappointed at all. I'm disappointed more in the lack
of winning of the team," said Brand, co-winner of the Rookie of
the Year award last season. "I'm sure if the wins were there, the
accolades would be there also."
"I understand everyone on here, but I can't understand Anthony
Mason," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said as he looked at the list of the
reserves.
Also notable by their absence were Sprewell, who has helped the
Knicks to the second-best record in the East, Jamal Mashburn of the
Charlotte Hornets, who do not have any All-Star representatives,
and Francis, who leads Houston in five offensive categories.
Robinson leads the Bucks in scoring (22.7), rebounding (7.3),
blocks (1) and minutes (37.6 mpg). His rebounding and assist
averages are career bests.
"There's not a small forward in the NBA who's playing better,"
coach George Karl said.
Allen, a fifth-year pro, owns the longest current starting
streak in the NBA at 327 games. He leads the team in 3-pointers
made (100) and attempted (242), free throws made (196) and
attempted (218) and minutes (37.6).
"Last year our record wasn't as good as it is this year, so a
lot of people questioned that we had two players," Robinson said.
"Now they can't say that."
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