2009 will be the third time this annual basketball game will be taking place in Arizona which will feature the East vs. West Championship; the first 2 years being 1975 and 1995. The NBA All-Star Game is part of the NBA All-Star Weekend scheduled to be held from February 13 to 15 February 2009, which includes the ever popular Slam Dunk Contest and Three Point Shoot Out Contest. The best and brightest stars from NBA's Eastern Conference will play against their rivals from the Western Conference at the All Star Game which is the highlight of this basketball weekend.
The All Star Game was first staged in 1951 and has been played every year since then. The game has seen some of the best players in the Eastern Conference with the best basketball players from the Western Conference. The participants of this basketball event are chosen in two ways, via fan ballot and the other method is by voting among the head coaches of each squad. Of course the coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Each year, NBA All Star Game brings new excitement and thrill among thousands of basketball fans all over the world. The event highlights twelve players, which consist of five starters and seven reserves from each conference, who are chosen from a pool of 120 players using the two methods already mentioned. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only player who has been selected for a record 19 times in this annual event. Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Shaquille O'Neal along with Jerry West are players who have been selected for this major event 14 times during their sports career.
The NBA All-Star Game is recognized by the league in every way. It has seen major events and thrills too. NBA All Star Game basketball 2008 results were East 134, West 128, and the event was held at New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA. This year will be NBA's 58th game, and the second round of voting results has also been announced, with Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers leading the Eastern Conference, with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets leading the Western Conference. Dwight Howard is by far the overall leader with 1,421,882 votes. LeBorn James from the Eastern Conference leads with the second highest votes so far counting 1,259,764 followed by Kevin Garnett from Boston with 905,506 votes. Dwayne Wade from Miami, Allen Iverson from Detroit and Samuel Dalembert from Philadelphia and several other leading NBA scorers follow them.
You wouldn't want to miss this exciting spectacle of the NBA season where the best basketball players will show their spectacular trick plays at the NBA All Star Game.
The Boston Celtics recent NBA title effort not only set a record for the largest margin of victory in a championship game-39 points-but also became the greatest one-season improvement in history.
A year ago the Celtics finished at 24-58 and dead last in the NBA Eastern Conference. This year they went 66-16, won the Atlantic Division title and the Eastern Conference title before disposing of the Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92, in the 6th and final playoff game to win their 17th NBA title and first since 1986, erasing a 22-year drought.
It was an incredible blowout of the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers. It seemed like everything the Celtics threw up went in following great ball movement, while the Lakers vaunted "triangle" offense stalled when the Celtics cut off its passing lanes. Los Angeles was left with Kobe getting the ball at mid-court and trying to single-handedly create points against 5 Celtics. Kobe went 7-of-22 from the field for 22 points.
"They were definitely the best defense I've seen the entire playoffs," said Kobe. That Kobe, he's as sharp as a tack.
Kobe had too little help to help the Lakers to the title, and take his place in history as the equal of Michael Jordan. Perhaps another year. LA Coach Phil Jackson, who had tied Boston's legendary Coach Red Auerbach with 9 NBA titles, will also have to wait another year, assuming he can find some aggressive players on LA's playgrounds.
Maybe someone like back-up James Posey, who came to play for the Celtics and went ugly on the Lakers. It was Posey here, Posey there, Posey everywhere. Draining 3's. In your Laker face.
Boston General Manager Danny Ainge, a member of the last 1986 NBA championship team, made the key moves to make the Celtics charge to the title happen. Ainge picked up Ray Allen (an All-Star and one of the purest shooters in the NBA) from the Seattle Supersonics, and Kevin Garnett (a 10-time All-Star and 2004 MVP) from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ainge then added forward James Posey, center P. J. Brown and guard Sam Cassell. Suddenly, Coach Doc Rivers had a team that was hungry, mostly because All-Stars Paul Pierce, the Celtics go-to guy, Allen and Garnett had never won an NBA title.
The result in the title game found Garnett with 26 points and 14 boards, Allen 우리카지노 scored 26, and Pierce, the Finals MVP, added 17. Guard Rajon Rondo had 21 points, 8 assists, 7 boards and 6 steals. In short, the Celtics brought a team to the playoffs and the Lakers brought Kobe.
It must have been so sweet for the Celtics, who were pushed to 7 games by both Atlanta and Cleveland before beating Detroit in 6 games to win the Eastern Conference title. And then came Kobe and the Lakers, and Boston rented a steamroller and put a whipping on the Lakers that will be gloated in Boston into at least the next century.
And so the Celtic season ends with an NBA title. Kevin Garnett became the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Defensive First Team pick and All-NBA First Team Player. Paul Pierce became an All-NBA Third Team Player and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.