All-Star "snubs"

With Kevin Garnett (assuming he's still not sitting out to rest that cursed abdominal strain) and Doc Rivers already securing a spot on this year's All-Star Team, last night was our chance to see who else from the Celtics might be joining them, with the announcement of the Eastern Conference reserves on TNT (boss.streamos.com) ... Well, Paul Pierce made it in, but Ray Allen didn't (nba.com):

The East reserves feature the Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards, Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce.

The 14 players selected -- seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences -- were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences -- two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.

Previously selected as starters for the East through the 2008 NBA All-Star Balloting Program presented by T-Mobile were Boston's Kevin Garnett, Cleveland's LeBron James, Orlando's Dwight Howard, New Jersey's Jason Kidd and Miami's Dwyane Wade. Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, Houston's Yao Ming, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and San Antonio's Tim Duncan will start for the West.

Obviously, it was a no-brainer for Pierce to make the cut ... Some people, however, remained confident that Allen would earn a spot due to his past credentials as well as the fact that it would "send a good message that sacrificing individual stats for team success will be rewarded" (I'm paraphrasing how one media pundit put it).

Well, even if you draw the (obvious) conclusion that putting Ray in a situation where he's not the main offensive weapon will negatively affect his offensive output - shocking, I know - you still have to admit that Ray Allen has just not been having a "Ray Allen-esque" season thus far.

Sure, there have been game-winning shots and some pretty brilliant performances (last night against Dallas wasn't too shabby), but there have been some real clunkers thrown into the mix as well ... People like to point out the 2006 All-Star Game that featured four members of the Detroit Pistons (sports.espn.go.com), as an example of "rewarding" the best teams by showcasing their full complement of players, but I just don't buy it.

Bottom line, it would've been nice to see the "Not Big Three" on the floor during All-Star Weekend, but two outta three ain't bad ... Besides, no one seems to be harping on the real injustice: No "Big Baby" in the Rookie Game (nba.com)!

The participants in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam were selected by the NBA's assistant coaches, with each team submitting one ballot. The head coaches for the Rookie and Sophomore teams will be the lead assistants from the 2007 NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs.

The T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam will be televised live nationally on TNT and also will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio, while NBA.com will make live audio available to fans in multiple languages.

Forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge, Roy's teammate in Portland, joins him on the Sophomore team, which includes Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, Memphis Grizzlies forward/guard Rudy Gay, Toronto Raptors forward and the first overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Andrea Bargnani, and a pair of Utah Jazz teammates – guard/forward Ronnie Brewer and forward/center Paul Millsap.

The Rookie team features Durant's Seattle teammate Jeff Green at forward, as well as Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, Houston Rockets forward/center Luis Scola, Memphis Grizzlies guards Mike Conley and Juan Carlos Navarro, Milwaukee Bucks forward Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets forward/center Sean Williams, and Toronto Raptors forward/guard and former D-Leaguer Jamario Moon, also a participant in the 2008 Sprite Slam Dunk competition.

This is truly a sad sad day in the world of sports, my friends ...