Rants and Ranks

Food for thought: Penny Year 1: 16.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.6 APG, 2.3 SPG, 82 GP (All Rookie 1st Team) Rose Year 1: 16.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 81 GP (Rookie of the Year) courtesy of nba.com Penny Year 2: 20.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.7 SPG, 77 GP (All NBA 1st Team) Rose Year 2: 20.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 78 GP Penny Year 3: 21.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.1 APG, 2.0 SPG, 82 GP (All NBA 1st Team, 3rd in MVP voting) Rose Year 3: 25.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 7.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 81 GP (MVP) Penny Year 4: 20.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.6 APG, 59 GP (All NBA 3rd Team) Rose Year 4: 21.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 7.9 APG, 0.9 APG, 39 GP (lockout season; 66 total games) Penny Year 5: 16.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 19 GP Rose Year 5: DNP Penny Year 6: 15.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.2 SPG, 50 GP (lockout season; 50 total games) Rose Year 6: 15.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 10 GP Penny Year 7: 16.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.6 SPG, 60 GP Rose Year 7: 18.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG...

It's the most frustrating time of the year for NBA fans.  That's right, it's all-star selection.  This is an annual "piss and moan-fest" for me, and I can't even remember what number I'm up to, so I'll just use the generic title that you clicked on.  (Thanks by the way.) If for some reason you're unaware why this irks me to no end, it's because the "fans" are allowed to vote the starters for the game; which inevitably leads to some past-his-prime guy starting for the all-star team, when reality dictates he shouldn't even be on the roster.   Luckily injuries have been balancing this out lately, and this year is no exception. Two glaring cases of this is represented in Kobe and Wade.  Four years ago they were the two best shooting guards in the NBA; hands down.  The gap between 2 and 3 was quite large.  (Sorry Joe Johnson.)  Now they're living off past accomplishments; Kobe as a starter (SHOCKING! *huge sarcasm there in...