Both Butler, Jamison should be All-Stars

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OK, so the starters for next month's All-Star Game were released last week, and the lineup held few surprises.

For the East, it's Boston's Kevin Garnett and Cleveland's LeBron James at forward, Orlando's Dwight Howard at center and New Jersey's Jason Kidd and Miami's Dwyane Wade at the guard spots.

The Western Conference forwards are Denver's Carmelo Anthony and San Antonio's Tim Duncan, and Houston's Yao Ming is the center. In the backcourt, it's the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Denver's Allen Iverson.

Now for the reserves, which will be announced Thursday.

The league sent out ballots to the coaches in each conference Friday, instructing them to draw up a list of two forwards, two guards, one center and two wild cards, ranking them one to seven.

A coach can't select one of his own players, and if he believes a player can play more than one position, he should pencil the guy in at the spot that best benefits the team.

The West won't be that hard with Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy as the logical picks.

The toughest challenge will be drafting the reserves for the East, where this year there is a logjam of forwards playing at a high level.

There are a few can't-miss players, however. No forward this season has raised his game to the degree of Washington's Caron Butler, who is averaging career highs in points (21.9), assists (4.3) and steals (2.39 — first in the East) to go with 7.0 rebounds.

With Gilbert Arenas out, Butler has played like a franchise player. Time after time, he makes plays, whether it be a big shot, a rebound or a steal, because his desire is hard to match.

Overlooked in the KG and Ray Allen hype in Boston has been Paul Pierce (20.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists).

Butler and Pierce have to make the team, which takes care of two forward spots. But coaches can't overlook Toronto's Chris Bosh (22.5 points, 9.2 rebounds). So look for them to slot the 6-foot-10 Bosh as a center.

Point guard is a dilemma with Detroit's Chauncey Billups (18.0 points, 7.0 assists) and Toronto's Jose Calderon (12.1 points, 8.6 assists and a league-best 5.54 assist-to-turnover ratio) both having strong seasons. It's hard to deny either one.

So that leaves two wild card spots.

One of the most solid, yet most unheralded players this season has been Washington's Antawn Jamison.

Averaging 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds (ninth in the NBA and first among Eastern Conference forwards), Jamison is the only 20-10 player in the East not named Dwight Howard. He has been overshadowed by Butler, but coaches will have a hard time denying his numbers. Throw in the fact that he's a leader and "a character guy" — which coaches love — and Jamison has to make the team.

That leaves Boston's Ray Allen and Detroit's Richard Hamilton to vie for the final spot. Both are having great years, but Rip ekes out Sugar Ray, outscoring him 19.1-18.0 and boasting a .508 field goal percentage over Allen's .418 clip.