January 25, 2007

Greetings, Hornets fans! This is Hornet Henry, fan blogger for Hornets.com.

In case you were derelict in your duties as a Hornets fan and missed it, last week I unveiled my Half-Season Henrys. The Henrys are presented to Hornets who produced outstanding performances in the first half of the NBA season.

Today, I am announcing my Western Conference All-Star selections.

In addition to a receding hairline, plays like this by Memphis forward Brian Cardinal helped earn “The Custodian” a berth on Hornet Henry’s All-Star squad.

Although I have beefs with a few of the players who were voted by the fans to start in the midseason classic for the West, I am grudgingly willing to accept the fans’ picks.

As chosen by the fans, the West starting five will look like this in Las Vegas on February 18th: Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady at the guards, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan at the forwards and Yao Ming at center.

Personally, I think Chris Paul would have been a better choice in the backcourt than McGrady. I realize that CP3 is injured right now, but in head-to-head play this season against Houston and T-Mac, Chris is averaging an incredible 16 assists a game. In my book, McGrady getting in instead of Chris Paul is the epitome of “All-Star snub.”

As far as Duncan starting, an old-school guy like Hornet Henry can’t quibble too much with a player who is nicknamed “The Big Fundamental.” However, you already know what I think of the Spurs. Let’s just say that if one of my daughters decided to marry a Spurs fan, I’d have to find out the details of the wedding ceremony from Mrs. Hornet Henry!

At center, I have issues with Yao getting the starting nod over Tyson Chandler. Come on, people! Ty Lob has been on an absolute tear lately, significantly outplaying the suddenly slumping Yao.

Think about this: Over the past month, Chandler has outproduced Yao in points, rebounds, assists, steals, free-throw percentage and dunks. You name the stat, and the edge goes to Ty Lob.

On to the Western Conference reserves...

As you can imagine, Devin Brown (left) and Tyson Chandler were overjoyed when they found out that they had made Hornet Henry’s Western Conference All-Star team. Hornet Henry believes Chandler should actually be a starter, based on how much Chandler has outplayed Yao Ming in recent weeks, but Henry will settle for reserve status.

I’ve already explained why Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler deserve to be on the All-Star team. Here are the other five players I feel should be suiting up in those gaudy red, white and blue All-Star jerseys: the Hornets’ David West and Devin Brown, Houston’s Bonzi Wells, Portland’s Zach Randolph and Memphis’ Brian Cardinal.

With averages of 18-plus points and nine rebounds per game, David West clearly deserves a trip to Las Vegas. Let me ask you this: What do Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Kenyon Martin and Steve Francis all have in common? Answer: Each man has been an All-Star at least once over the past three years. Well, D West is having a better year than all of ’em – COMBINED.

I admit that my selection of Devin Brown is based partly on a slight bias. But you’ve got to respect a guy who was playing pickup ball at the local YMCA – like Hornet Henry – one month ago. Brown also did a fantastic defensive job of cooling off “The Hibachi” himself, Gilbert Arenas, in a game earlier this month.

In the non-Hornets category, I applaud Bonzi Wells of the Rockets. In an age when fans often wonder whether some players are only in it for the money, I applaud the selflessness of Wells, who turned down a 37-million-dollar contract offer in the summer, instead signing a four-million dollar deal. Bravo, Bonzi! Enjoy the trip to Vegas.

Why Zach Randolph? Simple: Other than Kobe Bryant, Zach has taken more shots than any player in the Western Conference, averaging a Hornet Henry-esque 18.4 field-goal attempts a game.

Last but not least, Brian Cardinal of the Grizzlies makes the team, as one of Hornet Henry’s all-time favorite players. Three things made him a slam-dunk choice. One, as a 40-something male, I can relate to Cardinal’s receding hairline. Two, his nickname is “The Custodian,” because he frequently sweeps the floor by diving on the hardwood for loose balls – even in warmups. Three, he’s shooting 96 percent from the foul line!

That’s old school. [pause] That’s a Hornet Henry All-Star!

Well folks, that’s all for this week. If you have a gripe with my selections, send an e-mail to hornethenry@hornets.com. One word of caution, though: If you aren’t a Hornets fan, I can’t guarantee that I’ll read your message.

Until next time, this is Hornet Henry. Go Hornets!