Well deserved
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/2001...eserves_8.html
John Stockton, Reggie Miller, Jamal Mashburn, Antoine Walker and Steve Francis have a lot in common - none are All-Stars this year.
Dikembe Mutombo and Latrell Sprewell are. The Atlanta center and the New York forward were added to the East roster Wednesday by NBA commissioner David Stern because Alonzo Mourning and Grant Hill - chosen as starters in fan balloting - will not be able to play.
The NBA has announced the results of the coaches' voting for the All-Star reserves Tuesday. Picked in the Western Conference for the Feb. 11 game were Karl Malone (Utah), Antonio McDyess (Denver), David Robinson (San Antonio), Gary Payton (Seattle), Michael Finley (Dallas), Rasheed Wallace (Portland) and Kevin Garnett (Minnesota).
Stephon Marbury (New Jersey), Theo Ratliff (Philadelphia), Allan Houston (New York), Anthony Mason (Miami), Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit), Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee) were chosen for the East.
Now, Stern may get an additional pick or two.
Shaquille O'Neal is expected to miss his third consecutive game Wednesday night with an inflamed arch on his right foot, and Vince Carter played less than four minutes Tuesday night before a knee injury flared up.
For now, there are five first-timers - Marbury, McDyess, Mason, Ratliff and Tracy McGrady - among the 24 All-Stars.
``When I came in this morning and Dan (Nuggets coach Dan Issel) told me, he was excited but I was WAY excited,'' McDyess said. ``I jumped up and down about two or three times.
``I was kind of shaking, shivering. A chill came through my body when I got the good news.''
Previously announced as All-Star starters were Hill (Orlando), Mourning (Miami), McGrady (Orlando), Carter (Toronto) and Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) for the East; O'Neal (Lakers), Tim Duncan (San Antonio), Chris Webber (Sacramento), Jason Kidd (Phoenix) and Kobe Bryant (Lakers) will start for the West.
Malone will be making his 13th appearance, while Robinson was picked for the 10th time, Payton for the seventh and Garnett for the fourth.
Allen, Finley, Houston, Robinson and Stackhouse were selected for the second time each.
Among the league's top 20 scorers, Antawn Jamison (25.1 points per game) of Golden State, Walker (22.4) and Paul Pierce (24.0) of Boston, Dirk Nowitzki (21.5) of Dallas and Elton Brand (20.8) of Chicago were left off.
``I understand everyone on here, but I can't understand Anthony Mason,'' Bulls coach Tim Floyd said as he looked at the list of the reserves.
Also notable by their absence were Jamal Mashburn of the Charlotte Hornets, who do not have any All-Star representatives, and Francis, who leads Houston in five offensive categories.
Miller, a five-time All-Star, finished fourth among Eastern Conference guards in the voting by fans, and Jermaine O'Neal, who came to the Pacers this season in a trade with Portland, was fourth among the centers.
Jalen Rose, hoping for his first All-Star selection after being named the NBA's most improved player last year, was not among the leaders in fan voting despite averaging a team-best and career-high 21.6 points a game.
``It is very surprising to us, considering both Jalen and Reggie were in the Finals last year and performed well,'' said Pacers coach Isiah Thomas (news - web sites). ``Their numbers are up this year, and both Jalen and Reggie are playing better basketball.''
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