The Atlanta Hawks' big man, Al Horford, is out with a knee bruise. Horford is an important interior presence for the Hawks and an important cog on defense. He'll miss a minimum of three more games.
Tracy McGrady is hurt. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Okay, so, it's not as bad as T-Mac's injuries usually are as management has decided to let McGrady get his conditioning up. Makes sense as he is known to be a bit brittle.
Utah Jazz forward/center Carlos Boozer had surgery this past Friday and will be out a month. This does nothing to endear him to Jazz management or fans as earlier this season, it is basically known that Boozer would become a free agent after this season, along with his toughness questioned. The city of Cleveland is throwing up their eyes in a "We're not surprised" fashion.
Charlotte Bobcats rookie point guard D.J. Augustin is out at least 10 days with a strained abdominal muscle. While that is bad news, it could be good news for Augustin once he comes back as there are rumors that starting Bobcats point guard Raymond Felton could be part of a trade and shipped off. Who then becomes the starter? All bets would probably be on Augustin.
Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
The 2009 NBA All-Star Game from Phoenix, AZ is fast approaching and so is the time to vote for your favorite NBA superstar! The voting ends on January 19th, so make sure and make your opinion count! Below are the fourth and final returns made public before the final tally is in.
2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING - Fourth Returns - EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 1,940,162; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,375,814; Yi Jianlian (NJ) 1,216,348; Chris Bosh (Tor) 751,927; Paul Pierce (Bos) 486,656; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 366,174; Shawn Marion (Mia) 264,888; Danny Granger (Ind) 199,200; Josh Smith (Atl) 163,145; Michael Beasley (Mia) 157,286; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 144,337.
Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,818,717; Allen Iverson (Det) 1,278,600; Vince Carter (NJ) 856,498; Ray Allen (Bos) 552,094; Devin Harris (NJ) 474,637; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 403,577; Luke Ridnour (Mil) 379,806; Derrick Rose (Chi) 293,483; Jose Calderon (Tor) 274,509; Joe Johnson (Atl) 236,993; Jameer Nelson (Orl) 227,226.
Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 2,102,368; Samuel Dalembert (Phi) 257,527; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 255,950; Jermaine O’Neal (Tor) 224,583; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 198,811; Al Horford (Atl) 191,105; Brendan Haywood (Wash) 178,868; Ben Wallace (Clev) 159,132; Emeka Okafor (Char) 133,501; Zyrdrunas Ilgauskas (Cle) 122,607; Kendrick Perkins (Bos) 85,855.
2009 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING - Fourth Returns - WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 1,454,918; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 905,121; Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 894,690; Ron Artest (Hou) 890,992; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 837,482; Pau Gasol (LAL) 618,943; Bruce Bowen (SA) 509,593; Shane Battier (Hou) 482,724; Luis Scola (Hou) 281,372; Josh Howard (Dal) 255,698; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 212,651.
Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,903,798; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,216,224; Chris Paul (NO) 1,059,161; Manu Ginobili (SA) 669,837; Tony Parker (SA) 614,939; Jamal Crawford (GS) 462,039; Steve Nash (Pho) 441,746; Jason Kidd (Dal) 381,906; Rafer Alston (Hou) 372,130; Jason Terry (Dal) 323,279; Brandon Roy (Por) 267,053.
Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,758,499; Shaquille O’Neal (Pho) 1,006,383; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 356,280; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 292,845; Greg Oden (Por) 195,552; Andris Biedrins (GS) 170,732; Tyson Chandler (NO) 128,086; Al Jefferson (Minn) 121,944; Nick Collison (OKC) 105,534; Marcus Camby (LAC) 74,638; Chris Kaman (LAC) 27,112.
Things just keep looking good for LeBron James and his future. Not only is his Cleveland Cavaliers the top team in the East and only 0.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the land, nor is he not only the top target in the free agency period a year and a half from now, but the ever popular phenom will be appearing on the cover of GQ in February.
James, a man attune to fashion - which makes sort of makes sense since his friend Jay-Z owns one of the most popular urban fashion lines, Rocawear - will grace his second major fashion magazine cover as he appeared previously on Vogue's cover. What's next? If basketball writers (and I include bloggers as writers) were to vote and said vote took place next year, James could appear at Time's Person of the Year. Okay, hit the rimshot. However, I'll tell you this much, there are about 30 teams that would love to have James appear on the cover of their 2010-11 season program.
Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
The fourth spot in the NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest is up for grabs and it's in your hands! Three NBA rookies - the Milwaukee Bucks' Joe Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunders' Russell Westbrook, and Portland Trail Blazers' Rudy Fernandez - are all vying to become that fourth dunker at the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend extravaganza! However, they need your votes!
You can go here to find out how you can possibly make history in crowning a slam dunk champion!
Also check out their individual YouTube videos as they try to persuade you to vote for them:
The 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest takes place on February 14th, but you only have until January 14th to vote, so get to voting!!!
Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images
