|
By TIM REYNOLDS - AP Sports Writer
January 24, 2008
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade's team is struggling. But his popularity is still soaring.
The Miami Heat standout will start at the Feb. 17 All-Star Game in New Orleans, thanks to 1,608,260 fan votes - easily the most among Eastern Conference guards. It'll be Wade's fourth straight trip to the NBA's midseason showcase.
"Anytime you're named as an All-Star or you even get on the ballot as an All-Star, you feel grateful. You feel thankful," Wade said Thursday before the Heat - who have the worst record in the East - lost 90-89 to the San Antonio Spurs. "To have the opportunity to be a starter once again will be great for me."
The Heat have lost 15 straight games, the second longest streak in franchise history, but Wade's numbers still rank among the league's best. He's averaging 25 points and 6.8 assists for Miami, which is now a stunning 8-33 less than two years after winning an NBA championship.
But Heat coach Pat Riley was pleased to see that the fans still recognize Wade's brilliance.
"His injuries and our record this year, that doesn't have anything to do with those things," Riley said. "The fact that he's been playing hurt and has been playing the way he's been playing all year, he's right there with the elite players. The record doesn't deter that."
Wade always looks forward to All-Star weekend - he won the skills contest there last year. But this time, the trip carries a little extra meaning.
If nothing else, it's a break from the monotony of this dismal Heat season.
"It'll be the first enjoyment in a while," Wade said. "Being an All-Star, it's amazing to be there with the other great players around the league. It's a special weekend. Everyone makes you feel so special. It'll be great, and it totally takes your mind off your season."
Wade will be joined in the East starting lineup by Boston's Kevin Garnett, Cleveland's LeBron James, New Jersey's Jason Kidd and Orlando's Dwight Howard.
The Western Conference starters, chosen by fan balloting, are San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Houston's Yao Ming.
To no one's surprise, Wade was the only Heat player selected as a starter.
Shaquille O'Neal, who has been selected to 14 consecutive All-Star teams - tying the record held by Karl Malone and Jerry West - finished second to Howard in the balloting for the East's All-Star center.
O'Neal, who will miss at least a half-dozen games while nursing hip and leg injuries, still could make the East roster as a reserve. Those spots are selected by NBA coaches and even if O'Neal gets on the team that way, it's unclear if he'll be physically able to play.
"In any other industry, there are lifetime achievement awards and stuff like that, that show the respect and the gratitude for what that player has done for the game," Riley said. "Because Shaquille has been hurt most of the year, that's up to the head coaches who will elect whether or not he's going to be a participant."
One way or another, though, O'Neal is All-Star bound.
The former LSU star, who has kept close ties in Louisiana since his college days and was active in many charitable ways after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, will host a fund-raiser over All-Star weekend with New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.
"I'll be there," O'Neal said, "no matter what."
The reserves will be announced Jan. 31. |
