Baron is in the midst of having his best season ever by averaging 21.3 points, 8.3 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals, to go with just 2.8 turnovers. Those are All-Star numbers. There are not many guards who score and distribute as much as he does. Combine that with his nearly 3-1 assists to turnover ratio and it's hard to keep him off of the Western squad. But Geoff Lepper has some bad news, Iverson's arrival could kill Baron's All-Star hopes.
Leading the pack in fan balloting as of the first tallies released on Dec. 14 were the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and the Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady. That leaves another incumbent certainty, two-time reigning league MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, to be selected by coaches as a reserve.
Add to that group a guy with seven appearances as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star squad in Iverson, and you've filled all four of the West's starting and reserve guard spots.
So if Davis is going to make it, it will have to be as one of two wild cards that coaches use to fill out the roster. That means Davis must not only beat out other guards such as six-time All-Star Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics, but also forwards such as the Phoenix Suns' Shawn Marion and Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand.
Yikes. It's not like it would be easy to make it in the East, but the West guard talent is so ridiculous. There are 4 potential future Hall of Famers taking up the 4 guard spots: Kobe, Tmac, Nash, AI. But Baron knows what he's up against and he simply states how to improve his chances:
Does Baron deserve to make the All-Star team?