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While James Harden of the hometown Rockets will be in the lineup to serve as

unofficial host for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, evidently the voters

— fans and coaches — haven’t received the memo that the NBA is making a big

splash in Brooklyn this season.

Harden, who was traded from Oklahoma City four days before the season opener

and made a splash by scoring 37 and 45 points in his first two games, will make

his All-Star debut in his brand new home town.  Yet despite their being the hott-

est team in the league with nine wins in the last 10 games and currently holding

down the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, the Nets were shut out

when the reserves were announced for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game Thursday

night.

A poll of the league’s head coaches added seven players to each team.

 The 62nd All-Star Game, which will be played at Houston’s Toyota Center on

Feb. 17 (TNT, 8:30 p.m. ET).

Chris Bosh, Heat — If they were the Three Tenors, James would be Pavarotti, Wade

would be Domingo and Bosh always “that other guy.” Numbers aren’t flashy, but he

sacrifices his game to make it all work.

Tyson Chandler, Knicks — He averages a double-double of 12.2 points-11 rebounds,

leads the league in shooting (.674) and defends the rim as if he were a hungry fat

man protecting the last cheeseburger on the planet. Justice is done.

Luol Deng, Bulls – Coaches love the lunch pail players, the guys who show up for

work every night. He leads NBA in minutes, is team’s top scorer and top defender

in season when the Bulls are surviving without Derrick Rose.

Paul George, Pacers — He’s not just keeping the seat warm for Danny Granger, but

playing like the Pacers’ MVP. With six double-doubles in the last two-plus weeks,

he closed fast and has led Indiana’s surge after a slow start.

Jrue Holiday, Sixers – In a season when Philly fans search for rare and exotic sight-

ings of Bigfoot and Andrew Bynum, the dynamic guard is the reason to go to the

games. The only player in league averaging 19 points and 9 assists.

Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers — Look past the Cavs’ 11-32 record at these more pleasant

numbers: 20.7 points, 5.7 assists, 39.9 3FG%, 20.7 PER. And the kid is only 20. Are

the coaches already buttering him up for free agency?

Joakim Noah, Bulls — The numbers say it all — 12.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4 assists,

2.1 blocks, 1.3 steals per game. The hyperactive one is having the finest season of his

career and symbolizes coach Tom Thibodeau’s driven attitude.

The lowdown: The pair of Bulls on the frontline probably squeezed Nets center Brook

Lopez out of a spot. Deron Williams would have been everyone’s preseason pick, but

struggling with shot didn’t help. Maybe coaches also didn’t like his griping that led to

his coach getting fired. You could have made a case for Boston’s leading scorer Paul

Pierce, but with Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo already voted in by the fans, it’s un-

likely the coaches wanted to reward the 8th-seeded Celtics with a third man. Do you

really see a group of coaches warming up to J.R. Smith? Brandon Jennings of the

Bucks and Greg Monroe of the Pistons are just too far under the radar.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers — The plan was to build Blazers into a playoff team

next summer. But on a roster with less depth than a wading pool, L.A. scores (20.6),

rebounds (8.6) and keeps them as surprise club in the mix this season.

Tim Duncan, Spurs — Oh, so you foolishly left him out of the All-Star Game for the first

time last season? Well, the 36-year-old geezer responds by turning back the clock and

turning up the heat to keep the Spurs as a real threat in the West.

James Harden, Rockets – A bit ironic that The Beard’s first All-Star honor comes just

when he’s shot 28-97 (.289) in last five games. But he’s shown he can carry the mantle

of top dog and will represent the home team in Houston.

David Lee, Warriors — Statistically, a no-brainer as the top PF in the West — 19.6 points,

10.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists. His biggest challenge was probably splitting votes with team-

mate Stephen Curry on a Warriors team that has truly surprised.

Tony Parker, Spurs – Coach Gregg Popovich keeps ratcheting up the pressure on him

every season by raising the bar of great expectation and Parker goes right on clearing

it. Seems the coaches understand just how hard that is to do.

Zach Randolph, Grizzlies – You could make an argument for teammate Marc Gasol an-

choring the defense. But flip the light switch every night and there’s Z-Bo with 16.1

points, 11.6 rebounds, which add up to a league-leading 27 double-doubles.

Russell Westbrook, Thunder – The most polarizing player in the NBA has struggled

all season with his shot, but ranks in top five steals, top six assists and keeps right

on churning away with Kevin Durant to build best record in the league at OKC.

The lowdown: As difficult as it was to pare down the list, imagine how much harder

things might have been if Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Kevin Love were up to par.

In many cases in the West, it became an intramural competition with Lee beating

out Curry, Randolph elbowing Marc Gasol aside and Aldridge getting the nod over

Damian Lillard. The surging Nuggets were overlooked, maybe because they’re too

well-balanced. The Clippers’ turbo-charger off the bench, Jamal Crawford, was

also snubbed. But if anybody’s got a reason to complain here, it’s Curry.

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