More All-Star subs

National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner David Stern has spoken. He named Utah’s Memo Okur and Seattle’s Ray Allen to replace injured reserves Allen Iverson (ankle) and Steve Nash (shoulder) on the West squad in the All-Star Game at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas this Sunday (Monday morning, Manila).

Under league rules, the commissioner has the power to name substitutes for injured players in the All-Star Game. If a starter is replaced, the coach will choose his replacement from among the players in the team.

Okur and Allen are the latest to be tapped for the annual classic. Stern previously called on Dallas’ Josh Howard and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony to sub for injured Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer.

There has been no necessity for a replacement in the East team coached by Washington’s Eddie Jordan. The five starters and seven reserves seem to be ready for the All-Star climax.

Okur, 27, was a surprise choice by Stern. He’s averaging 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds but surely, Portland’s Zach Randolph deserves a slot more than the Turk. Perhaps, Stern wanted to pay tribute to Utah’s phenomenal season. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, the longest-tenured tactician in the league, has piloted the team to a 34-17 record so far. Only six Western Conference clubs have compiled at least 30 wins.

Allen, 31, was another surprise. The Seattle offguard is hitting at a 26.9 clip but the SuperSonics are buried deep in the Northwest Division cellar with a lowly 19-32 record. Memphis is the only other West team not to win 20 games this season.

I would’ve expected New Orleans’ Chris Paul to take over Nash’s spot. Instead, Paul was named to replace Nash in the skills challenge contest where Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are vying for honors.

Of the four replacements, Howard was the most deserving of a call-up. And it’ll be a crime if Dallas teammate Dirk Nowitzki isn’t elevated to the starting lineup in place of Yao. Anthony also deserved Stern’s call. But Stern could’ve picked better replacements than Okur and Allen – Paul and Randolph, for instance.

Still, the 56th edition of the All-Star Game promises to be a humdinger. Solar Sports is hosting a live viewing party at the National Sports Grill in Greenbelt, Makati, at 9 a.m. Monday and a full house is expected to catch the action as it happens.

What’s a bit unsettling is Jordan’s appearance as the East coach. He got the job when the Wizards posted a 27-18 record through games of Feb. 4, the cut-off for picking the coaches. The problem is since then, the Wizards haven’t been too magical and are coming off back-to-back losses to slip to 28-21. Detroit (32-18), Cleveland (30-21) and Chicago (29-24) now show more wins. Pistons mentor Flip Saunders is disqualified from making a second straight appearance as an All-Star coach but what about Cleveland’s Mike Brown and Chicago’s Scott Skiles?

The All-Star Game will be shown in 215 countries and broadcast in 43 languages with more than 300 international reporters attending.

To get the All-Star Weekend off to a rousing start, the interactive cage theme park "Jam Session" will open its doors to the public today at the 400,000 square-foot South Convention Center of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Solar Sports is providing full TV coverage of the All-Star Weekend through live morning telecasts on RPN-9 of the Rookie Challenge this Saturday, the four-in-one package (slam dunk, three-point shootout, skills challenge, shooting stars) on Sunday and the All-Star Game on Monday.

To complete your All-Star experience, don’t fail to join our write-in contest and you could be one of 20 lucky Star readers to win exclusive All-Star merchandise flown in directly from Las Vegas.

Just write who are this year’s winners of the slam dunk, skills challenge, three-point shootout and shooting stars competition, which team won and the score of the Rookie Challenge, which team won and the score of the All-Star Game and whom you think deserves the MVP in the All-Star Game and why in 50 words or less. Entries must be sent in or mailed to the "NBA All-Star 2007," Philippine Star sports, 13th and Oca Streets, Port Area, Metro Manila, by Friday, Feb. 23. Winners will be announced in this column on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Don’t forget to write your name, age, address, occupation (if student, what year/course/school) and telephone number.