KOBE, IVERSON OUT OF NBA ALL STAR GAME

The NBA All Star game lost a couple of high profile participants on Thursday with the announcement that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson would not play due to injury.  Kobe and ‘AI’ are the latest in a string of injuries to All Star players that have also claimed Portland’s Brandon Roy and New Orleans’ Chris Paul.

Kobe Bryant has been plagued with minor injuries all year, but has missed the Lakers’ last three games due to an ankle sprain.  Los Angeles is hopeful that by not playing in the game that Kobe will be able to return to action immediately after play resumes following the All Star break.  Bryant is planning to travel to Dallas to participate in All Star game festivities.

Iverson has missed Philadelphia’s past five games due to an illness suffered by one of his young children.  Unlike Kobe, Iverson won’t be expected to be in Dallas this weekend due to the nature of his situation.  It’s debatable that Iverson deserved an All Star game nod in the first place.  He quickly wore out his welcome in Memphis to start the year, and eventually landed back in Philadelphia where he’s averaged 14.4 points per game since his return.  He was voted in to the starting lineup by NBA fans, and this renewed calls from the media to revise the procedure for selecting All Star game participants.

Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks has been chosen to replace Bryant in the Western Conference lineup, while New York’s David Lee will be the East’s fill in for Iverson.  The West already had two ‘fill ins’ named to their roster as Denver’s Chauncy Billups and the LA Clippers’ Chris Kaman will take the place of Chris Paul and Brandon Roy respectively.

NBA betting enthusiasts have several options on the menu beginning with the annual ‘rookies vs. sophomores’ game on Saturday.  The Sophomores are a -12 point favorite with the total set at 245’.  The line for Sunday’s All Star Game will be posted later this weekend.