The votes have been cast, the results tallied, and the starters for this years All-Star squads have been announced.
For the East it's LeBron James (the leading vote getter with over 2.5 million), Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard.
For the West it's Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, and Amare Stoudemire.
Steve Nash passed little used Tracy Mcgrady in the final days of voting to avoid a potential embarrassing situation for the NBA, having a starter that isn't even wanted by his own team.
Perhaps braced by the news that he was number one in popularity among his peers, Cleveland's LeBron James and his Cavaliers put on a show for his fans Thursday night by beating the defending Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, 93-87.
James's 37 points on 13-25 shooting, 5 boards and 9 assists was the key in edging an erratic Kobe Bryant who put up 31 points on 12-31 shooting. But more to point, it was the Cavaliers physical play and intensity that eventually gave them the win. This, more than anything, sent Bryant fuming into the locker room after the game.
"The mentality has to change a little bit playing against these teams," Bryant said. "These teams are physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed types of teams. That's not part of our DNA. We have to step up and match that and still play skillful basketball."
The win gives the Cavs the season sweep of the Lakers and though it gives a good measuring point to the progress of both teams, LeBron was careful not to put too much into just a regular season sweep.
"You don't want to look too far into beating one team twice," he said. "The championship still goes through L.A. It doesn't matter if you beat the team four times, you still have to beat them in the finals to take that trophy away from them."
COTake: The Cavs showed their versatility and depth in the win against the Champs, as well as sending a resounding message across the league that you better watch out for Cleveland. This game marked the first of around a month full that the Cavs will be without their second leading scorer, Mo Williams, who is out with a sprained shoulder.
Physical ball is an Eastern Conference staple and at least at the halfway point, it appears that the Cavs are the elite of the East.
