Portland, Ore. – It’s safe to say that Nuggets all-star hopefuls Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby are interested in how the voting turns out today, when the reserves are announced at 5 p.m. on TNT.
“I’m anxious to see what happens,” Anthony said.
Anthony and Iverson are the Nuggets’ best bets; Camby has an outside shot. Helping was the news that Utah forward Carlos Boozer will miss 4-6 weeks with a leg fracture, which takes him out of all-star consideration. He was considered a front-runner for a Western Conference reserve slot. Also, Houston center Yao Ming, voted in as the starting center, is out with an injury. NBA commissioner David Stern will choose a player to take his spot.
Camby played it coy.
“I really don’t care,” he said. “Obviously it’s a great honor to play in the game, but if we can just get one of our guys on the team to represent the city, the organization and (Nuggets owner Stan) Kroenke, that would be great. Allen and Melo, I think, are guys that definitely deserve it.”
In past years, news of who the reserves were has leaked out days in advance. In that light, TNT and the NBA are being extremely tight-lipped about it this year, so as not to undermine the announcement show. Neither has contacted any of the teams, players or agents to let them know. Only two players – one from each conference – will know ahead of time, so TNT can set up interviews for the show.
Smith starts
In Iverson’s absence, guard J.R. Smith got his first start since being removed from the lineup Jan. 14 in Portland.
Then, Smith was two games into his return from a 10-game suspension and struggling to find his shot. Now, he says he’s glad to be back in the lineup, “but I didn’t really want it to be this way, for somebody to get hurt to get in.”
Smith said he likes his new role. “It’s going pretty good. It’s the first time I ever really liked coming off the bench. I’m getting easier shots with Allen and Melo in the game. I come off and get the spark for the team. So, I like it.”
Footnotes
If the Nuggets practice today, Iverson is not expected to take part because of personal reasons. … Wednesday was the trigger day for league insurance, which will pay 80 percent of the remaining portion of Kenyon Martin’s contract for this season. An approved player needs to miss 41 games for it to kick in. Martin played in the first two games before having knee surgery and will not return this season.
