Report: Rose is an all-star

The Bulls will find out tonight if their 12-year run without an all-star will end.

Yahoo.com reported Thursday afternoon that Derrick Rose has been selected as an Eastern Conference reserve, but the official announcement will come tonight on a TNT pregame show beginning at 6 p.m.

Rose’s numbers are soaring. He’s up to 19.8 points per game, 5.9 assists and shooting 47.7 percent from the field. During the current four-game road win streak, he’s averaging 26.3 points and shooting an incredible 59.3 percent.

Conference coaches were asked to vote for two guards, two forwards, one center and two wild cards. There’s been a growing trend in recent years to reward only players from winning teams.

There are already two deserving guards on teams ahead of the Bulls in the standings. Atlanta’s Joe Johnson is averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 assists and shooting 45.7 percent.
Boston’s Rajon Rondo is at 14.2 points and shooting an impressive .534 from the field. He’s also third in the league in assists and first in steals.

In the all-star pecking order, Rose probably ranks third. I’d like to think coaches wouldn’t vote for Cleveland’s Mo Williams (16.9 ppg) or Boston’s Ray Allen (15.9) ahead of Rose, but you never know. Williams is out with a shoulder injury right now.

Two other players that figure to get chosen are Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace. Bosh could pass for a center, but it’s unclear if the coaches are free to define a player’s position. Bosh was on the all-star ballot as a forward.

Anyway, let’s say Johnson, Rondo, Bosh and Wallace are in, leaving three spots. Here are the contenders, in my view:

--Boston’s Paul Pierce (18.9) is a reasonable pick, but would probably be the third Celtics player on the squad since Kevin Garnett was voted a starter. That could leave some to ask why Boston would have three all-stars while first-place Cleveland has one. The answer is because LeBron James has the talent of three men.

--New York’s David Lee certainly has the numbers (19.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, .554 field-goal percentage). But he’ll surely lose votes because of the Knicks’ 18-26 record.

--I’ve seen plenty of support for Atlanta’s Josh Smith (15.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.2 blocks). I don’t really see it, personally. Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut has better stats across the board (15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 blocks). Smith is good defensively, but not that good.

I’ve always thought Al Horford is the second-most deserving Atlanta player, but his numbers (13.6 points, 9.8 rebounds) are a little ordinary.

--I think Washington’s Antawn Jamison (21.9 points, 8.7 rebounds) is one of the 12 best players in the East this year, but he’s not likely to get a nod because of the winning record criteria.

That's about it. The all-star game should be canceled if Orlando’s Vince Carter (.390 field-goal percentage) is chosen.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown actually lobbied for Shaquille O’Neal because he plays well in limited minutes. Sorry, 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds are not all-star worthy, neither is playing 23 minutes per game.

Bulls center Joakim Noah (11.3 points, 12.1 rebounds) has made amazing strides this year, but probably falls short unless someone pulls out with an injury.

Yahoo reported the other East reserves as Rondo, Johnson, Bosh, Wallace, Pierce and Horford.

In the West, it had Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy and Memphis' Zach Randolph.