"If I ran things..." is a description of how something would be different if I were in charge. Starting small, I decided to take a look that this year's All-Star teams and make a few personnel changes.

Also, under my regime, the rosters would be expanded to 13 players with the 13th player being someone who is not necessarily deserving of an All-Star spot, but is someone who everyone (or just me) would like to see play in the game.

The 13th man on each roster will be the "wild card." Under the iron-clad, non-negotiable rules that I have just made up, a "wild card" may only be on the court when the other "wild card" is also on the court. Also, the coaches have the opportunity to put these players in at any point, but MUST play them for the duration of the game's final five minutes.

Here is how the rosters would look if I ran things.

EAST STARTERS:

PG: Derrick Rose (22.0 ppg, 7.7 apg, 3.5 rpg) - A year removed from being the youngest MVP in NBA history grants him a pass on missing a few games this year. He has been stellar once again this season and continues to garner massive amounts of respect at a very young age (23). Look for the budding rivalry between the Heat to continue this postseason.

SG: Dwyane Wade (22.1 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.3 rpg) - Has dealt with nagging injuries (again) this season. You know you've made it when you can be having your worst statistical season since you rookie year and still be a no-doubter at your position.

SF: Lebron James (27.9 ppg, 8.2 rbg, 6.8 apg) - Best player on the league's best team (Sorry, OKC). Lebron hating/defending aside, he is the most complete player in the league and seems to actually be improving. Be afraid, Chicago. Be very afraid.

PF: Chris Bosh (18.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, .488 fg%) - Despite clearly being the third wheel in Miami, he is still the best power forward in the East. I don't like it any more than you do.

C: Dwight Howard (20.3 ppg, 15.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg) - Another solid season for the big man on that other team in Florida. The 26-year-old (can't believe he's still that young) has the Magic sitting in the #3 spot in the East, though you would never know that based on ESPN's coverage and Howard's weekly proclamation of possible suitors.

PREDICTION: Howard will have such a good time playing with this talented group of guys during the All Star game that he will make a statement that he wouldn't mind getting traded to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team.

EAST RESERVES:

PG: Deron Williams - The New Jersey thing doesn't seem to be working out. Williams knows it, New Jersey knows it and, more importantly, Mark Cuban knows it.

PG Kyrie Irving - The best rookie in a good class of guards. The Cavs could easily be a single-digit win team right now, but Irving makes them watchable.

SG: Nick Young - I know. The Wizards are terrible. My main rationale is that he is a good young player and I'm sick of Joe Johnson making the All-Star Game.

SF Danny Granger - He is struggling from the field this season, but still finds ways to score. Replacing Paul Pierce with Granger is not a sign of disrespect to the Celtic vet; it is a metaphoric passing of the torch for the role of "perennial Eastern Conference reserve small forward."

SF Andre Iguodala - He doesn't have the best stats or lead his team in scoring, but he is the backbone of a surprisingly good 76ers team and a very solid all-around player. He is what Piston fans wish Tayshaun was.

PF Josh Smith - I keep waiting for him to turn that corner and I'm starting to worry that he never will. He is this generation's Rasheed Wallace in that he seems like he should be much more impressive than he actually is given the tools that he has. That being said, 16 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game is good enough for a reserve spot.

C Greg Monroe - It's not because I'm a Detroit homer. It's because he's better than Roy Hibbert.

EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD: Jeremy Lin, Knicks PG.

Duh. Without questLIN, Lin has been the best story of the lockout shortLINed NBA seasLIN. I'm not sure it can be called a "rags to riches" story if the kid is a Harvard grad, but it has been LINteraining nonetheless. Let's be honest...sLINce the All-Star game is a popularity contest anyway, why not put the league's most popular player LIN? The only drawback I find in the Lin phenomLINon is that it has stoLIN a lot of the love I feel our Western fun pick should be getting.

(I was aiming for eight Lin puns in this description. MissLIN accomplished.)

RUNNER-UP: JaVale McGee, Wizards C.

You just know he would do something goofy. I can just imagine him stealing the ball from a teammate and running a 2-on-1 with a player from the opposing team, probably Chris Paul, only to have the picture-perfect alley-oop pass go through his hands and out of bounds. As JaVale goes to guard against his own team's in-bounds pass, Derrick Rose comes over and spends the next 45 seconds convincing JaVale that they are on the same side. TNT mercifully goes to a TV timeout and we next see JaVale sitting on the bench with a towel on his head, occasionally looking back-and-forth between the two benches with a confused look on his face.


WEST STARTERS:

PG: Tony Parker (19.5 ppg, 7.9 apg, .456 fg%) - I know, I know. Should be Chris Paul, right? This has more to do with the Spurs' performance as a team than it does with the difference between these two players. Parker leads San Antonio, who is currently #2 in the Western Conference and has won 11 straight, in scoring and assists with a declining Tim Duncan, an oft-injured Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup (?!?!). I'm tossing the guy a bone. He deserves it.

SG: Kobe Bryant (29.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.0 apg) - So much for slowing down with age...

SF: Kevin Durant (27.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, .516 fg%) - Probably the best pure scorer in the league, even if a certain someone on his team thinks HE is (Hint: His name rhymes with Blussell Shlestbrook). Durant is having his best season in assists, rebounds and field goal percentage and is leading a young, exciting Thunder team towards the #1 seed in the Western Conference.

PF: Kevin Love (25.5 ppg, 14.2 rpg, .353 3pt%) - If he dunked as ferociously as Blake Griffin, people would talk about him more. People WILL talk about him more when he eventually wins his first MVP. Mark my words, if Lebron takes a year off from being...ya know...Lebron, the MVP is his for the taking.

C: Andrew Bynum (16.3 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 2.1 bpg) - FINALLY. Bynum is playing the best basketball of his career and seems to be meeting (or surpassing) the expectations set on him out of high school. At the tender age of 24, Bynum may see many All-Star game starts in his future assuming he can stay healthy.

WEST RESERVES:

PG Chris Paul - The Clippers dominating Sportscenter coverage and leading the Lakers in the standings is still weird to me. Paul is showing that he was worth the off-season hype and the Clips look like a lock for the playoffs this season.

PG Steve Nash - Still leads the league in assists. Still shoots at ridiculous percentages across the board. Still wish he would get shopped to a contender so that he can get a much-deserved ring.

SG Russell Westbrook - Why is it that I know he's a shooting guard, he knows he's a shooting guard, but the Oklahoma City Thunder does not he's a shooting guard?

SF Rudy Gay - Probably the best small forward in the Western Conference without a spider-influenced nickname.

PF Blake Griffin - Heaven help the Western Conference when he develops a jump shot...

PF David Lee - This is the type of guy you really only hear about when he's a free agent. It's a shame.

PF LaMarcus Aldridge - HOW IS THIS HIS FIRST ALL-STAR GAME???

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD: Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves PG.

You can all have Lin. I'm a big Rubio slappy and he is adapting to the NBA much quicker than I thought he would. He already knows how to distribute and when his basketball IQ matures a bit, the combination with Kevin Love is going to only get better. It would be like a modern version of Stockton and Malone only Love can shoot three's and Stockton probably looked older than Rubio when he was four years old.

RUNNER-UP: Metta World Peace, Lakers F.

Admit it. The press conference after the game would be much sweeter if he was on the team.

"HEY! HEY, ALL THE WAY OVER THERE ON YOUR LAPTOP! ACKNOWLEDGE ME, PLEASE!"

Don't worry, Mr. World Peace...or is it Mr. Peace? Can I just call you Metta? Ok, thanks...Metta, I do acknowledge you.

Until Next Time,
SP