This is exactly how the coaches do it.
As instructed on ballots that went out Friday, coaches in each conference have been asked to vote for seven reserves -- excluding their own players, of course -- for the All-Star Game on Feb. 17. The list of seven players is to be comprised of two forwards, two guards, one center and two wild cards, with each coach ranking his choices from one to seven to give each vote a point value ... but also with the invitation to ignore the positions at which players are listed on the official All-Star ballot if they wish.
The exact wording from the league office: "If the head coach feels a player can play more than one position, he should vote for that player at the position that he thinks is most advantageous for the All-Star team, not necessarily the one he plays most often during the season."
The coaches' secret ballots are due back to the league office by Tuesday, with the reserves to be announced Thursday night. Using the same official guidelines as the X-and-O men, here's how our benches would look:
EAST RESERVES
Forwards:
Caron Butler (Wizards),
Paul Pierce (Celtics)
Butler has been so versatile and rugged in Gilbert Arenas' absence that this could be a pretty heated Beltway debate: Gil or Caron ... who is Washington's true franchise player? (An aside: Butler is also one of best bargains in the league at just $8.5 million this season.)
It's been easy, meanwhile, to overlook Pierce. He has new teammates named Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in Boston, but don't forget that the Celtic you take for granted is the guy finishing much of what KG starts at both ends while playing more of an all-around game than ever before.
Guards:
Chauncey Billups (Pistons),
Jose Calderon (Raptors)
Billups, again, would have been one of my starters
All of which helps explain why Toronto hasn't nose-dived without T.J. Ford and why Raps general manager Bryan Colangelo was moved to thank predecessor Rob Babcock on Chad Ford's weekly podcast
for bringing Calderon over. Praise for Babcock, remember, is not exactly Toronto tradition.
Center:
Chris Bosh (Raptors)
I know (and I agree): It's not really All-Star weekend without Shaquille O'Neal. But Shaq will be in New Orleans and I suspect we'll see plenty of the Big LSU product. So there's no need for East coaches to vote Shaq in on a lifetime achievement basis, especially when he's not even healthy to play. East coaches, furthermore, don't have to fudge at all to vote for Bosh. The lefty indeed plays plenty of center for the Raps, and the rules, as noted above, allow coaches to vote for players at the position "most advantageous for the All-Star team" and "not necessarily the one he plays most often during the season."
So Bosh is clearly the best fit here, especially because he's gradually getting healthier and more dominant and with Rasheed Wallace urging the coaches to evaluate him on purely statistical terms. Which would ensure that Sheed gets to stay home all weekend.
Wild Cards:
Antawn Jamison (Wizards),
Rip Hamilton (Pistons)
There are only five 20-and-10 guys in the entire league and Jamison, the other chief catalyst in Washington's gritty Arenas-less run, is one of them. Yet there are actually several contenders for the last spot on the roster in spite of the East's ongoing ability to disappoint us as a group: Hedo Turkoglu, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and two of our favorite lefties -- Michael Redd and Josh Smith -- all have a case.
The traditional Stein Line tiebreaker, though, naturally led us to make a team-success choice between a second Piston (Hamilton over Sheed) and a third Celtic (Allen). And Rip prevails. As much as I'd like seeing Boston's entire large three (don't want to offend anyone by calling 'em big) on the All-Star stage, even Ray would have to concede that Rip has been sharper for a fellow 30-game winner.
The Line's 1-to-7 East Order:
1. Billups, 2. Butler, 3. Pierce, 4. Bosh, 5. Calderon, 6. Jamison, 7. Hamilton
WEST RESERVES
Forwards:
Dirk Nowitzki (Mavs),
Carlos Boozer (Jazz)
We repeat: Dirk's November struggles were overblown and he's been up to his usual standards for a while now anyway. So he'll be a unanimous choice for West coaches.
As for Boozer? A double-double monster who will likely be unanimous, too.
Guards:
Chris Paul (Hornets),
Steve Nash (Suns)
The easiest calls of all, so we'll spare you the fancy elaboration. Even with the West's ridiculous guard depth, Paul and Nash are the most automatic reserves in circulation.
Center:
Marcus Camby (Nuggets)
In no way do the Nuggets deserve three All-Stars -- especially this February in the insanely deep West. So if Amare Stoudemire winds up here in real life, there will be no protest forthcoming from Stein Line HQ. But Camby was my starting center last week and, based on my rules, this spot has to be his, even after the fans unexpectedly voted in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.
The NBA's Big Man Renaissance is mostly happening in this conference, with Amare progressively regaining strength and pop after his third knee surgery and the major leaps and/or returns to health we've witnessed from Chris Kaman, Andrew Bynum, Tyson Chandler, Al Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brad Miller.
But I still say Camby has had the best first half of any center in the West. He has had more all-around impact on his team, even, than Yao in Houston.
Wild cards:
Brandon Roy (Trail Blazers),
Baron Davis (Warriors)
In most seasons you'd be trying to give Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio -- or at least one of those powerhouses -- two All-Stars. This season? You don't know what to do, even after the fans helped out slightly by nudging Iverson into a starting slot that initially looked like it was going to the injury-tortured Tracy McGrady. AI was thus removed from the reserve mix and T-Mac admitted that he doesn't merit consideration this time, so we can proceed to the rest of the muddle.
Portland, for starters, really deserves a representative after its Cinderella rise from a 5-12 start, and I'd argue the same for Golden State's rally from an 0-6 launch, even if that leaves us with a "War and Peace" type list of exclusions, headlined by a starry cast featuring Shawn Marion, Josh Howard, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Deron Williams. Yet we're going with Roy as the only choice to rep the Blazers and giving the last spot to Baron, in a c-l-o-s-e call, which is further complicated by the fact that it means excluding Stein Line favorite Stephen Jackson. But we're pretty sure that Captain Jack -- in his role as the Warriors' emotional compass -- would insist that Davis goes back to New Orleans as the Warriors' supreme talent and their first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. That said, how could you mount a committed counter if the coaches go for Manu, D-Will or Josh? It's that tight.
The Line's 1-to-7 West Order
1. Paul, 2. Nash, 3. Nowitzki, 4. Boozer, 5. Camby, 6. Roy, 7. Davis
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.