When the NBA All-Star reserves were announced Thursday night it just reinforced what we already knew.

There were plenty of players that could have been named to the Western Conference that didn't make the cut, but you'd be hard-pressed to say anybody in the Eastern Conference got robbed. Oh, there are some players who could have been added, but the difference in quality players only reiterated that there are far more quality players in the West than in the East, which made the decisions more difficult.

When the West and East meet in New Orleans for the All-Star game on Feb. 17, added to the Eastern Conference starters Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd were Chris Bosh, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Chauncey Billups, Paul Pierce, Richard Hamilton and Joe Johnson. All of them are deserving of the honor and will likely be competing in many more in the future.

The West starters of Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Tim Duncan and Carmelo Anthony were joined by Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, Brandon Roy and David West. The latter two are making their first appearance and are youngsters improving rapidly.

The 30 NBA coaches voted for the reserves in their respective conferences, and could not vote for players on their own team.

In the East, there are those who believed Celtics Garnett and Pierce should have been joined by Ray Allen. There could have been a case made for Hedo Turkoglu from Orlando as well. And from a losing team, take a look at the numbers of Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, averaging 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.24 steals and sticky defense on every small forward in the league. And there's always the Bucks' Michael Redd, certainly one of the best shooters in the game today averaging 23.0 points a game.

But again, it's tough to justify good numbers from players on bad teams, which is why there are no real travesties in the East. Keep in mind, the West has a .561 winning percentage against the East, although it's not as dominant as it has been in recent seasons. Nonetheless, there are more players that should have been on the roster.

It's impossible not to start with the Nuggets' Marcus Camby. Sure, with Iverson and Anthony starting it's tough to add a third player from any team, but the Nuggets have been battling for the Northwest Division lead all season and Camby, the 2007 defensive player of the year, leads the league in blocks at 3.86 and is second in rebounding at 14.3. And if you want an example of an All-Star performance, consider his numbers in Wednesday's win at Memphis: 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, 19 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 steals. Excuse me, that's an All-Star.

In a lot of ways, Tyson Chandler suffered the same fate, with Paul and West already being named from the Hornets, who have been at or near the top of the Western Conference all season (not to mention that the game is in New Orleans). Chandler is averaging 12.4 rebounds (fourth in the league), 12.3 points and a block. He's another big reason why the Hornets have been so tough.

Then again, if you look at a bad team with a center with even better numbers, you have to take a good, long look at what Chris Kaman has done for the Clippers, posting 17.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. And if you haven't seen him play, his ball skills and touch are as good as any of the 7-foot centers in the league and he's getting better.

And that's not to mention Minnesota's Al Jefferson, the reason why Kevin McHale pulled the trigger on the Garnett deal. The Timberwolves are in their best run of the season, however modest 4-5 may be. But there's nothing modest about his numbers during this stretch - 25.1 points, 14.1 rebounds and 1.56 blocks - including 26-point, 20-rebound and 40-point, 19-rebound games. For the season, he's averaging 21.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

Even more of a question would have to be Josh Howard from the Mavericks. Not only was he an All-Star last season, but he's averaging 20.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists, numbers that are significantly better than a year ago.

Another small forward who fits into a similar category as Howard is Stephen Jackson from the Warriors, who is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals. The Warriors took off after he returned from his seven-game suspension to start the season. But it's that suspension for off-court problems and his mercurial temperament on the floor that may always prevent him from gaining respect equivalent to his game.

And lastly, if only because they play point guard with no way of making the team with Nash and Paul locks to be named, would have to be Deron Williams from the Jazz and the Warriors' Baron Davis. The Jazz are in first place in the Northwest Division, with Williams averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 assists, with a superb .515 field-goal percentage and a shade less than .400 from 3-point range. And Davis' numbers of 22.3 points, 8.1 assists and 2.5 steals are All-Star caliber as well ... if only he would play in the East.

But that's the fate of playing in the West, where you have 10 teams at well above .500 compared to the East where teams seven and eight games below .500 are vying for the playoffs.

On the other hand, there also is this contention that the All-Star rosters be expanded from 12 to 15, with each set of five players playing a quarter, with the starters returning for the fourth quarter  ... but that's a different story for a different day.

Instead, we just have all these guys in the West staying home, which at this point of the season may not be such a bad idea for the bodies anyway.