In the fourth return on fan balloting released Thursday for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett both slipped to third at their respective positions, losing their grips on automatic starting bids for February's showcase in Los Angeles.
Garnett now trails New York's Amare Stoudemire, while Rondo dipped behind Chicago's Derrick Rose. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen remain fourth at their respective positions, while Shaquille O'Neal is second at center. The top two guards and forwards, along with the top center, earn automatic starting spots.
Rondo is the team's top vote-getter thus far at 1,171,311, followed by Garnett (1,049,544), O'Neal (639,661), Allen (630,588), and Pierce (578,473).
Based on last week's returns, here's how the players fared in this week's balloting: Rondo 242,530 votes; Garnett 198,857; O'Neal 133,040; Allen 136,099; and Pierce 113,203. All of those numbers jumped nicely from a week before (Rondo 152,471 votes; Garnett 138,132; O'Neal 95,958; Allen 102,048; and Pierce 83,922), but not enough to keep Rondo and Garnett out front of their competition.
Check out the full balloting below:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: LeBron James (Mia) 1,518,807; Amare Stoudemire (NYK) 1,143,391; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,049,544; Paul Pierce (Bos) 578,473; Chris Bosh (Mia) 427,551; Carlos Boozer (Chi) 320,661; Josh Smith (Atl) 280,158; Danilo Gallinari (NYK) 259,619; Danny Granger (Ind) 201,653; Luol Deng (Chi) 191,312.
Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,499,768; Derrick Rose (Chi) 1,225,575; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 1,171,311; Ray Allen (Bos) 630,588; John Wall (Was) 260,893; Brandon Jennings (Mil) 254,614; Raymond Felton (NYK) 246,208; Gilbert Arenas (Orl) 240,586; Jamal Crawford (Atl) 163,971, Darren Collison (Ind) 156,230.
Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,537,619; Shaquille O'Neal (Bos) 639,661; Joakim Noah (Chi) 291,107; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 245,253; Al Horford (Atl) 193,449; Roy Hibbert (Ind) 183,092; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 162,364; Brook Lopez (NJ) 125,022; JaVale McGee (Was) 106,710; Ben Wallace (Det) 79,017.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Forwards: Kevin Durant (OKC) 1,270,729; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 945,720; Pau Gasol (LAL) 851,456; Blake Griffin (LAC) 702,784; Tim Duncan (SA) 663,487; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 615,243; Lamar Odom (LAL) 364,950; Luis Scola (Hou) 347,986; Kevin Love (Min) 301,529; Caron Butler (Dal) 205,146.
Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,757,216; Chris Paul (NOH) 949,049; Manu Ginobili (SA) 593,718; Steve Nash (Pho) 522,215; Deron Williams (Utah) 487,887; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 463,250; Tony Parker (SA) 355,993; Jason Kidd (Dal) 303,164; Vince Carter (Pho) 277,430; Kevin Martin (Hou) 266,037.
Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 928,928; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 660,576; Nene (Den) 389,263; Marc Gasol 352,136; Emeka Okafor (NOH) 317,677; Brendan Haywood (Dal) 276,777; Marcus Camby (Por) 201,133; Chris Kaman (LAC) 165,684; Andris Biedrins (GS) 126,567; DeMarcus Cousins (Sac) 110,230.