The fans have spoken and, for the most part, they've spoken wisely. There's an upset. We might quibble with the Eastern Conference guards or centers, but, let's face it, all the lads voted in by the fans for next month's All-Star Game are going to be in Philadelphia anyway.

	Utah's Malone is an All-Star every year, but this year does Wally Szczerbiak deserve it?

It's not as if we got BJ Armstrong starting for the East, as was the case in 1994. (The following year, the Bulls put him up for adoption via the expansion draft.) It's not as if we had Kelly Tripucka threatening to displace Larry Bird in 1985, when (a) Tripucka had no right to be there and (b) the game was in Indianapolis. The California returns along with David Stern doing his best Katherine Harris imitation at the 11th hour insured that Bird gained a starting berth.

But only five of the 12 All-Stars for each conference have been selected and the 29 coaches get to choose the final seven today. Now, we know that the head coaches really do vote on these matters, as opposed to public relations people. And we know that the coaches can't vote for their own guy (or guys) but can do some heavy lobbying.

But none of that is really necessary. All the coaches need to do is make the logical choices and we are here to help them. As you will soon see, it isn't that hard. Yes, there will be an eyebrow raiser here or there, but, for the most part, the add-ons are deserving, worthy and make sense.

Let's start with the Third World, er, Eastern Conference. I mean, how bad is this conference? The top five teams clearly are in the West and yet some team from the East is going to roll up an impressive win total by virtue of a lot of wins over Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, etc. There are no corresponding clunkers in the West. Not even the Warriors. But we digress.

The Eastern starters will be Vince Carter and Antoine Walker at forward; Dikembe Mutombo at center and Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson at guard. Great. All five of those guys may not necessarily deserve to start, but they deserve to be there. So that's grand. At least common sense prevailed somewhere and Grant Hill's votes started to rapidly dwindle as the deadline approached. Katherine Harris was believed to be involved here as well.

The coaches are instructed to select seven reserves. They have to select one center, two guards and two forwards. That leaves two wild card selections who can play any position. In addition, the coaches can vote for a player who may be listed at one position on the All-Star ballot, but who can be placed elsewhere "if it is advantageous for the networks, er, the All-Star Team."

So we need seven reserves from the East and they should be the following:

C: Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana

F: Paul Pierce, Boston; Tracy McGrady, Orlando

G: Jason Kidd, New Jersey; Ray Allen, Milwaukee

WC: Andre Miller, Cleveland; Baron Davis, Charlotte

You can make a very solid case for O'Neal as the starter, as well as being the second-best center in the league. So he's going, as long as his health allows. He did say he would not play if he couldn't play in the games leading up to All-Star weekend, but he's back so we'll pencil him in.

	McGrady

Pierce and McGrady are both listed as guards. We'll move them to forward because, well, there aren't any real deserving forwards after Carter and Walker and they can both play forward. Kenyon Martin will get his supporters (mostly from coaches not named Doc Rivers) and Shareef Abdur-Rahim will get some sentiment as well. We'll hear how "small" the East is and, we'll say, "it's the All-Star Game! Who cares!" The best players in the East are little guys. The best players in the West are big guys. That's the way it is.

Kidd should be starting. We all know that. He's the first-half MVP. Allen is the Bucks' best player. Miller deserves to be recognized if, for nothing else, excelling, without fanfare, for a truly terrible team. All he does is rack up double-doubles, which, in itself is amazing because no one on his team can make a basket. Outside of Kidd, there's no better pure point guard in the conference. Davis gets the nod for his role in Charlotte. He's a dynamic player, perfect for the All-Star game. Jerry Stackhouse supporters may be miffed, but, well, he really doesn't deserve it this time.

So there you have the East. Now, let's go to the West, which, the last time we checked in, blew a 487-point lead in the final minutes of the last All-Star game. Somehow, they seem to have gotten over it. (And really, how many of you honestly remembered that?)

The Western starters are all legit. Shaquille O'Neal is at center (although he keeps sending out subtle messages that he needs rest.) Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are the forwards. Kobe Bryant and Steve Francis are the guards. Any problems there? OK, maybe you'd like to see Gary Payton as a starter, but he's going anyway.

The Western reserves should be the following:

C: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas

F: Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber, Sacramento

G: Gary Payton, Seattle, and Steve Nash, Dallas

WC: Karl Malone, Utah and Elton Brand, LA Clippers

	Szczerbiak

OK, we are ready for the Wally Szczerbiak protests. Yes, he deserves serious consideration. But over who? Malone? He's been an All-Star fixture since 1988 and he is still doing the job. Brand? The Clippers deserve a representative and he is Mr. Double Double. Webber? OK, he's missed a lot of games. But the Kings, who have the NBA's best record, deserve two players and Webber is their best player, period. You may have noticed they ripped off 11 straight wins when he was back and healthy.

Nowitzki plays a lot of center for Dallas and solves a problem because there is no deserving No. 2 big man. Stojakovic should be a lock; he may be the sweetest shooter in the game. We've already made the case for Webber and Payton (who seems determined to keep his team afloat against all odds. If he keeps it up, we may have to consider him for MVP.) Nash is a no-brainer, or should be, because he is the engine that drives the Dallas scoring machine. Besides, Mark Cuban said he'd get a Nash haircut if Nash didn't make it.

The Szczerbiak backers can make a strong case and, with the season-ending injury to Al Harrington, Wally World may be the runaway candidate for Most Improved Player. I still can't pick him over Webber, Brand, Malone, Payton or Nash. No one else out West merits serious consideration, including Nick Van Exel, Rasheed Wallace or Stephon Marbury. Vlade Divac would be a great selection for us writers, but not at the expense of anyone above.

So, there you have it, coaches. We've made it easy for you. Just stay away from the fringe (always a concern when John Lucas is voting) and stay with the safe, sane choices. We've made it easy for you. Now, go plan for the next game and don't waste any more time thinking about it.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.