Divisional All-Stars: East

This idea came to me via a twitter proposal; what if instead of conference all-star teams, each division put forth a team of their top players to compete tournament-style? I've made them teams of ten with one wild-card player, a young and intriguing guy along for the ride who are mostly rookies but I made a few exceptions for talent or for lack of talent on a certain team within a strong division. If each city/ team had to be represented in the Divisional All-Star team with at least one player, here's what the lineups might look like in the Eastern Conference divisions, and how they might play.

Atlantic Division

C - Tyson Chandler
PF - Kevin Garnett
SF - Carmelo Anthony
SG - Paul Pierce
PG - Deron Williams

Joe Johnson
Brook Lopez
Rajon Rondo
DeMar DeRozan
Rudy Gay
and... Nerlens Noel

With KG and Pierce staying Atlantic, they could have divisional chemistry from the outset. Melo and Pierce are crafty scorers and Melo can slide up to the four-spot if KG heads to the bench. The defensive tandem of Chandler and KG at the rim is as intimidating as we'll see in this tournament and make up for this teams lack of elite perimeter defenders and allow Rondo to cheat in passing lanes. Gay and JJ are great scorers off the bench, DMDR gives depth on the wing, and Brook Lopez provides a scoring alternative to Chandler in the post. If Noel gets healthy it would be interesting to see him up front with one of the other interior defenders, plus who else are you taking from Philly?

SouthEast Division

C - Chris Bosh
PF - LeBron James
SF - Ray Allen
SG - Dwyane Wade
PG - John Wall

Paul Millsap
Al Horford
Kemba Walker
Al Jefferson
Nik Vucevic
and... Victor Oladipo

Remember when this ^ happened? This post-game summit sparked more than a few forum threads titled, "What were LeBron and Wade saying to John Wall?" Could they have been recruiting him to play in Miami? Well in a divisional tournament they'd get their wish. The effectiveness of the pairing depends on whether you think Wall is overrated or underrated, which is pretty much an even split right now. Back in 2006 when the Heat steamrolled the SouthEast behind Shaq and Wade everybody realized what a weak division it was. Now? It's even worse. You would have to start what amounts to the Heat plus Wall and bring a couple of notable big bodies off the bench. You could have made a case for Nene over any of these bigs, but why? Oladipo is a rookie I'm bullish on who could score from the perimeter off the bench. This makes for a strange team, but I'm not counting any team with LeBron out.

Central Division

C - Andrew Bynum
PF - David West
SF - Paul George
SG - Kyrie Irving
PG - Derrick Rose

Luol Deng
Joachim Noah
Josh Smith
Roy Hibbert
OJ Mayo
and... Anthony Bennett

With a healthy Bynum in the middle and Rose running the point, this is the division to beat in the East. Not that they'd necessarily need Bynum but his offensive potential would draw defenders opening up even more space in the mid-range for David West. Plus Bynum with Hibbert and Noah coming off the bench gives this team ridiculous size, shot-blocking and rebounding. Add in the back-court of Rose and Irving with the inside-out defense of George, Deng and Josh Smith and this is a great all-around team. I've placed Kyrie at the off-guard because he's still probably a better shooter than Rose though we don't know what we're necessarily getting out of the post-injury former MVP. Throw Mayo in the back-court just in case they need a slight scoring boost, and so that the Bucks are represented somehow. Bennett fits both inside and outside and can score, plus with this lineup he won't be forced to play any specific position.

Which division do you think would win? Compare these Western Division's with my All-Star selections for the Western Conference's divisional teams by scrolling up or clicking on this link - Western Division All-Stars. Let me know in the comments section below or tweet me @devingray33