Al Thornton and Eric Gordon will be arch rivals — at least for a couple of hours. Both Clippers have been selected to play in the 2009 Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Phoenix:
Forward Jeff Green, Durant’s teammate in Oklahoma City, joins him on the Sophomore team, which also includes Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford, Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton, Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler, Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey and a pair of teammates from the Houston Rockets — guard Aaron Brooks and forward Luis Scola.
Joining Rose on the Rookie team are two sets of teammates — guard O.J. Mayo and center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and center Greg Oden and guard Rudy Fernandez from the Portland Trail Blazers. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Clippers guard Eric Gordon, Heat forward Michael Beasley and New Jersey Nets center Brook Lopez round out the Rookie team.
The honor must be satisfying for Thornton, who was inexplicably left off the rookie squad in New Orleans last season.
6 Responses
Congratulations to the kids (although Al Thornton is like 39)
One more tidbit… Andrew Bynum should be suspended for 10 games for that hit on Gerald Wallace. Dispicable.
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
eric gordon you are my hero. we are pretty good at scouting in the past recent years. beside korolev. and multiple 1st pick busts. Al thorton congrats also.
Whew being a clipper fan takes a lot out of you.
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I just checked the NBA.com and saw the rosters…
EJ is 222 lb, AT is 220… He’s got 2 lbs on Al. That’s just ridiculous how strong and fast EJ is being 6’3″ compared to Al’s 6’8″.
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I’m looking foward to this. I don’t expect to stumble on to a ticket for the allstar game or slam dunk (i’ll be looking for a last minute firesale by someone) but this game is affordable and should be fun…and sloppy as hell.
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
What the Hell? How do u get a collapsed lung in basketball?
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Great to see both EJ and Al making it! Well deserved.
Posted on January 28th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
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