Yao Ming rocking the China vote. People starting who can’t play. The hype for the NBA All Star Game has been…odd, to say the least. And now, honestly, we have NO reason to watch it, because Kobe Bryant isn’t playing, and neither is Alan Iverson.

Kobe isn’t a surprise–he hasn’t played in the last three games with an ankle injury. Iverson is, at least to us, though. He’s missed five games because of an illness in the family. One of his young children is sick, and while the family hasn’t released a statement, it must be something serious. The NBA comissioner is in charge of selecting injury and personal leave based replacements, and he’s selected Jason Kidd, who will make his tenth All-Star appearance, to replace Kobe in the starting lineup. New York’s David Lee will start for Iverson.

So, that leaves Bryant, Iverson, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, and likely Monta Ellis out of the game? Yep, not watching…