Which All-Star do you want for a seven-game series?

Here's the premise: For one seven-game series, you can have one of the following two Eastern Conference All-Star power forwards who sometimes play more like a center -- Toronto's Chris Bosh or Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal. This is not presented as a long-term deal because, presumably, most everyone would take Bosh, who is just 22 and in his fourth season, over O'Neal, who is 29 and in his 11th. (Jermaine came into the NBA right after his graduation from middle school.)

Which player would you take for that one series?

Their numbers are similar. Bosh averages 22.8 points per game, O'Neal is at 19.8; that is predictable since Bosh's Raptors score more than O'Neal's Pacers. Bosh is a better percentage shooter, 50 percent to 44.5 percent, and they both shoot about 75 percent at the free throw line (even though O'Neal has a curious knee dip that begins and ends before he releases the shot). Both are demon rebounders (Bosh's 10.7 vs. O'Neal's 10.5) and adequate though not brilliant passers (O'Neal has the edge with 2.7 assists compared to Bosh's 2.3).

Both players know exactly who they are. O'Neal is a post-up guy who usually has his back to the basket. He doesn't step out and take perimeter shots (he hasn't even attempted a three-pointer this season), while Bosh has a little more face-up ability and an inclination to break down his defender off the dribble.

Bosh's long arms -- he is invariably referred to as "the long-armed Chris Bosh" -- make him a good defender. O'Neal, for his part, has made a conscious effort to become a shot-blocker/basket protector and it has paid off this season: He is blocking 3.05 shots per game, second only to Denver's Marcus Camby. That compares to Bosh's 1.22.

That last stat gets my attention. In a playoff series, when the action slows down, O'Neal will win a game or two himself with his low-post scoring, and he's going to be all over the place on defense. Plus, the Pacer does have a 70-0 lead over Bosh in playoff-game experience.

So I'll take O'NEAL in the seven-gamer, though Bosh may someday be an MVP.

Here's a sampling of your responses to last week's Choosing Sides between Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Dallas' Josh Howard:

Rob of Virginia Beach, Va.: "Carmelo is definitely the bigger snub. Howard is a GREAT player and deserves a spot on the team. But Carmelo is THE star on his team. He is the No. 1 option, the league's leading scorer and arguably the best player in the league at his position. They are both getting screwed either way, but that's what happens when one conference is loaded and the other isn't."

Brian of Charlotte, N.C.: "There are very few players in the league with the overall abilities of Howard. He rebounds, scores, passes and even play defense, which has become a rarity for someone who can actually score. His snub is not due to his play, but rather his persona. He suffers from the same 'problem' that fellow Wake Forest graduate Tim Duncan does: They quietly go out and play incredibly solid games. How about we start rewarding the stand-up, fundamentally sound players instead of their sucker-punching counterparts?"

David of Chicago: "The coaches have an incredibly tough decision when trying to select forwards in the West, but in this situation they got it wrong. No league scoring leader has ever been left out of the All-Star Game. I can't help but feel that David Stern had a hand in ensuring that Melo suffers more for his actions in the brawl earlier this season. This game is for the fans and not for David Stern. If he got off his high horse for five seconds, he might realize that. I love Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Carlos Boozer, but Melo deserved to go over all three of those players. He is going to get into the game due to injuries, but the message being sent here is not the right one."

Bill of Boston: "Melo, hands down. Is this even a question? Howard has gone from incredibly underrated to overrated. He's not an All-Star just because his team's good."

Dmitry of Pittsburgh: "Neither player was snubbed. If one looks at the totals, Anthony is nowhere near the top of the league in scoring. As for Howard, he's having a tremendous year, but it must be accepted that the West is deeper than ever and opting to select Carlos Boozer, the best player on yet another Western powerhouse, is no crime."

Hassan of Manhattan Beach, Calif.: "Howard is clearly the more dangerous and deserving player. Melo could put up 35 a game for the rest of the season and not have nearly as much of an effect on the outcome of a game as Howard. Howard can and has hurt teams in so many ways; there are no players -- save Shawn Marion and Tayshawn Prince -- who balance defensive toughness with speed in transition as well as Howard does. And his impact? I remember a long stretch during last season when if Howard put up 20 points, the Mavs were nearly undefeated. Just ask Dirk whom he'd rather play against."

Jack of Edmonton, Alberta: "The league wants to clean up its image. Keeping the league's leading scorer out of the All-Star Game for a punch from last year will just reactivate talk of the fight. Any message that needs to be sent to Carmelo was already recieved. He's the best scorer; he should be at the All-Star Game ahead of the captain of the NBA's all-boring team: Tim Duncan."

Dan of Dallas: "Although I am a Mavs fan, I'd have to go with Carmelo. The guy leads the league in scoring, has shown he is a force in the fourth quarter -- especially toward the end of games -- and he has forced himself into the discussion of "best player in the league." Anthony did not have a Dirk Nowitzki-type of player to take some of the pressure off of him during most of the first half of this season (before Allen Iverson joined the Nuggets), and Howard certainly faces much fewer double- and triple-teams compared to Anthony. If anyone in their right mind took Howard over Anthony in a modern-day draft, they would be looked at as crazy. I think David Stern has to make the right choice. Melo paid his time with the suspension; now let him play."

Femi of Dallas: "As you can tell from my hometown, I'm biased, but I also have reason to back up my pick. Six teams have multiple players going to the All-Star Game but the team with the best record in the league isn't included among them? Huh? I realize that the forward spot in the West is loaded, but isn't that the reason coaches are given flexibility with positions? Has Tony Parker really done more to help the Spurs than Howard has done to help the Mavericks?"

Andrew of Salt Lake City: "Howard over Boozer? I don't believe that would be the proper decision based on all of the stats the two players have put up this year."

Damir of Portland: "Josh Howard is the real deal, about the closest thing the league has to Scottie Pippen. The D has always been fierce (unlike Melo's) and the combo of slashing and shooting is impossible to stop -- that teardrop shot is beautiful. He just needs to play a bit smarter sometimes (I'm thinking about that turnover in the Finals last year). Melo is a good scorer getting better, but he is one-dimensional, and the suspension did not really help his case. I see him as a "Big Dog" Robinson type with more charisma."