José Calderón, All-Star

José Calderón doesn't have a signature shoe. His jersey isn't exactly a prized possession, and he does not look much like an NBA player. Hell, he didn't even start full-time until Al Horford knocked TJ Ford out. And still, he has to be an All-Star.

I will put this very bluntly: José Calderón is, at worst, the third-best point guard in the Eastern Conference. His numbers may not blow you away at first, but looking a bit deeper you find that he may just be the best PURE point guard in the League besides Jason Kidd. By pure point guard, I mean pass-first (eliminating Chauncey Billups, AI and Baron Davis), manage your defense second (eliminating Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Steve Nash), then find your own scoring opportunities a distant third, shooting only when the shot is there.

I'll ignore his individual statistics for now, and look simply at what Toronto has done with Calderón as its starting PG. Since the unfortunate Ford injury, the Raptors have picked up W's against Dallas and Boston, at San Antonio, at New Orleans and beat the NBA's hottest team, Portland, in a game where Calderón coughed it up only 3 times in 54 minutes. Even if the record shows the Raptors are only 10-9 since they made Calderón a full-time starter, five of those losses came against Phoenix, Detroit, Boston and another surging team, the Cavs.

Calderón's biggest merit this season has been leading the Raptors to victories when they're supposed to win, keep them in the games they should get blown out of, and even pull off a few upsets here and there, best exemplified by tonight's three-point play against the Celtics. In a team that has lost its first-string point guard and a workhorse in Jorge Garbajosa , in a team whose star in the making, Andrea Bargnani, has actually regressed in his sophomore season, in a team where Kris Humphries and Rasho Nesterovic play significant minutes, Calderón has kept the ship afloat.

Now, for the numbers, the Spaniard's stats are the best of his still-short career. He's putting up almost 12 points and 9 assists every night out, and that includes coming off the bench for one-third of the season. He's a member of the 90-50-40 club, no small feat for someone who has to take good shots while still finding above-average marksmen Jason Kapono, Carlos Delfino, Juan Dixon, Anthony Parker and even Chris Bosh, who's sitting at 50% shooting from long distance this season. The most important thing for Calderón, as the brain of a young team, is not to make mistakes, and he might just be the best player in the NBA at taking care of the ball, as his insane 5.6-to-1 assist to turnover ratio demonstrates. To give this number its proper importance, here are the assist to turnover ratios for the NBA's premiere PG's;

Tony Parker: 2.4-to-1

Chauncey Billups: 3.5-to-1

Steve Nash: 3.3-to-1

Chris Paul: 3.9-to-1

Allen Iverson: 2.1-to-1

Jason Kidd: 2.8-to-1

Baron Davis: 2.9-to-1

Deron Williams: 2.6-to-1

As we can see, Calderón's output in this department is almost 50% higher than his closest competitor's, and doubles Jason Kidd's, Tony Parker's, Deron Williams' and AI's.

In short, José Calderón is a pro's pro, a guy who, night in and night out, fulfills his duty, and then some. A point guard must find his teammates and make their job easier, and Calderón does that (Chris Bosh has twice as many 30+ games in the 19 games since Calderón took over than he had in the first 23). A point guard should not be a gunner, but should have the ability to make the shot when it's there, and Calderón does that, as evidenced by his shooting percentages. A point guard should lead the way in the defensive department, and the Raptors are 7th in the League in scoring defense after being in the middle of the pack last season. A point guard should show the utmost confidence, both in himself and in his teammates, and Calderón does that, piling up assists but taking the deciding shots when need be.

If you still doubt Calderón should be in New Orleans in less than a month, please refer to tonight's game against Boston; not only did he put up 24 and 13, not only did he make the game-winning layup while being fouled, but three other Raptors had 20+ points. Good players are on their A-game in the big stage, but only a select few manage to dominate and help his teammates perform at peak capacity. José Calderón is one of them, and for that, he should be an All-Star.