Call them the Fab Four. Call them the Big Three plus one. Call them 5-8, if you wish. Whatever you call them, the Boston Celtics' four-man nucleus remains near the top of the 2012 All-Star Balloting after the second returns were announced on Thursday.
Rajon Rondo is third among Eastern Conference guards with 394,672 votes and teammate Ray Allen is right behind with 274,233. They both trail Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade by significant margins, meaning that Rondo and Allen will likely need to be voted in by coaches.
Kevin Garnett (268,980 votes) is fourth among Eastern Conference forwards and Paul Pierce (145,077) is seventh. If voting ended today, Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony would start at forward for the Eastern Conference.
Dwight Howard continues to be the NBA's leading vote-getter with 1,161,797 votes, followed by Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and James.
Voting will continue until Jan. 31, and the 2012 All-Star Game will be played in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 26.
For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page or our blog CelticsBlog.