Deron Williams, Brook Lopez among leaders in All-Star balloting

With the All-Star balloting by fans divided between front court and back court now, you would think things would be simpler. But they're not. The first tally of fan ballots shows several players who haven't even played yet among the leaders ... and players whose teams have struggled not suffering for it.

Deron Williams and Brook Lopez are the only Nets who made the top 15 in the back and front court. D-Will is third behind Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo in the battle for the East's starting backcourt. However, the gap is wide between Rondo and Williams ... 117,197 to be exact. Joe Johnson, who's been selected to the last six All-Star games, is not among the leaders.

Up front, Brook Lopez is 14th, sandwiched between Luol Deng and Jeff Green. He has 47,940, according to the first tally.

Four players who have yet to play a game still placed on the leader board: Andrew Bynum 68,596 and Amar'e Stoudemire 64,266 in the East and Dirk Nowitzki 63,056; and Steve Nash 118,073 in the West. And fans seem to have discounted the slow start for the Lakers in putting Kobe Bryant first in the back court voting out west and Dwight Howard second in the front court voting. The game will be played at Houston's Toyota Center in February.

• NBA All-Star voting leaders announced - USA Today