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Derrick Rose moved up from eighth to seventh among Eastern Conference guards in the latest All Star voting results released Christmas Day, though Rose’s chances of being the first Bulls All Star since 1998 may have taken a bit of a hit.

That’s because Allen Iverson, who is not having an All Star season since being traded to the Detroit Pistons, held onto the second spot behind Dwyane Wade, which means they’d start. Vince Carter and Ray Allen were third and fourth in the fan voting, respectively, which suggests the coaches probably would pick them as reserves.

There is likely to be five guards on the team and possibly six.

The problem for Rose is the Nets’ Devin Harris, who was 10th in the first returns, moved up to fifth in the latest voting thanks to being sixth in the NBA in scoring at 24 per game. Also, with Orlando going to 23-7, Jameer Nelson has been drawing attention and even was mentioned by the ABC announcing crew in the Lakers/Celtics game Thursday along with Harris and Rajon Rondo as the East’s best point guards in their view. Rose fell to 17.5 per game in scoring with O.J. Mayo leading rookies at 19.9.

So Rose is going to need a big boost in the team’s play and Bulls’ fans’ voting to make an impact, though the coaches won’t pick reserves until late January.

Rose does have the most fan votes among rookies. The other rookies in the top 10 are Greg Oden fifth among West centers and Miami’s Michael Beasley, ninth among East forwards.

Rose Friday will play against Beasley, the No. 2 overall draft pick, for the first time as a pro. Beasley comes off the bench for the Heat while Mario Chalmers will probably play against Rose as the starting point guard. Chalmers hit the big shot in the NCAA final game after Rose missed a free throw and Chalmers’ Kansas team beat Rose’s Memphis team. Chalmers also outplayed Rose in a summer league game and told reporters in Miami about outplaying Rose when they met.

Dwight Howard and LeBron James lead the Eastern Conference, while Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming top the Western Conference. Howard, who said he’d defend his Slam Dunk title, is the somewhat surprising overall leader with 1,421,882 votes.

The All-Star Game will be played in Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 15.

James, the 2008 NBA All-Star Game MVP, leads Eastern Conference forwards followed by Kevin Garnett, the leading vote-recipient in 2008. Philadelphia’s Samuel Dalembert is running second at center and far behind Howard.