Optimized2

public class Optimized2 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int size = 9;
        for (int i = 1; i <= size; i++) {
            for (int j = 1; j <= size * 2 - 1; j++) {
                System.out.print((i > 1 && size > i && ((i * 2 - 1 == j) || size * 2 - i * 2 + 1 == j) || j % 2 == 0)
                        ? ' ' : '*');
            }
            System.out.println();
        }
    }
}