The rules for voting this year are simple. Pick two backcourt players and three frontcourt players for each Conference to play in the All-Star game. This issue comes with who to actually pick for each position. This becomes particularity difficult when you go out West and look for player to star. There is an unbelievable amount of depth this year so there is, without a doubt, going to be many players who get left off who are worthy of being picked. The only hope certain players have for making the team is for players in front of them to get hurt so they cannot play. Many players have a good case as to why they should make the two respective teams this year so I want to run down each of their cases and see whether I think that makes them worthy of being an All-Star. Certain players are locks to make it because of their popularity (LeBron, KD, Russell Westbrook, etc...) other are under the radar and deserve recognition: these players include Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, Buddy Hield, etc... In the end though, I will ultimately decides who makes the All-Star team though based on a criteria I have made up. My list of All-Stars will be based on a combination of who's deserving of making it, who would be fun to see in the game, and how popular is that player (basically will they attract more viewers).
On a side note though, I have a plea to make with the NBA. Please make the All-Star game on a weekend that's different than Valentine's Day!! Every year, NBA fans all over America want to watch the All-Star game...unfortunately we are forced to plan dinners or do something romantic for our significant others (which for me almost always end up being the night of the All-Star game so I miss it). Please, I beg of you Adam Silver, just make the Weekend either the week before or week after Valentine's Day! You'll get an even higher approval rating than the one you already have!! Okay...with that out of the way, we can move on to the actual All-Star selections. First, we go out West!
Let's begin with the Starters. My first selections are: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Stephen Curry, and James Harden. Each of these players are MVP candidates in the Western Conference and they are also some of the most popular players in the NBA. LeBron James is LeBron. Anthony Davis putting up monster numbers every night (before his finger injury) as he drags a team with very few good players to wins night after night. He has the highest efficiency rating in the NBA and the highest win shares. Paul George has taken his offensive game to a whole different level this year and has helped lead the Thunder to a top 4 Western Conference seed in spite of Russell Westbrook's historically poor shooting. Stephen Curry could put up a 50/50/90 season this year and is just as fun to watch as he was a few years ago. Although I thought about taking away his spot after seeing this. Steph is a must have in the All-Star game because you want play makers and 3-point shooters in the hope that we can finally see 200 points scored. James Harden is breaking scoring records every single night and has not been assisted on a shot in four games now. Although he's boring to watch sometimes, you can't deny the historic figures he's putting up.
Reserves:
Kevin Durant - Come on. It's Kevin Durant. The second or third best player in the NBA. He's in no matter what.
Nikola Jokic - He's the best player for the second best record in the West and he's putting up crazy assist numbers for a center night after night. The Nuggets have had more injuries than any team this year and he is the main reason they have not collapsed.
Klay Thompson - He has not had his best year shooting the three ball, but he set the record for most threes in a game (later broken by Steph), and he just made 10 three pointers in a row against the Lakers. He has the ability to go off and put up 60 any night. He's making the team
Damian Lillard - He's the best pick and roll player in the NBA and he's once again carrying the Trailblazers' offensive load. I think Lillard is a lock to make it, and should make it. The big question I have is: should Jusif Nurkic make the team as well?
Karl-Anthony Towns - He's the best offensive center in the league and he's averaging 22 and 12 a game. He can reach even higher heights if he gets an All-Star (who doesn't bully him) to play beside him. Seeing him in the All-Star game would be a ton of fun because this would be the ultimate scenario for him to showcase his talents to every NBA fan watching.
Luka Doncic - I know he can be divisive, but there's no doubt he's worthy of an All-Star spot. I do not think he should be a starter (the voting currently has him as one), but he is one of the best young players in the NBA. His ability to handle the ball and pass to open players across the court is a natural god-given talent that not many are blessed with. Seeing him play with 11 other All-Stars rather than the current Mavs roster would be a joy to watch.
Well...now we only have one spot left. I just realized how hard this is. before I wrote this, I made a list of everyone in the West who has a shot of making it (with why in parenthesis). This is that list:
DeMar DeRozan (averaging 21 a game for a playoff team. I like to reward team success), Jrue Holiday (playing amazing perimeter defense and averaging career high in points), LaMarcus Aldridge (same reasons as DeRozan), Tobias Harris (averaging 20 points a game and is the best player on the Clippers), Russell Westbrook (not shooting well but averaging a triple double), Rudy Gobert (defensive numbers once again among the best in the NBA), Buddy Hield (shooting 48% from three and candidate for Most Improved Player), De'Aaron Fox (leading for Most Improved and the best player on the Kings), Jamal Murray (second best player on the Nuggets plus it felt weird to only have one All-Star from the second best team in the conference).
That's nine players for one spot. Here's where I am going to cheat a little bit. I think the final spot should go to De'Aaron Fox. He's worthy because the best this year among all the players I've listed and it would be cool to see a Kings player in the All-Star game. Plus he's fast and can get down the court quickly which helps create highlights in the game itself. I think Westbrook is going to make it though. Like I said to start this post, he's a lock because of his popularity. Now on to the East.
The East was a little bit easier. I had as many candidates as the west, but it was easier to eliminate the fringe participants from the actual selections. Like last time, let's begin with the Starters. Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kyrie - You cannot have a pick up game without Uncle Drew. Plus he has hit some huge shots this year. He's also a former All-Star game MVP. You have to have Kyrie in the game.
Victor Oladipo - He's the best player on the third best team in the East and he's really embraced the role of being both the number one offensive and defensive option on the team. He has also hit more clutch game winners like this one:
Kemba Walker -
Bradley Beal - He's averaging almost 25 points a game for a bad team and he's having the best overall season of his career despite his team's poor results.
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