All-Star Game

There was little pushback on the All-Star starter selections from the Western Conference when the NBA announced them last week, and for good reason. All five players voted in as starters from the West – Luka Doncic, James Harden, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard – could end up being viable MVP candidates this season.

However, it may be a little more challenging to pick the seven Western players who will join those starters at this year’s All-Star Game. Those seven reserves will be announced on Thursday night, with two more guards, three more frontcourt players, and a pair of wild cards filling out the roster.

Before those players are announced, we want to get your thoughts on which players deserve to be included and which players don’t quite make the cut, as we did with the Eastern Conference on Wednesday.

Let’s start in the middle, where a pair of Northwest centers look like strong candidates to be named All-Stars. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) had a case to be considered as a starter, while Rudy Gobert (Jazz) looks poised to finally earn the first All-Star nod of his career.

Gobert’s teammate Donovan Mitchell has had the best year of his young career and deserves serious All-Star consideration. He’ll face stiff competition among guards though. Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) looks like a lock to make it, and Devin Booker (Suns), Chris Paul (Thunder), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Russell Westbrook (Rockets), DeMar DeRozan (Spurs), and Ja Morant (Grizzlies) are among the other backcourt candidates.

Although they’re long shots, guards like Lou Williams (Clippers), CJ McCollum (Trail Blazers), Jrue Holiday (Pelicans), and De’Aaron Fox (Kings) probably deserve a look too.

While Holiday entered the season looking like the most obvious All-Star candidate on the Pelicans’ roster, Brandon Ingram has emerged as that player instead, enjoying a breakout season in his first year in New Orleans. Danilo Gallinari (Thunder), Bojan Bogdanovic (Jazz), and Kristaps Porzingis (Mavericks) are among the other players who are posting at least borderline All-Star numbers in their first year with a new team.

Injuries will likely have an impact on the Western All-Star selections for 2019/20. If they’d been healthy all season long, Paul George (Clippers) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves) would have strong cases, but they’ve only played in 26 and 30 games, respectively — we’ll see if that’s enough. While he’s not quite the star that George and KAT are, D’Angelo Russell (Warriors) is in this boat too. Like Towns, he’s had a good year, but has been limited to just 30 games and plays on one of the conference’s worst teams.

Finally, while I view them as long shots, Montrezl Harrell (Clippers), Jaren Jackson (Grizzlies), and LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs) have had very good years and deserve at least a passing mention in this discussion.

What do you think? Which seven players are you picking as your Western Conference All-Star reserves?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

The NBA announced last week that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker, and Trae Young will be the five All-Star starters from the Eastern Conference this season, as selected by fans, players, and the media. That leaves seven reserve spots to fill — two more guards, three more frontcourt players, and a pair of wild cards.

Those seven Eastern All-Stars will be announced on Thursday, but before they are, we want to get your thoughts on which players deserve to be included and which players don’t quite make the cut.

Of the five starters, all but Young are from one of the Eastern Conference’s top six teams, and you could actually make a reasonable case that the seven reserves should all be from those clubs too.

Khris Middleton is a strong candidate for the Bucks, with teammate Eric Bledsoe worthy of consideration as well. Heat swingman Jimmy Butler was on a number of ballots for the starting five and looks like a lock to be among the reserves.

Big men Bam Adebayo (Heat) and Domantas Sabonis (Pacers) have enjoyed breakout seasons, playing key roles on both ends of the court for their respective teams. Sabonis’ teammate Malcolm Brogdon has also built an All-Star case, though his numbers have slipped a little as of late and he has missed some time. Even T.J. Warren deserves a look.

Elsewhere among the conference’s top six clubs, guards Kyle Lowry (Raptors) and Ben Simmons (Sixers) have been crucial to their teams’ success, with Fred VanVleet and Tobias Harris making borderline cases for consideration too. The Celtics have a pair of young wings – Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – who are candidates to join Walker in the All-Star Game.

If you’re not inclined to give an edge to players from those top Eastern teams, all of whom have at least a 9.5-game cushion on the seventh-best team in the conference, there are a handful of solid candidates in the lottery too. Bradley Beal is putting up huge numbers for the Wizards, while Zach LaVine continues to increase his scoring average for the Bulls.

Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond have had strong seasons and have helped the Pistons remain in the hunt for a playoff spot despite the roster being hit hard by injuries. Devonte’ Graham has had a breakout year for the Hornets, while Marcus Morris has been one of the few bright spots for the Knicks.

Finally, the current seventh and eight seeds in the East don’t have any All-Star locks, since Nets star Kyrie Irving has only played in 17 games. But his backcourt mate Spencer Dinwiddie has earned at least a look, as have the Magic‘s top two scorers, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier.

What do you think? Which seven Eastern Conference players would you take to fill out 2020’s East All-Stars?

Head to the comment section below to share your picks!

Today, the NBA released the first batch of its 2020 All-Star fan voting returns. Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Lakers forward LeBron James lead the pack with over a million votes apiece.

While many of the top selections feel appropriate, there are several fluky inclusions that reek of trolling. Specifically, Lakers backup point guard Alex Caruso (who averages 5.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.7 APG in just 19.2 MPG) made the cut among the top 10 Western Conference guards, and two-way Celtics backup center Tacko Fall, who has played just three NBA games, made the list of top 10 Eastern Conference front court players.

Irresponsible votes along these lines serve as a clear example as to why fan votes are now only weighted for 50% of the total voting for All-Star game starters. Among the remaining 50%, 25% of the weighted votes are allotted to NBA players, and the remaining 25% of votes are designated for select basketball media. NBA coaches select the 14 bench players. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver makes injury substitutions.

Starting teams consist of two guards and three frontcourt players. Select wing players are listed at both guard and frontcourt positions. Bench teams for each conference comprise two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild card players of any position.

Among Eastern Conference guards, the Nets‘ Kyrie Irving (who has played in just 11 games for Brooklyn) and the 7-27 Hawks’ Trae Young are leading in fan votes over the Celtics’ Kemba Walker. Pistons backup Derrick Rose and Bulls guard Zach LaVine, two offense-only players on teams that are currently sitting on the outside of the East’s top eight squads, round out the top five among East guards. The Hawks have the single-worst record in the NBA. No matter how pretty Young’s offensive stat line is, he does not deserve All-Star inclusion this season. His lackluster defense has played a part in the Hawks’ struggles.

On the Western Conference guards’ bracket, Stephen Curry ranks among the top four in West votes for guards, despite having played just four games this season.

Heat wing Jimmy Butler deserves to start, either at guard or frontcourt. Currently ranked fourth among frontcourt options in the East, Butler is enjoying an MVP-caliber season for the No. 3 team (posting a 24-9 record) in an atypically loaded East.

There are several viable options for first-time All-Star status. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are scoring and defending in bunches for the 23-8 Celtics. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are picking up the slack in the absence of Kawhi Leonard on the Raptors.

Big man Bam Adebayo has emerged as a dynamic two-way force on the Heat. Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon have been keeping the surprisingly resilient 22-12 Pacers afloat as Victor Oladipo continues to recover.

Spencer Dinwiddie has been balling out on the 16-16 Nets sans Irving. Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert continue to put in work for an under-appreciated 21-12 season. Doncic’s numbers in Dallas have been stellar.

Here are this writer’s choices for the 2020 All-Star teams:

Eastern Conference
Starters: Guard – Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown. Frontcourt – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid.
Bench: Guard – Ben Simmons, Kyle Lowry. Frontcourt – Pascal Siakam, Bam Adebayo, Jayson Tatum. Wild Card: Domantas Sabonis, Spencer Dinwiddie.

Western Conference
Starters: Guard – James Harden, Luka Doncic. Frontcourt – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard.
Bench: Guard – Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell. Frontcourt – Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, Paul George. Wild Card: Damian Lillard, Chris Paul.

Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, Young, LaVine and Suns guard Devin Booker all have a decent chance at netting an All-Star nod this season, but their teams have been so underwhelming that rewarding them in favor of top players on better squads feels inappropriate.

What do you think? Who are your 2020 All-Star team starters and bench players? Why?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in!