Christian Cieri – Illustrator
We’re living in quite the era of NBA basketball. There haven’t been this many big, marketable stars in this many cities since the ‘80s, a time that some still consider the heyday of the league.
As far as All-Star games, this is both good and bad. On one hand, it’s great to see different players getting their due every year, and the large talent pool means that there aren’t any flash-in-the-pan-type players sneaking on the roster that’ll have you saying, “He made an All-Star team?” in three years (ahem, Jamaal Magloire).
However, the sheer volume of deserving candidates means that we get gems like this Damian Lillard Instagram post: “I just want to thank the coaches who feel I wasn’t good enough, the fans that didn’t think I was good enough, and Adam Silver also for not thinking I was good enough.” Yes, worthy players miss the cut, and it often becomes a bigger story than the actual roster. That is both extremely annoying and something that happens almost every year.
For example: when someone deemed “undeserving” makes the team, you get one group of writers turning up their noses and saying, “This is why we shouldn’t let any old casual fan vote.” I presume that afterwards they go to Barnes & Noble and passive-aggressively scoff at people buying James Patterson novels, but that’s yet to be confirmed. Then another group counters that the All-Star Game is nothing but a showcase of the players that the people want to see most, so the actual quality of who makes the team in the end is irrelevant. That would make sense if players’ Hall of Fame cases weren’t constantly judged on, oh, how many All-Star games they made throughout their careers. If you get cheated one year because someone else got the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, you’d be justifiably pissed!
So, rather than get involved in either of those arguments, let’s do what sports fans have been doing since the Greeks were wrestling naked—argue about the minutiae of ultimately meaningless awards.
Eastern Conference Starters:
Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors
John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards
LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks
Pau Gasol, PF, Chicago Bulls
Bench:
Jimmy Butler, SF, Chicago Bulls
Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers
Paul Millsap, PF, Atlanta Hawks
Al Horford, C, Atlanta Hawks
Jeff Teague, PG, Atlanta Hawks
Chris Bosh, PF, Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat
It says a little something about the state of the Eastern Conference that fewer than half of the teams in the conference are represented here. Top to bottom, though, this is a pretty strong crew, but there are definitely some legitimate questions.
Dwyane Wade has played just 35 games this year, logging just 32 minutes per contest. He’s scoring 21 PPG on 49% shooting for a sub-.500 team, which is nice, and probably worthy of a spot on the team most years. The problem is that Kyle Korver, who would be the fourth (absolutely deserving) Hawk on this team, is having one of the greatest shooting seasons in the history of the sport. His true shooting percentage of .743 leads the league, basically unheard of for a volume 3-point shooter. While he can’t really create his own shot or play much defense, Korver’s very presence on the court bends defenses in ways that allow everyone else to get open shots.
What he’s done for a Hawks team that’s been the best in the league this year is absolutely fantastic, and is more than enough to warrant him a spot over Wade.
Besides that, Nikola Vucevic (19.4 PPG, 11.4 RPG) might have a gripe with Chris Bosh grabbing a frontcourt spot over him, but his team’s shoddy record and questions about his skill outside of grabbing boards and throwing them back up the rim rightfully push him out for this year.
Western Conference Starters:
Steph Curry, PG, Golden State Warriors
James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets (projected)
Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers
Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies
Anthony Davis, PF, New Orleans Pelicans
Bench:
James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento Kings
Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers
Tim Duncan, C, San Antonio Spurs
Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, Portland Trailblazers
Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
First of all—it should be noted that Kobe, who is injured, is being replaced by the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins. However, on the original roster, Cousins was left off.
Now—assuming that the roster above had stayed with Kobe in the starting lineup and DeMarcus watching from home for the actual game, we’d be looking at three pretty grievous snubs here.
Cousins has been an absolute monster this year, averaging 23.6 PPG and 12.6 RPG in an age where very few guys are able to put up those sorts of numbers. His PER of 24.9 is extremely impressive, and while he could certainly cut down on the turnovers and ball-watching, he’s been nothing short of an All-Star this year. His exclusion from this team is a consequence of Tim Duncan’s selection. I’m as big a Duncan fan as anyone, but there’s no way he deserved to make the team over Cousins.
He’s been his old wily self, directing on offense and defense, but he hasn’t affected games at the level of Cousins.
Duncan has played nine more games, which may have figured into his selection, but this was a miscue.
Then there’s our friend Damian Lillard. Dangerous Dame has been an integral part of Portland’s defensive resurgence this year, while continuing to make Portland’s potent offense flow. They’re currently the four seed in the gladiator ring that is the Western conference, and, for the first time in a long time, it seems like they could make real damage.
Now, how is it that Kevin Durant, who’s played just 22 games this year, has made it in over Lillard, who’s played every single one of his team’s games this season?
While Durant has certainly played better than Lillard, the Thunder have been mediocre at best, even in the games he has appeared in. Lillard’s contributions to a winning team have been, overall, much more impressive than Durant’s admittedly great game-to-game play.
Lastly, Mike Conley, Jr. needs to make an All-Star team or Mark Stein is going to have aneurysm. The Grizzlies’ point guard counting stats won’t blow anyone away, but his percentages have been stellar, and his maturation as a leader has the Grizzlies as the two seed in the West. His defense has been spectacular, as usual, and this should’ve been the year for him. Kobe was elected on reputation alone, but in a perfect world, his spot would belong to Conley.
Bernstein is a member of
the class of 2018.
