COURT SIDE
Picking the West’s all-star reserves a huge challenge ... Pelicans lose Davis again ... Embiid filling the stat-sheet ... George comes through in the clutch
We picked our NBA all-star
starters last week (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker for the Eastern Conference,
Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden for the West) and now it’s time to dig deep on the reserves.
The seven reserves for each conference are chosen without regard for position.
The West is an absolute dogfight. Denver’s Nikola
Jokic could easily have taken the forward spot occupied by Davis, and Oklahoma City’s
Paul George has a case to supplant James, who has missed a lot of time — an extreme rarity for him — due to injury.
George has never been better and Jokic conjures images of big men like Arvydas Sabonis and Bill Walton with the way he passes the ball. They are no-brainers.
Utah centre Rudy Gobert is arguably the most dominant current defender in the league and trails only Davis in win shares. He’s an easy pick.
Portland’s Damian Lillard has not quite been the fringe MVP candidate he usually is, but he’s still performed at an awfully high level (eighth in the NBA in win shares, 10th in scoring and value over replacement player).
I’m taking Jrue Holiday ,of the Pelicans, even though his two-way skills often fly under the radar. He’s an incredible defender and also puts up 20.8 points and 8.1 assists per game. Holiday’s one of the most underrated players in the league and deserves a selection, even if it’s odd to give lowly New Orleans two all-stars.
Which leaves two spots and Karl-Anthony Towns, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic, Mike Conley Jr., LaMarcus Aldridge, Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari, Canadian Jamal Murray and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox all having decent-solid cases for them.
Thompson had a rough start and is boosted significantly by the presence of Curry and Harden. Harris and Gallinari split a vote, while Fox and Murray aren’t quite there, yet. Conley Jr. gets penalized for the stunning Memphis free-fall.
While Westbrook appears to no longer be able to shoot while also no longer being Oklahoma City’s best player, he’s still a monster and deserves another appearance.
Doncic has been tremendous, but it feels weird to give a rookie a spot when the likes of James didn’t get one in his first season. Plus has he been better than Towns or Aldridge? It’s close. Towns loses points for being AWOL for the end of the Jimmy Butler era. He has turned it on, but it’s too little, too late, at least for this year.
Aldridge has done the most to keep San Antonio afloat, by far and he’s our choice. Towns and Doncic will be perennial additions, so don’t feel too bad for them.
The West is insane and I don’t feel good about these choices.
The Eastern Conference is far less complicated. Washington’s Bradley Beal and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons could easily been chosen starter over Walker, but we went with the feel-good factor (the game is in Charlotte) and the idea that Walker has the least help of any of the all-stars. Regardless, Simmons and Beal are great and locks. Blake Griffin has been stellar for Dwane Casey’s
Detroit Pistons and is another simple choice.
Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic will justifiably earn his first all-star berth. He’s always been a good player, but this year, Vucevic has been brilliant for the surprising Magic.
I don’t think either Butler or Kyle Lowry have been close to themselves this season and the way they’ve carried themselves as leaders doesn’t help their causes. The Butler drama factor is way too high and Lowry has seemed off ever since his pal
DeMar DeRozan was wisely dealt for Leonard, even though Lowry has always maintained that all that matters to him is getting a “gold ball” (championship), something that trade gave him a far better shot of attaining.
Plus Lowry’s jump shot has abandoned him and his defence has been hit-andmiss, with too many blow-bys on a nightly basis. Lowry has also missed a fair bit of time, as has Victor Oladipo. Still, Indiana’s Oladipo has been a bit better than either Lowry or Butler and gets a spot.
Which leaves two coveted places. It would be nice to reward Brooklyn for turning heads, but while D’Angelo Russell has been good,
Spencer Dinwiddie has done his part too and there just isn’t enough separation.
East leaders Toronto and Milwaukee deserve a second all-star and Pascal Siakam has done enough to make it, showing consistency regardless of who is, or isn’t, in the lineup with him. Had Lowry played more games he’d probably squeak in, but Siakam has been tremendous and more consistent. Very little separates Khris
Middleton and Eric Bledsoe, who is having a career season and defending at an elite level, but Middleton is more important to Milwaukee’s fortunes and he’s the final choice, but not by much.
If this was done regardless of conference, Siakam and Middleton would be out, Towns and Doncic would be in.
DAVIS DOWN AGAIN
There will come a day when the great Anthony Davis no longer plays for the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s unclear how far off that day is, but once again, the superstar is out of the New Orleans lineup due to an injury.
Davis, who is averaging 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, will miss at least a week with a finger issue, though the team at least avoided the fear of a month-long absence.
He played in 75 games in each of the past two seasons, but missed at least 18 in each of his first three NBA campaigns. Ankle, knee, hand, back and shoulder issues have been just some of the things that have put him on the shelf.
Ironically, the timing of the Davis injury news coincided with the long-awaited return to action of his former teammate DeMarcus Cousins, now with the Golden State Warriors.
New Orleans has sunk to 12th in the West.
AROUND THE RIM
Sixers centre Embiid can become just the fourth player to average at least 26 points and 13 rebounds per game in a season over the past 30 years (Shaquille O’Neal twice, Hakeem Olajuwon and
Kevin Love) ... Thunder forward George had gone just 9-for-73 (12%) on shots to tie or take the lead in the last minute of a game until hitting a winner. No player had shot worse in those situations over the past 10 years, according to NBA.com’s John Schumann.