Curry, Durant among All-Star vote leaders
Stephen Curry leads all Western Conference guards in the early returns of fans voting for the 2019 All- Star Game, and his Warriors teammate Kevin Durant is third among frontcourt players, the league announced Thursday.
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson (fifth among guards) and Draymond Green (ninth among frontcourt players) predictably face longer odds of being voted in by the fans, whose votes count for 50 percent of the vote to determine who’ll start in the 68th All-Star Game.
LeBron James of the Lakers is the top vote-getter in the Western Conference (1,083,363), with a little more than a 290,000-vote edge on Curry. The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Eastern Conference in votes (991,561). The top vote-getters in each conference will be captains and will draft teams from the remaining All- Stars, regardless of conference affiliation.
Curry, who was the Western Conference captain last year and drafted with Eastern Conference leader James, is especially looking forward to making his sixth straight All- Star team. The game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. PT in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
In addition to the fans vote, 25
percent of the vote will be NBA players’ vote and the other 25 percent will be determined by a media panel’s vote. The voting will end on Monday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. PT.
Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose is the surprise second-leader in guard voting in the Western Conference, roughly 150,000 votes ahead of the Rockets’ James Harden, who trails by about 240,000 in the fans’ initial voting results.
Durant, James and Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic are the current frontcourt leaders in the West. Doncic is 75,000 votes ahead of Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.
Injured Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins, who is inching closer to making his Golden State debut, is 10th among Western Conference frontcourt men.
In the Eastern Conference, Antetokounmpo, the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard and the 76ers’ Joel Embiid are the frontcourt leaders. Kyrie Irving of the Celtics and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade are the leaders In the backcourt for the East. SOFT LANDING » The Warriors indirectly helped the Rockets.
After waiving Danuel House Jr in favor of Alfonzo McKinnie during training camp, House has since joined the Rockets as their starting forward. He entered Thursday’s game averaging 8.3 points on 47.1 percent shooting and starting the previous five contests.
“He almost made the team. It came down to Danuel and Alfonzo,” Kerr said. “Ultimately we chose Alfonzo because of his athleticism and defensive versatility. I thought he had a really good training camp.
“It just came down to numbers. We’re all really happy for him. He’s doing great in Houston and is in a good spot.” HARD TO STOP » Throughout his career, Rockets guard James Harden has developed a penchant for getting to the free throw line.
Over his last six seasons, Harden has finished with more makes from the free throw line than makes from the field. His unique ability to draw foul calls has garnered criticism around the league. However, when asked Thursday if Harden’s approach was respected around the league, Warriors guard Thompson said Harden’s style didn’t matter.
“I don’t know if they do but it gets good results,” Thompson said. “His scoring numbers are incredible so you almost like you have to because of the results. His production is incredible.”
Harden has been on a tear, averaging 39.7 points and 8.5 assists over his last 11 games, including a 50 point, 10 rebound, 11 assist triple- double performance against the Lakers last month. Over his scoring stretch, the Rockets have posted a 10-1 record, even without injured all- star guard Chris Paul. During the scoring binge, Harden is averaging 14.2 free throw attempts per game.
In Monday’s 113-101 win over the Grizzlies, Harden scored a game- high 43 points on just eight attempts as he went 21- of-27 from the line. According to Thompson, Harden’s propensity to get to the line is rooted in his style of play.
“He just shows you the ball and as a defender,” Thompson said. “It looks real good and he snatches it quickly away and you’re reaching for the wrist instead of the ball sometimes so there’s a huge part of staying disciplined and not even attempting to go for the steal but just try and make him score over you. Because it looks like its right there for you and he moves it real quick and you’ll have all wrist before you know it.”
Going into Thursday’s matchup, Thompson has a simple goal when he guards Harden.
“Just get the win,” Thompson said. “No one remembers what you unless you win.”