A FESTIVE START
The starters for the annual National Basketball Association (NBA) All- Star Game have been announced, leaving the focus now shifting to the reserves, selected by the NBA coaches and to be named later this week. And as has been customary in this space during this time of year, I would like to throw in some names who I feel deserve to see action in the main attraction of the Midseason Classic to be played this year in New Orleans on Feb. 20 (Manila time).
Named to start for the Eastern Conference are LeBron James and Kyrie Irving of the world champions Cleveland Cavaliers, Demar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls.
James is an All- Star for a 13th time. Irving is making his fourth appearance while DeRozan and Butler third. Antetokounmpo is in the game for the first time.
For this list, the seven players I’m including as reserves are Kyle Lowry (Toronto), Isaiah Thomas (Boston Celtics), John Wall ( Washington Wizards), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets), Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Kevin Love (Cleveland) and Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers).
No disrespect to DeRozan, personally I feel if there was a starter from Toronto it had to be Lowry. DeRozan (27.9 ppg) is the Raptors’ leading scorer and good at what he does but Lowry (22.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 7 apg and 1.7 spg) arguably is the heart of the team and making things happen in more ways than one for East second-running Toronto (28-16 as of this writing).
Thomas, Wall and Walker are the best players for their teams who are in the playoff picture at this stage of the competition. Boston’s Thomas (29 ppg) is the league’s second leading scorer and a big reason his team is sporting a 26-17 record. Wall (23 ppg and 10.2 apg) of the Wizards (23-20) has been a steady double-double player while Walker (23 ppg and 5.4 apg) of the Hornets (23-21) has been a true leader for his squad.
He may not get the same recognition that teammates James and Irving do but Love undeniably is a key component for the East-leading Cavaliers (30-12) with his solid double-double numbers of 20.5 points and 10.8 rebounds.
His team is still struggling for consistency but George, for his part, has been steady for the still-in-contention Pacers (22-21) with numbers of 21.9 points, 6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals.
Embiid (19.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 2.5 bpg) has only played 30 games out of a possible 42 for the Sixers ( 15- 27) but has been huge when he is on the floor, particularly in their last 10 games where they have gone 7-3. He sat out his first two NBA years because of injuries but has everybody now believing in “The Process” and his vast potential.
In the Western Conference, voted starters were Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Anthony Davis of hosts New Orleans Pelicans.
Durant has the most appearances in the All- Star Game among the West starters with eight followed by Harden with five and Curry and Davis with four appearances each. Leonard is in his second stint.
In the West team, I’ll include Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (Golden State), Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz), Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), CJ McCollum (Portland TrailBlazers) and DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers).
Having the best record in the NBA at 38-6 I don’t mind Golden State having four players in the All- Star Game with Thompson and Green joining mates Durant and Curry. Also, the two are boasting of averages worthy of a spot in it with Thompson going for 21.1 points on 47% shooting and Green doing it all with 10.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
Hayward (22.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 3.7 apg), meanwhile, has been a steady player for the highly improved two-way team Utah (29-16) and so is Marc Gasol (20.1 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.2 apg and 1.4 bpg) for everdangerous Memphis (26-20).
Their Portland (19-27) and Sacramento (16-27) teams may be out of the playoff picture right now but I’m still giving McCollum and Cousins spots for how they have consistently delivered for their clubs. Damian Lillard is still the man for Portland but McCollum I believe has been having it better up to this point with numbers of 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Cousins, for his part, has been unrelenting with norms of 28.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks.
Chris Paul would have been an easy All- Star pick from the West fourth-running Clippers but a thumb injury has forced him out so I’m giving his spot to teammate Jordan (12.7 ppg, 13.9 rpg and 1.8 bpg) who is vital as well in the success of his team.
There you have it, my reserve choices. How about you? Who are your NBA All- Star reserves?