By: Chuddy | 8 PM |
The 73rd annual NBA All-Star is fast approaching, taking place on Sunday February 18th at 8 PM EST on TNT. The game will be played in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the league has opted to return to the conventional East vs. West format, ditching the format from recent years with captains and a draft.
The starters for the game have already been announced, as selected by a combination of fan, media, and player voting. And the reserves will be announced this Thursday night, and those players are selected by coaches around the league.
Sadly, I don’t (yet) have a media credential to vote for the game or an official awards ballot from the NBA - hopefully that will change next season. But I do have my own thoughts, and will provide the official starters and reserves for the East and West, according to King Chuddy.
Before we get into my picks, it’s important to remember a few things:
- Only 24 players can make it. Each conference only gets 12 all-stars to represent 15 teams.
- The league is more talented than ever, and competition for these spots is stiffer than it’s ever been. Believe it or not, there are A LOT of good players in the NBA with deserving cases to make an all-star team.
- Many good players will NOT make the all-star game. This is a natural consequence of points 1 and 2. There are going to be 10-15 players, at least, who can say they were “snubbed”, but again, if you want to add someone, you have to take someone off.
- There will be some tough omissions, and that’s just the nature of the beast. There have been cries to expand the all-star rosters to 15 players per conference, and maybe that’s necessary. But for now, that’s just a dream for the future.
- I did my best to be consistent, unbiased, and to explain my rationale for all of my picks, but feel free to disagree!
Without further ado, the official King Chuddy All-Star ballot for the Eastern Conference:
EAST STARTERS:
G - Tyrese Haliburton
G - Donovan Mitchell
F - Jayson Tatum
F - Giannis Antetokounmpo
F- Joel Embiid
The East starters are pretty straightforward for the most part, and I only have one difference from the actual starters. The starting frontcourt is locked in as could be. Embiid, Giannis, and Tatum are head and shoulders against the next tier of frontcourt players in the conference.
They’re arguably the three best overall players in the entire conference, and have been leading the top 3 teams in the East for almost the entire season, and as of the most recent Kia MVP ladder, all three players rank in the top 5. They are the only 3 players from the Eastern conference in the top 10 currently.
The next player to appear on the MVP ladder from the East? That would be Tyrese Haliburton in 11th, who has been the lynchpin of the best offense in the NBA. Those four players are virtual locks in my eyes; the only real debate comes down to the second starting guard.
The official starter is Damian Lillard but I went in a different direction and chose Donovan Mitchell. For me it came down to Mitchell or Jalen Brunson. Lillard has been good, but he’s having a down year by his standards, and is clearly the second option on a Bucks team that has been slightly disappointing overall.
Mitchell, on the other hand, has been incredible this year, keeping the Cavs afloat even without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. He’s been the clear number one option, and a real steadying presence on a team that has vastly overachieved, regardless of who is in or out of the lineup.
EAST RESERVES:
G - Jalen Brunson
G - Tyrese Maxey
F - Jaylen Brown
F - Bam Adebayo
F - Paolo Banchero
WC - Damian Lillard
WC - Trae Young
Picking the East reserves was a challenge, but the players all seemed to fall into place. Brunson has been the best player, and offensive engine for a Knicks team that has exceeded all expectations and continues to look more like a contender every day. His rise to stardom has been incredible to watch, and he has a really good case to be a starter.
Tyrese Maxey has taken an incredible leap, himself, to become a true 1b to the 1a that is Joel Embiid. Maxey has stepped right into this role and immediately proven to be an elite and efficient point guard on heavy usage, in a way that has contributed to winning.
After a slow start, Jaylen Brown has been the third best forward in the East this season. He’s playing the best basketball of his career on both ends, has fit in perfectly to an adjusted role, and has been the second best player on the best team in the NBA.
Bam Adebayo has been one of the only consistent parts of this Miami Heat season, carrying a massive load on both offense and defense he’s taken another leap, even from last season, and with all the injuries, Adebayo is the main reason the Heat are even in playoff contention at the moment.
The Magic have floundered a bit recently after a sizzling start, but the play of Paolo Banchero has not dipped in the slightest. The second year player looks like he could be one of the faces of the league for many years to come, and this will likely be his first all-star appearance of many.
The final two wild card slots were incredibly hard to choose, as there were a plethora of deserving players having amazing seasons. At the end of the day, I went with two more guards, Damian Lillard and Trae Young. While I mentioned Lillard’s numbers being down as a reason to not have him starting, he’s still having a very good year, and has been one of the most clutch players in the league - a big reason why the Bucks record is as good as it is, and they are still in the #2 seed in the East.
Young was an even harder selection, especially because the Hawks have been so disappointing as a team, and there are other players who have certainly contributed more to winning. But what Young has done, both scoring and assisting has been nothing short of elite, and I think the gap in usage and individual performance from Young to the next few options was too massive for me to get past.
HONORABLE MENTION:
G - Derrick White
G - Coby White
G - Scottie Barnes
F - Kristaps Porzingis
F - Julius Randle
F - Jimmy Butler
This is a long list of “snubs”, or as I’d rather call them, honorable mention. In other years they may have been worthy of a spot, but this year the competition was simply too much. Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis have both been a huge part of the Celtics’ success this year, but having three players from one team in this economy is a tough sell. Porzingis could easily have made the team, but he has missed too many games.
White has a very polarizing case, and has become a real analytics darling this season. Choosing between guys like White and Young is a bit of a Rorschach test, as White is like the ultimate role player, doing everything at a high level, in a way that contributes to winning, while Young has put up gaudy stats, but on a bad team. Ultimately I think White is the better and more valuable player to a contending team, but purely for an all-star game, I think you have to reward the player who is taking on more offensive responsibility, and is the focal point of every opposing team’s gameplan.
Jimmy Butler has just missed too many games, and hasn’t been great in the games he has played. Julius Randle was on the fringe and now he is injured for several weeks anyway. Coby White and Scottie Barnes have both taken huge leaps this year, taking on major roles, but leading teams with losing records. They both deserve to be mentioned for their play, but they’re probably a year or two away.
