NBA All-Star Picks

Last week the NBA announced the results of the fan voting that selected the starters for this year's All-Star game, while the rest of the rosters will be revealed this Thursday.  The voting process always becomes a popularity contest, but the fans did a reasonable job of selecting a deserving group of starters.  With the exception of Kobe Bryant, who was selected despite playing in only six games due to injury, because.. well - he's Kobe.

Injuries have robbed the league of many familiar names, including Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez, and Al Horford.  All of these former All-Stars are likely out for the season, while Rajon Rondo's recent return from an ACL injury suffered last year prevents him from accumulating enough of a sample size to warrant consideration on on this list.

If it were up to me to pick the All-Star rosters, they would likely end up a bit differently from what the final rosters will end up being.  So here are my picks for this year's game.  Keep in mind that the requirements are for the starters to include two guards and three frontcourt players.  The reserves must include the same, along with two wild card spots that can come from any position.

Eastern Conference

Starters
G - Kyle Lowry
G - John Wall
FC - Paul George
FC - LeBron James
FC - Carmelo Anthony

Kyrie Irving was voted as a starter, but Lowry and Wall are both more deserving.  Irving has a minuscule lead in PER (20.06), but trails in most other advanced stats, including TS%, Assist Ratio and Estimated Wins Added.  He also remains a poor defender, while Wall ranks 5th in the league in steals and Lowry is the best overall defender of the three.  Lowry has flourished since Toronto jettisoned Rudy Gay to the West Coast, increasing his offense and leading a surprising Raptors squad to an unlikely Atlantic Division lead.   Wall is the leader of a steadily improving Wizards team that has hovered around the .500 mark - which sadly is enough to place them in the middle of the playoff race in the pathetic Eastern Conference.  Meanwhile, at what point do we start holding it against Irving that he's never played for a winning team?

The frontcourt selections are easy, with LeBron James leading the way with a Conference best PER (28.84)

and the other two right behind him.  If you discount the injured Brook Lopez - James, Anthony and George make up the East leaders in PER (as well as headline the All-Stars for guys with last names that could be first names!).  LeBron has been called out for coasting through the season at times this year, but that's a tribute to the high expectations we hold him too.  He's still far and away the best player in the East.  Melo was headed toward another All-Star spot even before his historic 62 point game last week.  He's second in the league in scoring (27.2 points per game) and has increased his rebounding to a career high 9.0 boards per game. George is following up his breakout season by taking another leap to Superstar status, while leading the team with the league's best record.  He's improved his scoring (8th in the league), while remaining one of the  league's better wing stoppers for an elite defense.

The one thing this lineup is missing is height.  Either LeBron or Melo can shift to power forward, but the starters lack a true center.  Unfortunately, there isn't a legit center in the East worthy of a starting spot.  Roy Hibbert may be running away with the Defensive Player of the Year award, but it'd be a stretch to consider him a starter on this squad.  The whole reason the NBA revamped the voting process to include three frontcourt players is to avoid having to make such a reach just to fill a positional quota.

Reserves
G - Dwyane Wade
G - Kyrie Irving
FC - Paul Milsap
FC - Roy Hibbert
FC - Chris Bosh
WC - Joakim Noah
WC - DeMar DeRozan

Wade's numbers on a per game basis are worthy of making him a starter. The problem is, he's missed 13 games already, while cutting his minutes to a career low 33.0 per game, in an effort to keep him intact until the playoffs.  He still needs to be on the team, but it's enough for me to drop him out of the starting lineup. Irving just missed the cut for the starters as well, but he still gets on the team anyway - mostly due to the lack of depth at the guard position in the East.

Milsap gets the nod for keeping the Hawks afloat in the wake of Al Horford's season ending injury, which

should have derailed the team.  Yet they remain tied for the third best record in the East thanks in large part to Milsap, who is 10th in the East in PER (20.36).  His numbers won't blow you away in any one category, but he produces well in a lot of areas and is a rare big man that averages over one steal, block and 3-pointer per game.  Speaking of big men, the roster does need a few.  Hibbert doesn't offer much on the offensive end and his rebounding is a bit disappointing for a player his size, but he still blocks 2.6 shots per game and anchors the league's best defense.  Bosh's overall numbers are down, but he's offset that with improved efficiency.  He's 9th in the East in PER and the only players in the Conference with a better TS% than Bosh's .613 that average over 30 minutes per game are LeBron James and Kyle Korver (who offers little else beyond outside shooting).  He's extended his range to hit a respectable 37% from beyond the arc, helping Miami create the spacing their offense thrives on.

After a slow start to the season, Noah has been on a tear since Chicago traded his buddy Luol Deng.  He's averaging a double-double over the past month that includes 14.3 rebounds per game over that span, while providing his typical elite defense.  He narrowly beats out Andre Drummond for my last big man selection. Drummond has been a beast with the East's second best rebound rate, but his limited offensive game can be a liability thanks to his miserable free throw shooting (39% from the free throw line!).  Noah, on the other hand, is one of the league's best passing big men and is essential to facilitating the Bulls offense.  DeRozan gets a slight edge over Arron Afflalo for the final spot.  Afflalo is a much more efficient shooter that is carrying Orlando's young offense, but DeRozan is averaging more points and has a slightly higher PER and EWA.  He's also doing it for a playoff contender, while Afflalo is merely putting up stats on a bad team.

Honorable Mention
Andre Drummond, Arron Afflalo, Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, Kemba Walker

Western Conference

Starters
G - Stephen Curry
G - James Harden
FC - Kevin Durant
FC - Kevin Love
FC - LaMarcus Aldridge

Curry is arguably the league's best shooter, averaging a league best 3.3 per game from beyond the arc at a rate just under 40% this season.  After being last year's biggest All-Star snub, Curry has taken his game to another level, proving he's not just a shooter.  Not only is he 6th in the league in scoring (42.1), but he's second in assists (9.3).  Kobe may have the starting job based on name recognition, which earns him votes from fans that aren't paying any attention, but Harden has supplanted him as the league's best shooting guard. His numbers are down slightly from his first season in Houston - in part due to the addition of Dwight Howard, which has cost him touches and slowed the team's pace.  That's offset by Howard's presence protecting the rim helping to mask Harden's poor defense.

Kevin Durant has been the best player in the league this season and has taken his game to new levels in the

absence of Russell Westbrook.  His 31.15 PER is easily the best in the league.  Only three players have ever finished a season with a PER over 31 - LeBron, Jordan and Wilt.  Pretty good company right there.  He also has an insane 17.6 EWA.  Durant is currently riding an 11-game streak of scoring 30+ points, including one game where he put up 54.  His TS% (.645) is easily the best in the West among players that spend more than 20 minutes per game on the court.  Oh, and he's also leading the team with the best record in the West, despite playing without his All-Star sidekick.  It would take a complete collapse (or LeBron showing us some other gear we never knew existed) over the next couple months for Durant to miss out on his first MVP award.

The West is loaded with deserving big men, so narrowing it down to two other starters is going to be tough. Love is third in the West in PER and second in EWA.  He's 4th in the league in scoring and second in rebounding.  These types of numbers would put him in the MVP conversation if he played for a winning team, but out West a .500 record isn't going to put the Wolves in the postseason.  Aldridge isn't too far behind in those categories, while his Blazers have been one of the league's most pleasant surprises this season, with the third best record in the West.

Reserves
G - Chris Paul
G - Damian Lillard
FC - Blake Griffin
FC - Anthony Davis
FC - DeMarcus Cousins
WC - Dirk Nowitzki
WC - Goran Dragic

CP3 is the best point guard on the planet and would be an automatic start if he weren't currently sitting out with a separated shoulder.  He claims he'll make it back in time for All-Star weekend and if he's ready to go by then, he deserves to be in the game.  Lillard should join him at the other reserve guard spot for his role in lifting Portland to contender status.  His low 41.7% field goal percentage is misleading, given that nearly half his shots come from three-point range.  He's actually shooting a tick better from deep (41.9%) than he is from inside the arc, making him one of the most efficient long range shooters in the league.

Anyone who thinks Griffin is just a guy that dunks a lot, hasn't been paying attention.  His game is much more

well rounded these days and he has taken his game to another level to carry the Clippers since CP3 went down with an injury.  He is averaging a career high in points, thanks to improved efficiency at the free throw line (a respectably 71.5%), which has long been his weak spot.  Despite playing next to the league's leading rebounder, he's also managed to pull down nearly 10 boards per game.  Davis has joined the conversation as one of the league's best big men by averaging over 20-and-10, with a league leading 3.1 blocks per game. If the New Orleans roster weren't so injury ravaged this season, Davis would have his team on the verge of a playoff spot.  Maybe next year.  Cousins can be a head case, but there is no denying his talent when he's properly motivated.  This year, that's been the case more often than not.  He's 4th in the West in PER and 3rd in EWA.  Playing for the worst team in the West may hold him back, but his numbers are deserving of a spot on this roster.  Dirk is quietly enjoying a fantastic bounce back season, ranking 6th in the West in PER, while keeping Dallas in the mix for a playoff spot.  He also has an outside chance of shooting his way to the second 50-40-90 season of his career.

That leaves the final spot out West for... Goran Dragic??  There are certainly flashier names that could steal this spot, but Dragic deserves it.  No, seriously.  His 21.40 PER trails only Paul and Curry for West point guards and he's stepped up big time since Eric Bledsoe went down with an injury to carry the Suns.  I wouldn't argue with a vote for Mike Conley in this spot given his recent sizzling play and the playoff push Memphis is making of late.  Tony Parker is in the conversation too - especially when you consider that a team with the West's second best record should have at least one All-Star representative.  But the Spurs have a lot more depth, which has allowed coach Popovich to rest his older stars.  One of those guys could get in anyway if Chris Paul isn't ready to go by the All-Star break.

If it were possible, we'd let some of these guys from the loaded Western Conference play for the East team, but since we have to play by the NBA's rules, it's inevitable that we'll end up leaving a few guys with some legitimate gripes about getting snubbed.

Honorable Mention
Mike Conley, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, David Lee