The NBA All-Deserving All-Stars
In response to last week's announcement of the 2013-14 All-Star game starters as voted by the fans, we examined which 10 players actually deserved a starting spot at the annual February exhibition.
Today, in advance of tonight's announcement of the All-Star reserves, we conclude our look at all of the deserving All-Stars through the first half of the 2013-14 season.
First, let's look back at the 10 deserving starters as of last Friday:
Eastern Conference: Dwyane Wade, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Paul George, Roy Hibbert
Western Conference: Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge
Now let's get to the reserves, beginning in the Eastern Conference.
All-Deserving East Reserves:
Guards
John Wall - 19.8 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.9 SPG
You can basically flip a coin between Wall and Lowry for who deserves to start for the East, as the fourth-year Kentucky product is enjoying his best NBA season to date, averaging career-highs in points, assists and steals, and supplementing it with a 19.91 PER for a decent Wizards team that has hovered around .500 for much of the season. Without Wall, they'd be nowhere near that mark.
Kyrie Irving - 21.5 PPG, 6.2 APG, 3.0 RPG
Irving's numbers are down almost across the board, he hasn't taken the leap into full blown superstardom that most expected this season, the Cavs haven't taken any sort of expected leap, and Kyrie is being accused of pouting and putting his brand before the team. Having said all of that, just because a player's level of play has regressed, stagnated or just isn't living up to expectations, it doesn't mean that he isn't still producing at an All-Star level, which Irving clearly still is.
Frontcourt
Carmelo Anthony - 27.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.2 SPG
Anthony, who was voted in as a starter, was left off our All-Deserving starters list to make room for Roy Hibbert. He then put up a Knicks record 62 points on 23-of-35 shooting that very night. He's averaging over 27 points and nine rebounds per game with a career-high 24.96 PER. In addition, the Knicks outscore opponents by 1.3 points per 48 minutes with Anthony on the floor and are outscored by 14 points per 48 minutes with Anthony on the bench. If he's not going to be in your deserving starting five, he damn well better be your first reserve.
Chris Bosh - 16.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.0 BPG
Don't let the modest numbers fool you. Bosh is still one of the game's best big men as he continues to score efficiently (.612 True Shooting Percentage) and ply his trade as one of the most underrated defenders in the league for the two-time defending champs. Just imagine what he could still do numbers wise with a usage rate closer to his old Toronto days (25-ish) as opposed to his current rate of 20.5.
Joakim Noah - 11.7 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.1 APG
Noah remains the heart and soul of a Bulls team that is suddenly climbing the Eastern Conference standings again despite the seemingly endless adversity thrown their way. Other big men can tout higher scoring averages, but Noah can fill a boxscore himself and there's simply no way you can leave him off the list of All-Stars in the pitiful East.
Wild Cards
DeMar DeRozan - 21.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.2 SPG
The knock on DeRozan has always been that he's a volume scorer who doesn't do much else, but the 24-year-old has shown off a much more complete game this season while teaming with Kyle Lowry to lead Toronto to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference sans Rudy Gay. In addition, DeRozan's career-high 17.99 PER shows the improved efficiency in his game. The only other players in the East averaging at least 20, 4, 3 and 1 are James, George and Anthony. Add the 24-21 record, and DeRozan deserves this spot.
Paul Millsap - 17.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG
The Hawks have managed to stay in the hunt for the East's No. 3 seed without Al Horford, and Millsap (along with Jeff Teague) is the main reason why. This has nothing to do with simply believing a good team needs to be represented at the All-Star game and everything to do with believing an Alll-Star quality player in a weak Conference absolutely needs to be represented.
Biggest East snubs: Lance Stephenson, Al Jefferson, Arron Afflalo
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All-Deserving West Reserves:
Guards
James Harden - 23.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.9 RPG, 1.3 SPG
That Harden scores nearly 24 points per game and boasts a usage rate above 26 on a True Shooting Percentage a hair under .600 is remarkable. That he provides that kind of efficient, prolific scoring while still chipping in on the glass and in the assists department for a 31-17 team only confirms his status as one of the NBA's best guards. His defense leaves too much to be desired and Harden is often justifiably criticized for it, but there's no denying his place among West All-Stars.
Tony Parker - 18.1 PPG, 6.2 APG, 2.4 RPG
Parker's numbers have dipped this season but he remains a great player on a great team, and there's a reason most would still rank him in their top-5 or top-10 at worst when it comes to voting on an MVP this season. Numbers aside, if you have to pick a West guard to play just one game for you and Paul and Curry are already off the board, you're going with Parker.
Frontcourt
Blake Griffin - 22.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG
Griffin's performance and the Clippers' sustained success since Chris Paul went down have put the fourth-year big man on the Third-place MVP shortlist (we all know who 1st and 2nd will be), and you can easily make the argument for Griffin to be a deserving starter in addition to being a literal starter. There's a lot of b.s. spewed out there about the many assumed flaws in Griffin's game, but don't listen to it. The guy is a superstar and an unquestionable All-Star.
Dirk Nowitzki - 21.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.0 SPG
Nowitzki's incredible performance (38 points, 17 rebounds) in a losing effort against the Rockets last night was just his latest reminder that the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer is far from done. Dirk remains one of the best, most dynamic scorers in the game, posting his best True Shooting Percentage (.589) in three years and his best PER (23.89) in six years for a Mavericks team that has exceeded expectations in a brutally tough Western Conference. Throw age out the window, Dirk has been a surefire All-Star.
Anthony Davis - 20.4 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.3 BPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 APG
The same way we threw age out the window when discussing Dirk's All-Star credentials, we're going to with 20-year-old sophomore Anthony Davis as well. Davis is already playing at a superstar level, and despite the Pelicans' 19-26 record, virtually all metrics rank him among the game's elite players already. He's one of 18 players averaging over 20 points per game, he's 11th in rebounding, he leads the league in blocks, his 26.81 PER ranks fifth and he ranks seventh in Basketball Reference's Win Shares per 48 minutes.
Wild Cards
Dwight Howard - 18.1 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.7 APG
Howard remains one of the league's most devastating defensive forces, and he's put up seven games of at least 26 points and 11 rebounds this season while suiting up in all 48 games for a contending Rockets team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries so far. His place in a wild card spot isn't meant to take away from his continued excellence, but rather is an indication of how unfairly competitive the Western Conference is.
DeMarcus Cousins - 22.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 2.2 BPG
Yes, Cousins has a poor track record, plays for the last place team in the Conference and picking two frontcourt players as wild cards means more guards are being snubbed, but look around the Western Conference, there are going to be ridiculous snubs no matter how you decide on the teams. At the end of the day, it just seems preposterous to overlook a 23-year-old big man averaging 22.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and a 26.58 PER when discussing All-Stars.
Biggest West snubs: Damian Lillard, Tim Duncan, Isaiah Thomas, Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Goran Dragic
***
So to recap, based on this humble opinion, the 24 deserving NBA All-Stars look like this:
All-Deserving Eastern Conference All-Stars:
Guards: Dwyane Wade, Kyle Lowry, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan
Frontcourt: LeBron James, Paul George, Roy Hibbert, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Joakim Noah, Paul Millsap
All-Deserving Western Conference All-Stars:
Guards: Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Tony Parker
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard DeMarcus Cousins