The Fast Break: The three biggest All-Star snubs
The NBA's All-Star selection process is bound to produce some notable snubs every year, and this season was no different. The task of filling out the All-Star rosters without leaving worthy players behind was toughest in the West, where there is an abundance of star talent throughout the Conference and where Kobe Bryant is temporarily taking up one of 12 spots thanks to fan voting for the starting lineups.
There are some tough snubs most saw coming that are merely a part of the process when trying to whittle the world's best basketball league down to two teams of 12. In the West, Tim Duncan, Goran Dragic, Mike Conley, Ty Lawson and Isaiah Thomas (Yes, Thomas deserved consideration though he didn't get much) were expected to fall short in a stacked Conference. In the East, Lance Stephenson, Arron Afflalo and Al Jefferson made our own list of tough snubs when putting together an All-Deserving All-Star team. But there were two-to-three absolutely ridiculous snubs this year.
Kyle Lowry
While the two Western snubs we'll soon discuss at least play on losing teams and it's hard to really find West All-Stars to be angry about, Lowry has been the best player on the third-best team in his Conference and lost out to Joe Johnson, a fairly average player at this point in his career on a losing team.
Lowry's numbers, both traditional and especially advanced, stack up well against John Wall and Kyrie Irving when it comes to determining who's been the best point guard in the East through the first half of the season. That he's doing it for one of only four winning teams in the Conference only makes his absence more ridiculous, though some have pointed to Lowry's checkered past when it comes to dealing with coaches as part of the argument against him. If that's the case, politics trumped All-Star production.
Anthony Davis
The argument against having players from losing teams in the All-Star game is a valid one when discussing players who produce gaudy numbers inefficiently on losing teams simply because someone has to take the shots and have the ball in their hands. When the player in question is a 20-year-old superstar averaging 20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, a league-leading 3.3 blocks, 1.5 steals, 1.4 assists and a fifth-ranked 26.81 PER, that argument goes out the window, or at least it should.
Western Conference coaches obviously didn't get the memo.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is the best player on a Kings team currently sitting in last place in the West, yet like Davis, his ridiculous numbers this season place him among the game's best big men - 22.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and a sixth-ranked 26.58 PER.
Cousins' reputation for childish behavior likely worked against him even being in serious consideration for an All-Star spot when you couple it with a terrible team record, but don't let the attitude, the losing or the coaches fool you. The 23-year-old has played at a level well above All-Star status this season.
Davis should get the nod when it comes time to replace Kobe Bryant over the next couple of weeks and perhaps Lowry even gets a chance to participate if an East selection (Dwyane Wade?) can't take part in the festivities, whereas Cousins getting in has to be considered a long shot.
When you take into account that budding superstar Damian Lillard is probably the least deserving West All-Star this season, however - a 23-year-old point guard averaging over 20 points and five assists for a 33-13 Blazers team - the West snubs become a lot easier to stomach.
Snubbing Kyle Lowry because of Joe Johnson, on the other hand, will never go down easy.
About last night...
Suns 102, Pacers 94 - Phoenix joins Detroit as the only teams to beat the Pacers in Indiana this season, while the surprising Suns also beat the Pacers for the second time in nine days. Lance Stephenson did mark his All-Star snub by recording his fourth triple-double of the season, though.
Knicks 117, Cavaliers 86 - After another embarrassing Cavs loss, Kyrie Irving tried to shoot down reports that he already wants out of Cleveland.
Warriors 111, Clippers 92 - David Lee had 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead Golden State.
Line of the night: Goran Dragic - 28 Pts (11/21 FG, 1/2 3PT, 5/7 FT), 7 Ast, 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 TO in 34 mins.
Play of the night:
Bonus highlight:
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Chuck says:
"He’s a great player, but I can’t vote for a player with one eyebrow." - Barkley on Anthony Davis being an All-Star snub
"Unfortunately I also have to watch the rest of the Knicks." - On Carmelo Anthony being a pleasure to watch.
"If you see a kid who’s an idiot, follow him home and you’ll find two parents who are idiots."
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On tap tonight: There are eight games on the schedule tonight, headlined by Kevin Durant and the Thunder in Brooklyn to take on All-Star Joe Johnson and the resurgent Nets. Other games to keep an eye on include Grizzlies/Timberwolves from Minnesota, a big matchup between two West teams fighting to get into the top-eight, the Kings in Dallas and the Raptors in Denver (Kyle Lowry statement game?).