Even though the Warriors are the defending champs and own the best record in the league (and a better record through 46 games than any team has ever had), that doesn’t necessarily mean they deserved three All-Stars in the minds of the head coaches. The Spurs are only three games behind in the standings, and they didn’t necessarily deserve two players, let alone three.
Turns out the coaches appreciate winning.
West reserves are: Green, Davis, Paul, Cousins, Thompson, Harden Aldridge.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 28, 2016
Remember when the Warriors were literally begging to get Monta Ellis on the All-Star team? David Lee finally broke their drought, even though Curry was a much better player at the time. Now they have three All-Stars and they’re routinely beating teams by 15+. None of this is news, but it’s fun to remember how far they’ve come.
The Warriors will have three All-Stars (Curry, Green, Thompson) for the first time since 1975-76 with Rick Barry, Phil Smith & Jamaal Wilkes
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 28, 2016
***
We’ve known the Western Conference starters for a little bit.
- Stephen Curry
- Russell Westbrook
- Kobe Bryant
- Kawhi Leonard
- Kevin Durant
Other than Bryant, the leading vote-getter, the other four are clearly deserving. There were a few no-brainer options for the reserves, too.
Draymond Green (14.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 7.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.3 bpg, 47.5 FG%, 41.4 3p%, 68.3 FT%)
- One of the top two or three defensive players in the NBA
- Fourth in ESPN’s “real plus-minus” metric, eighth in VORP, ninth in win shares
- Only player to average over five assists, one steal and one block per game
- Leads the league in triple-doubles with eight
- 14th in the NBA in rebounding
- 6th in the NBA in assists
Chris Paul (18.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 9.6 apg, 2.1 spg, 0.2 bpg, 45.3 FG%, 38.5 3p%, 88.2 FT%)
- 4th in the NBA in assists
- 5th in the NBA in steals
- Averaging 20.8 ppg and 11.0 apg in January (carrying the Clips without Blake Griffin)
- 7th in real plus-minus, 13th in win shares, 11th in VORP, 6th in PER
- Future Hall-of-Famer still in his prime
James Harden (27.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.3 bpg, 42.5 FG%, 34.2 FT%, 86.9 FT%)
- 2nd in the NBA in scoring
- 8th in the NBA in assists
- 3rd in the NBA in threes
- 9th in PER, 24th in real plus-minus, 6th in VORP, 7th in win shares
- 2nd in the MVP voting last season
The other four were going to come from three categories. Clearly one of these categories was ignored.
Veteran winners
Dirk Nowitzki (17.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.6 bpg, 44.8 FG%, 39.8 3p%, 90.5 FT%)
- One of 10 players ever to average over 17 ppg at age 37
- Mavericks are 6th in the West (which is better than most thought after they lost DeAndre Jordan)
Tim Duncan (8.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.3 bpg, 50.6 FG%, 74.4 FT%)
- 13th in defensive win shares
- Spurs have the second-best record in the NBA
Young stat monsters on bad/mediocre teams
Anthony Davis (22.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 2.4 bpg, 49.2 FG%, 28.8 3p%, 76.6 FT%)
- 10th in the NBA in scoring
- 9th in the NBA in rebounding
- 2nd in the NBA in blocks
- His athleticism translates well in an All-Star Game.
DeMarcus Cousins (27.3 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.3 bpg, 45.0 FG%, 34.1 3p%, 73.4 FT%)
- 3rd in the NBA in scoring
- 4th in the NBA in rebounding
- Averaging 33.1 ppg and 12.9 rpg in January
- Kings fighting for playoff spot after strange offseason (to put it lightly)
Damian Lillard (24.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 7.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.3 bpg, 42.1 FG%, 37.6 3p%, 87.2 FT%)
- 6th in the NBA in scoring
- 6th in the NBA in threes
Good players on winning teams who aren’t statistically dominant
LaMarcus Aldridge (15.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.9 bpg, 48.8 FG%, 81.1 FT%)
- Playing the best defense of his career
- Second-leading scorer and leading rebounder on the Spurs
Klay Thompson (20.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.8 bpg, 46.6 FG%, 42.7 3p%, 84.0 FT%)
- 14th in the NBA in scoring
- 2nd in the NBA in threes
- One half of the best backcourt in the NBA
***
It probably wasn’t an easy decision, as I thought Nowitzki would make it over Aldridge.
So, the final Western Conference All-Star roster looks like this (unless someone bows out due to injury, then either Lillard or Nowitzki will probably get the nod).
Point guards (3)
- Curry
- Westbrook
- Paul
Shooting guards (3)
- Bryant
- Harden
- Thompson
Small forwards (2)
- Durant
- Leonard
Power forwards (2)
- Green
- Aldridge
Centers (2)
- Cousins
- Davis
And here’s who’ll they’ll face (along with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Kyle Lowry and Carmelo Anthony):
East reserves are: Millsap, Bosh, Butler, Wall, Thomas, Drummond and DeRozan.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 28, 2016
