Do The Wizards Deserve Another All-Star?
The Washington Wizards own the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 30-15. A large part of their success is due to the play of point guard John Wall, who was recently voted into the All-Star game by the fans. Wall received 886,368 votes, the most of any guard in the conference.
But after Wall, are there any other Wizards deserving of playing in the All-Star game on February 15?
The last time Washington had multiple All-Stars was in 2008, when both Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison made the team. That year’s squad finished fifth in the East with a 43-39 record. The 2014-15 Wizards are clearly a far superior ballclub, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have more than one individual worthy of being an All-Star.
The two other most likely candidates are Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal. Gortat actually came close to getting chosen by the fans, finishing fourth among frontcourt players with 570,005 votes, just 77,000 behind Carmelo Anthony for the final spot.
Wall believes one of his teammates should accompany him. Via Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post, Wall said:
“I think someone else from my team should be in there with me. And it’s crazy that if [Anthony] had surgery, if his knee didn’t get better, then [Gortat] would’ve been a starter. That would’ve been the funny part about it. But yeah, I think someone from my team, whether it’s him or Brad [Beal], is well-deserving of another spot from my team.”
Do the stats support Wall’s point of view?
Gortat’s numbers aren’t particularly earth-shattering by any means. He’s averaging 12.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.33 blocks per game. By comparison there are several East big men who at first glance appear more deserving.
Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat is scoring 21.2 points and grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game. Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic is averaging 19.5 and 11.2. Kevin Love is putting up 17.5 and 10.3 for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Hornets’ Al Jefferson is posting 17.4 and 8.0.
Although his numbers aren’t spectacular this year (7.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks), Joakim Noah is sure to get some consideration as well. The 37-8 Atlanta Hawks also have a pair of forwards with a solid case, Paul Milsap (17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds) and Al Horford (15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds).
The lowly Detroit Pistons even have two bigs with stats better than Gortat, Greg Monroe (15.1 points, 10.2 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (12.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks). Obviously numbers aren’t the only thing that matters, but it doesn’t appear as though Gortat is even among the top five candidates for reserve big men on the East squad.
Similarly, there’s a fairly decent size list of backcourt players in the Eastern Conference with better stats than Beal. The Wizards’ shooting guard is averaging 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Dywane Wade (21.7), Kyrie Irving (20.9) and Jimmy Butler (20.1) are all scoring over 20 points per game. Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker are each averaging at least 18 points, five assists and three rebounds. Hawks point guard Jeff Teague is also putting up 17.1 points and 7.5 assists.
The one thing Beal has going for him is his 44.1 three-point percentage, but even that pales in comparison to Kyle Korver‘s 53.1 for Atlanta. Beal is just 21 years old and will likely be an All-Star someday, but he’s not there yet.
Nice move by Brad Beal, & he can hit this shot, but couldn't he have made the defense give him more to take? https://t.co/r5sU9Mmk1u
— Veteran L(W)izard (@Truth_About_It) January 26, 2015
The Wizards may be one of the top teams in the East, but Wall is their only individual worthy of playing in this year’s All-Star game.