2016 NBA All-Star Game: Selecting The Reserves
West Snubs
Damian Lillard — Lillard was our closest cut, but don’t blame me for his All-Star snub, blame the million-plus fans that voted Kobe Bryant into the starting lineup. Despite his gaudy 24.3 PPG, 7.1 APG and 4.4 RPG stat line, not to mention how his Portland Trail Blazers are in the playoff hunt, his lack of defense and the fact that he’s putting up big numbers on a team devoid of other options means he barely misses the cut.
LaMarcus Aldridge — The San Antonio Spurs probably deserve two All-Stars considering their unbelievable 39-7 record, but even if it seems unfair to penalize Aldridge for sacrificing his individual numbers (15.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 48.8 FG%), he has looked like a clunky fit at times — including against the Warriors, the very team he was supposed to make a major difference against. It’s close, and both are deserving, but I’d take Klay Thompson over him at this point.
Tim Duncan — Duncan is the second most important player on the league’s stingiest defense, a defense that is holding opponents to 94.1 points per 100 possessions and could go down as the best in NBA history, but he’s posting career low numbers while only averaging 25.9 minutes per game. This would be another great opportunity to put a “lifetime achievement” spot to good use.
Derrick Favors — The Utah Jazz went 7-9 in 16 games without Favors, but there’s a good chance that statistic — and his 16.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.1 BPG — won’t be enough to earn an All-Star spot. Like his power forward successor Paul Millsap, Favors may be doomed to another season of being under-appreciated despite his development into a quality two-way big.
Gordon Hayward — Like Favors, Hayward’s All-Star case is hindered by Utah’s recent dip in the standings. Though Hayward is averaging 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 37.1 percent shooting from deep, the way he kept Utah afloat without Favors and Rudy Gobert still might not be enough to steal the attention of other NBA head coaches after a very slow start to the season.
Dwight Howard — D-12 is still averaging a solid 14.4 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, but he’s nowhere near as spry as he once was. Howard has become extremely underrated as one of the game’s best two-way bigs, and the Rockets’ defense would be a mess without him, but this is certainly not an All-Star caliber season.
DeAndre Jordan — If it weren’t for Andre Drummond’s mammoth rebounding numbers, perhaps we’d be paying more attention to Jordan’s 11.9 points, 13.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game on 71.2 percent shooting. But Jordan’s numbers are relatively even with where they were last season, so it’s hard to justify the Clippers getting two All-Stars with superior options available.
Blake Griffin — If it weren’t for time missed due to injury (or his recent, STUPID decision that will cost him another 4-6 weeks and keep him out for the All-Star Game anyway), there’d be no argument against Griffin being included. He played at an MVP-level for the first two months of the season, averaging 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
J.J. Redick — Redick probably isn’t a realistic candidate, but he’s second in the league in three-point percentage (48.5 percent) while taking 5.6 of them per game. He’s also filling in admirably as the Clippers’ second most important player without Blake Griffin. Not many guys have career years at age 31, but that’s exactly what J.J. Redick is doing.
Eric Bledsoe — Bledsoe was always going to be a long shot with the way the Phoenix Suns were struggling before his season-ending meniscus injury, but he deserves a shoutout after averaging 20.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in what was shaping up to be a career year.
Next: East Backcourt Spots