NBA recap: All-Star starter selections and games to watch

1 of 4

(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Selecting NBA All-Star starters and upcoming games to watch highlight an NBA recap coming off a slow week of news and action.

The NBA All-Star selections always brings a new wave of conversation and takes for a couple of days. Player X was snubbed! His numbers are much better than Player Y’s and he carries less of a load! Expect to hear a great deal of this talk when the All-Star starters are revealed on Jan. 24, with reserves the week after on Jan. 31.

This season’s process has been interesting. Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade are near the top of backcourt lists in their respective conferences. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are in line to be the captains after the latest wave of voting was released on Jan. 17, with rookie Luka Doncic right on James’ heels to captain one of the teams.

The top vote-getter in each conference will then select their team on a live draft televised Feb. 7. Last year’s draft was not televised, so the league opting to televise these selections makes for an event NBA Twitter will have fun with. For what it’s worth, last year’s game was one of the best in recent years and seeing players team up for the first time was sweet to watch.

As far as selection of players itself goes, the Eastern Conference seems far easier to select compared to the Western Conference. This was predictable given the amount of star power the West has and the rise of play by certain individuals has made the decision of leaving multiple top-10 players in the NBA pretty difficult.

The NBA is enduring as teams prep for the upcoming trade deadline and buyout season before the All-Star break hits. Carmelo Anthony being traded to the Chicago Bulls, reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, was the biggest story of last week and that doesn’t change his situation at all since he won’t play for the Bulls.

The format remains the same in terms of the starters being made up of two backcourt players and three frontcourt players. With that being said, this article is focused strictly on my All-Star picks on who should start the game. Nitpick away!