NBA: Updating our picks for the 2020-21 NBA All-Star rosters

The 2020-21 NBA season is roughly six weeks old, and teams have played between a quarter and a third of their games. That is plenty of time to see which players have stepped up and deserve the recognition of being named to the All-Star rosters.

In contrast to a few weeks ago, we can now specify that they will also be partaking in the All-Star Game. Although previously canceled, the NBA will now hold a one-day All-Star event on March 7th in Atlanta, GA. Although negotiated between the NBA and the NBA Player’s Association, not every player is happy about the announcement.

Also in the news are the recently announced first returns for NBA All-Star starters voting. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant lead the voting. There are few surprises visible, although in the West backcourt Ja Morant is in fourth place and Klay Thompson has received nearly 100,000 votes despite missing the entire season. There will be another update on February 11th.

What’s changed

Three weeks ago we took a very early look at the All-Star rosters. That list included four first-time All-Star picks, and left off some All-Star mainstays such as Rudy Gobert, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler and Khris Middleton. It also was compiled just prior to the James Harden trade.

There have been a number of changes since then, in the league and with our All-Star picks. CJ McCollum went down with a long-term injury that took him out of the running, and Jimmy Butler returned from a long absence…and has played terribly for a disappointing Miami Heat team. In total seven players jumped into the list that were not on the previous list.

Finally, a confession. Three weeks ago we left Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant out of the article entirely, not even giving him a spot among the “In the Mix” players for the Eastern Conference. Despite playing on a bad Pistons team Grant has been balling out, pouring in 24 points per game on efficient shooting and playing solid defense. It was a careless mistake to leave him off last time.

Now that we have cleared that up…Grant did not make the team this time around. But he was among the final cuts and deserves to be discussed. As do a number of other players in a surprisingly competitive Eastern Conference field. We will start there, with the five Eastern Conference All-Star starters.

*Stats updated through Monday, 2/8