Fan all-star voting is sometimes akin to allowing your four-year old daughter to pick out her own clothes. Occasionally you’ll be surprised by a responsible choice of the cute and matching outfit grandma gave for Christmas. More times than not, though, she’ll emerge from the closet adorn in yellow tights, a pink tutu, an orange shirt and a sparkly tiara. The NBA All-Star starting lineups have been announced and surprisingly the kiddies fans got it right.
In the Western Conference, fans selected Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) and Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies).
In the Eastern Conference, fans chose John Wall (Washington Wizards), Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) and Pau Gasol (Chicago Bulls).
Upon examining the selections, the de facto conclusion in the sports world is that the fans got it right except for Bryant and Anthony. The Bryant objection is now a moot point, since the Black Mamba has opted for rotator cuff surgery and will shut it down for the rest of the season. Had he been healthy, I wouldn’t have strenuously objected to his presence. Yes, Bryant is in the twilight of his career and his scoring numbers are tumbling downward. However, Bryant’s averages of 22.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game aren’t far from his career numbers of 25.4 points, 4.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Considering that he’s surrounded by a group of church league all-stars, I actually consider Bryant’s contributions admirable. Were he eligible, Bryant would have a player efficiency rating (PER) around 50th in the West. While he certainly wasn’t worthy of a starting spot, his numbers would’ve given him a decent argument to at least make the squad. At the end of the day, James Harden will likely assume Bryant’s start, so all’s well that ends well.
Regarding Anthony, he and the Knicks are a hot mess. At this point Phil Jackson has clearly given up on any success this season, would probably trade Anthony for a bag of Red Hot Riplets. He still puts up numbers though and is ranked #2 in scoring in the East with 24.1 ppg, behind only King James. Anthony’s PER is also respectable as he ranks 8th in the East. Some will say the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler deserves a starting nod, but Anthony outscores and out-rebounds Butler and has a higher PER. Hard to justify Butler over Anthony unless we take into account wins, then it would be a no-brainer.
As far as the rest of the squad, it’s good to see small-market teams and non-traditional powers getting some love with Davis, Marc Gasol, Wall and Lowry receiving well-earned starting nods. Gone are the days when Yao Ming was voted as an All-Star after playing only five games in 2011. Hooray for the fans for doing a solid job with the selections.
Now it’s up to the coaches to select the reserves. Like in reality, the East should be a breeze. There’s far less talent on the Atlantic, so choosing any player with a pulse probably won’t bring about too much objection. Picking the West is a nightmare. Injuries have placed former shoe-ins like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the bubble. Aging future Hall of Famers such as Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki could be on the outside looking in. Monte Ellis, the man with the highest scoring average in NBA history to never make an All-Star game will have a tough time getting in despite another stellar year. I’m assuming Harden, Damon Lillard and Chris Paul will make the cut. That leaves the aforementioned players fighting with the likes of Klay Thompson, Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Mike Conley.
The Western Conference has nearly twice as many (11) players averaging more than 20 points per game than the East (6). That means guys at or around the mark such as Rudy Gay, Gordon Heyward and Ty Lawson who would waltz in the West probably won’t even be considered snubs out West. Let’s hope the coaches do as good a job as the fans Thursday night.
Deflated Super Bowl dreams
Everyone is talking about the latest episode of Cheaters where Joey Greco the NFL catches Tom Brady and Bill Belichick sneaking around with needles and ball boys. Of course Sgt. Smackdown, Roger Goodell, is taking his sweet time announcing the punishment for the NFL’s model franchise. I’m sure the league doesn’t want to tarnish the Super Bowl by announcing the latest slap on the wrist punishment for deflating footballs to gain an advantage.
How many times does one team have to get caught cheating before serious measures are taken? What should happen? The Patriots should be of its entire 2015 collection of draft picks and be given a one-year postseason ban for repeat offenses. What will happen? They’ll probably lose a single pick and be fined a little pocket change if found guilty.
The NFL will have some ‘splaining’ to do if the Super Bowl champions is the team that got caught cheating just weeks before. It likely won’t be an issue though. Seattle’s defense will shut down the Patriots offense just like they did to Denver a season ago. The game will be closer, but the outcome will be the same. The Seattle Seahawks will be crowned Super Bowl Champions.
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