The title of this post says it all: Is DeMarcus Cousins an All-Star?
Well, I’ll say this — as I say below in my interview with Grant Napear of KHTK Radio in Sacramento — he is certainly an All-Star talent, and I have even given him an All-NBA third team vote in the past. But then I’ll also ask you this: Is Gordan Hayward an All-Star?
Again, the Jazz shotmeister is certainly an All-Star talent, but an All-Star?
I’ll leave that for the coaches to decide, since the coaches are the ones who pick the reserves. But I’ll warn both Cousins and Hayward that coaches value winning above all else. And they abhor players who put up great stats on terrible teams.
Now, it is debatable whether the Kings and/or Jazz are terrible teams. They have both put up some exceptional quality wins in the past couple of weeks, but they have the misfortune of playing in the highly competitive Western Conference, where there will be at least 4 good teams in the draft lottery this year.
As for the All-Star Game, let’s assume the five starters are going to be the five players who are leading the balloting (with the exception of Kobe Bryant, who is injured and likely will not play. Incoming commissioner Adam Silver will pick his replacement). The coaches will select seven reserves. In the backcourt, Bryant and Stephen Curry are the leading vote-getters, and Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin are the leaders at the three frontcourt positions.
Who are the seven most worthy players after that?
(RELATED: CAN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE EVEN FIELD 12 WORTHY ALL-STARS?)
Hard to find room for Cousins or Hayward.
The most worthy non-starter, IMHO, is Damian Lillard, who is third in my latest MVP Rankings. And you can add in his teammate LaMarcus Aldridge, who is a legit MVP candidate as well.
Then you have James Harden, who is outscoring Howard for the powerful Houston Rockets, who are going to be tough to beat come playoff time. So that’s three.
Next we turn to the San Antonio Spurs, who will be rewarded for having the best record on the West. Tony Parker should get voted in, and Tim Duncan is a distinct possibility but far from a lock.
And then there is Kevin Love, atop the leaderboards in scoring and rebounding. Should be a shoo-in.
So that makes five.
So let’s look at the final two — and it would be an even more competitive race if Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Eric Bledsoe were not injured.
Who on the Phoenix Suns gets rewarded for their 21-13 record? It has to be someone, and it can’t be Jeff Hornacek. Will Goran Dragic get the Bledsoe vote?
And what about the Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s hottest team for the past two weeks. It says here that David Lee is the most deserving.
Beyond that, we have what we shall call the field: Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Anthony Davis, Ty Lawson … along with Cousins and Hayward.
So that’s nine guys vying for two spots. As I said above, it’s going to be tough for two bottom feeders to stand above the rest of those talents.
In the end, it will be one of Silver’s first major decisions as commissioner, since he will choose the 12th man due to Bryant’s injury.
More on this subject, plus a spin around the league in this podcast: