Yesterday, we broke down what a crowded field it is in the Western Conference when it comes to picking the seven All-Star reserves. There are easily 10 players who are worthy, maybe more.
But what about the East? And let’s start with this quiz: Can you name the starting five on the best team in the East? In fact, can you name the best team in the East?
It is the Atlanta Hawks who ascended to that position when the Toronto Raptors got steamrolled by the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, and the starting five for the “Spurs of the East” (as noted here, more people need to start calling them that) is Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Al Horford, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll. All five average double figures in points.
But are any of them clear-cut All-Stars? That will be up to the Eastern Conference coaches, who will submit their ballots for the seven reserves after fan voting closes on Jan. 19. The starters will be named on Jan. 22.
If the current balloting patterns hold, the starters will be LeBron James of Cleveland, Pau Gasol of Chicago, Carmelo Anthony of New York (assuming his knee injury does not force him to shut it down for the season), John Wall of Washington and Dwyane Wade of Miami. Chris Bosh has an outside chance of catching ‘Melo, trailing him by 82,000 votes. But ‘Melo has star power, and that usually wins out when fans choose the 10 starters.
In yesterday’s post on Western conference reserves, we noted that there appear to be seven shoo-ins.
But in the East, the field is much more wide open. Coaches must choose three frontcourt players, two guards, and two other irrespective of position. So when we use the word shoo-in when publishing this column, take it with a bit of a grain of salt. There is no one who is a no-brainer. So let’s handicap the field:
SHOO-INS:
Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks: Best player on the best team in the conference. That should be enough, right? Well, there are quite a few decent point guards in the East, including Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry and Derrick Rose. And remember, coaches only get to choose two guards, although they can fill in their final two spots with guards if they so choose. As for Teague, he ranks 31st in the league in scoring (17.2 ppg) and 10th in assists (7.0). One nice things he has going is a 26.0 scoring average in January as the Hawks have continued to put together a stretch of 17 wins in 19 games to vault to the top of the conference.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors: Best player on what had been the best team in the conference. And the Raptors held that spot for a good long time. Lowry is averaging 20.7 points per game and has kept the team on an even keel since losing DeMar DeRozan, Toronto’s lone All-Star representative last season. His 7.7 assists are good for sixth in the NBA, and his 3.33 assists-to-turnovers ratio trails only Chris Paul, Kemba Walker and Ty Lawson. After the Raptors plat at Phoenix on Sunday, he gets a six-game homestand to pad his stats against mostly weak competition. He and Teague should be on all 15 coaches’ ballots.
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls: Not only is he an All-Star, he is a legit MVP contender. In fact, if he continues to lead the Bulls in scoring, and they can manage to climb the ladder in the East and finish with the No. 1 seed, he will get more than a few first-place votes — especially if LeBron James and his new SuperTeam continue to look like the fifth-best team in the East — or worse. His stats may not come close to those of Anthony Davis, but Davis is not going to win the MVP if his team missed the playoffs. As for other leading candidates Steph Curry and James Harden, two or three weeks of sustained slippage can knock them off their early-season perches. Looks like Butler make the right move by turning down a $12 million extension from Chicago. He is worth max money now.
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat: You can bash him and his sub-.500 team all you ant, but do you know how many players there are in the East among the top 20 in scoring? Only seven — and Bosh is one of them with a healthy 21.7 average — his most in five seasons. This will be his ninth All-Star appearance, and remember, he can still pass Anthony in fan voting if ‘Melo shuts it down. And when you are 5-30 as ‘Melo is, you have a lot of good reasons top shut it down. On the downside, it bears noting that both Wade (.509) and Luol Deng (.504) have higher shooting percentages than Bosh’s .494. Also, among the NBA’s top 20 rebounders, none averages fewer on the offensive glass than Bosh (1.1).
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic: Yes, I have him as a shoo-in. Why? He is the best center in the Eastern Conference from an all-around standpoint, though Andre Drummond is a better rebounder but has zero offensive game. Second in the NBA with 18 double-doubles (Anthony Davis has 19), and it should be a reminder to everyone that when the four-team trade was made sending Dwight Howard to the Lakers (and Andrew Bynum to the Sixers), the Magic were the only team that came out ahead. That is saying a lot, and this kid from Montenegro is going to be making a lot of All-Star appearances before it is all said and done.
So that makes five shoo-ins, at least in my book. And Kyrie Irving is pretty close to a sixth.
And now comes the fun part: Who else is worthy? The rules say you’ve gotta have 12, and the rules do not allow for anyone to be lent to the East from the West. You know there is nobody making it from the Philadelphia 76ers. And aside from Anthony, members of the Knicks could only qualify for the D-League All-Star game. You have the Milwaukee Bucks at .500, so Brandon Knight is a possibility; and the Brooklyn Nets at .500 might merit a spot for Joe Johnson. Who else? Maybe Drummond? Maybe Derrick Rose? Maybe Bradley Beal?
To enhance the fun part, a poll is attached for you to vote from among those names, plus anyone you want to write in.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
What about Millsap or Horford?