Josh’s All-Star Starter Choices

The actual All-Star starters will come out Thursday on TNT. Currently, the starters for the Eastern Conference would be: Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid. For the Western Conference: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Draymond Green. I have some disagreements with this but I also agree with a lot and I want to dive in here. Let’s go!

Eastern Conference Starters:

Guard — Kyrie Irving

Kyrie’s been really good this year. He’s averaging 24 points a game on almost 48% shooting from the field, 39% from three, and 89% from the line. He’s an elite scorer and we all know that. He’s only averaging around five assists a game but he’s never going to be a high assist guy. I think we’ve accepted it at this point. But he’s improved defensively (he’s still not good lol but at least he’s trying) and that’s big because Isaiah Thomas was a defensive sieve last year. He’s also the best player on the best team in the East in the Boston Celtics. They’re 34–10. A lot of that has to do with Kyrie Irving so I think he’s the obvious starter.

Guard — Victor Oladipo

It came down to Oladipo and DeMar DeRozan for this one and I know I’m going to get a lot of criticism for choosing Dipo. DeRozan has been awesome this year and it’s great that he’s finally shooting threes:

He’s also really bought into the new offense that the Raptors have employed and has a career-high in assists at five a game. He’s terrific and an all-star but I think Dipo’s had the better year and should be the starter. I hear the argument that the Raptors are second in the East but they also have Kyle Lowry. The Pacers’ success has been solely because of Vic. In the four games he missed this season, the Pacers were 0–4 and lost by an average of 13.5 points. Dipo leads DeRozan in NBA RPM (5.06 to 2.42) and VORP (2.2 to 1.9). Victor’s box score stats are actually really good too: 24.2 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 3.9 assists per game. Also, DeRozan is awful on defense (Tony Snell blows by him LMAO) so I give Victor Oladipo the edge.

Forward — LeBron James

LeBron’s been amazing this year. The Cavs have had a rough stretch but he’s still been awesome. He’s averaging 27.1 points per game, eight rebounds per game, and 8.8 assists per game. His true-shooting percentage is 63.8% and leads the league in VORP. He’s an all-star starter no doubt.

Forward — Giannis Antetokounmpo

Another guy that I don’t need to waste too many words on making his case. He and LeBron have been the best two players in the East. He’s averaging 28.4 points per game, about 10 rebounds a game, and 4.5 assists. This guy averages over 17 points in the paint a game which is better than anyone not named Shaquille O’Neal in the past 20 years. He’s a starter. There’s no debate over that.

Center — Joel Embiid

I can see the argument for Al Horford, he’s been great as well, but Embiid has been better. Horford has played 10 more games but Embiid is on pace for over 60 this year and I think he qualifies. Embiid’s averaging 23.5 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, and two blocks a game. He’s a matchup nightmare in the post. He leads the league in points per game in the post and scores at an effective .96 points per possession. He also leads Horford in NBA RPM (4.36 to 4.06). It’s his defensive impact where he really shines though. When he’s on the court, the opposing team has an offensive rating of 102.6. This is an offensive rating that would be in the bottom five in the league. When he’s off the court, the opposing team has an offensive rating of 111 which would be top three in the league. That difference is ridiculous and truly states his impact. Horford is a great defender as well and the offensive rating of opposing teams when he’s on the court is 102.7. But, when he’s off the court, opposing teams offensive rating is 102.4. This isn’t to say he isn’t a really good defender but it just shows how impactful Embiid really is. If you want to go with Horford here, I can’t be mad. He’s been terrific as well but my pick is Embiid.

Western Conference Starters:

Guard — Stephen Curry

This is another one that isn’t a particularly difficult choice. Curry’s been one of the five best players this season. He’s averaging 27.8 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 6.5 assists. He’s shooting 49% from the field, 41% from three, and 92% from the line. His true shooting is 67.2%(!!!!) which is the best of his career (even better than his MVP season) and it leads the league. He’s the best point guard in the world and there’s no debate about it.

Guard — James Harden

Harden is another obvious choice. He’s been the MVP of the league so far averaging 32.3 points a game, five rebounds a game, and 9.1 assists per game. He’s shooting 40% on a ridiculous 8.1 pull-up threes a game. He leads the league in box plus/minus and win shares. The best shooting guard in the league is without a doubt an all-star starter.

Forward — Kevin Durant

KD’s such a lame guy but his game is far from that. He’s averaging 26.3 points a game, seven rebounds a game, 5.3 assists per game, and 2.1 blocks a game. He’s shooting 51.3% from the field, 40.6% from three, and 88% from the field. He’s the best scorer in the league and maybe the best scorer ever. He’s been great as always and is an all-star starter.

Forward — Anthony Davis

We just don’t talk about this guy enough. Yes, he’s injury-prone but when he’s on the court he’s a monster. He’s coming off an amazing game in Madison Square Garden with 48 points, 17 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks in a win over the Knicks. Overall, he’s averaging 26.7 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, and 2.1 blocks per game. He’s shooting a career high 36% from three and has a career high true-shooting percentage at 64.4%. The Brow is awesome to watch and is one of the ten best players in the league. He’ll be returning to defend his ASG MVP from last year.

Center — Karl Anthony-Towns

Towns is terrific. For all the criticism he’s got about his defense (he was really bad), we have to give him credit for his improvement this year. But, where he really shines is on the offensive end. He’s averaging over 20 points a game on only 14 shots a game. He’s shooting 54% from the field, 41.6% from three on almost four attempts a game, and 83.6% from the line. Those are amazing numbers for a center. His 63.7% true shooting is outstanding. You run out of superlatives talking about this guy’s offensive game. He honestly should be taking more than 14 shots a game. When he’s on the court, the Wolves have an offensive rating of 116.9 which would be the best in the league. When he’s off, the Wolves have an offensive rating of only 104.3 which would be in the bottom half of the league. That impact is great. A lot of it has to do with Jimmy Butler too but Minnesota also currently has the third best record in the Western Conference at 29–16. He leads other big men considered at this spot (DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green, Nikola Jokic, and LaMarcus Aldridge) in VORP and win shares. He’s been great this year and would be my pick for all-star starter.

*All stats are as of January 16, 2018