NBA All-Star Game 2015: Who should be in this year’s game?
By Will Osgood
Western Conference Starting 5
(Note: Kobe Bryant is assumed to be OUT with his torn rotator cuff)
PG Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
There has been no team more fun to watch or cover (I assume) than the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors. And it all starts with their lead guard, Stephen Curry.
Curry is seventh in scoring at 23.2 points per game, fourth in PER (26.6) and fifth in the league with 8.1 assists per contest. He is also tied with John Wall for the league lead in steals per game at 2.1.
Additionally Curry is fifth in the league in free throw percentage (91.5 percent), though surprisingly does not rank in the top-five in three-point percentage, where he’s shooting a more than respectable 40.2 percent, which is about three percent below his career average.
If you take Most Valuable Player literally, there is no way Curry is in the conversation since the Warriors would still be a good team without him, though his value stats (Win Shares, VORP, etc.) suggest that he is significantly better than any replacement the Warriors could place on the court.
SG James Harden, Houston Rockets
No matter your argument, you cannot convince me that the league’s leading scorer does not deserve an All-Star start. He is the third most efficient player (using his PER of 27.3) overall, and first among guards.
Though he is near the top in field goal attempts, he shoots over 45 percent overall and takes 9.0 free throws per game. He is also a solid 38 percent 3-point shooter.
When all is said and done, Harden might be the most valuable offensive player in the league this year. Win Shares suggests that, as he is leading the league through Wednesday’s games with 6.7. He has also posted 2.5 on the defensive end, suggesting he is not the one-dimensional player we all once assumed.
F Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
The league leader in PER, Anthony Davis has in year three become the superduperstar he was projected to become. If the Pelicans were more competitive within the Western Conference, Davis would be a legitimate MVP candidate.
He’s the third leading scorer despite being tied with Damian Lillard for the fewest field goal attempts per game among the league’s top 10 scorers.
In addition to the 24.3 points per game, he averages 10.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1. 5 steals and 3.0 blocks per game and shoots 82 percent from the free throw line.
And he is the only player on the west roster who can guard LeBron James, assuming Steve Kerr has any designs of winning this game.
F Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Blake Griffin is eighth in the league in scoring and first in fun. I mean he still is doing those silly Kia commercials, isn’t he? It’s an All-Star Game, so that should count for something.
Don’t look now but Griffin has radically altered his game across the board to become multi-dimensional. Though he only attempts half a three-pointer per game, he is making 40 percent of said shots.
And he’s averaging 7.6 rebounds and five assists per game as Doc Rivers runs much of the offense through him in the post and at the elbow. He makes sense as the “power forward” in this game.
Post DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins has simply been too good to not include in the game meant for the elite of elite basketball talent. Sure his Kings took a nose dive when he left the lineup in December, but that was not his fault.
His value was proven by the nosedive, unlike in New York where Carmelo Anthony is putting up numbers but losing (of course there actually is a disparity in talent between Sacramento and New York; go figure).
Cousins is second in the league in PER behind Davis and the fourth leading scorer while averaging 24 a game. His 12.7 rebounds rank him first among the league’s top 50 scorers and overall he trails just the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan.
Next: These players deserve to come off Mike Budenholzer's bench