Selecting the 2014-15 All-NBA Teams

Second Team

• Guard – Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder – It is almost comical that Westbrook is relegated to second-team honors given his ridiculous production this season. The electric scoring guard leads the NBA in scoring (28.1 points per game) while filling up the box score with 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game, and he has been the most entertaining player in the NBA on a nightly basis with a combination of recklessness and shear athletic force. It hasn’t exactly been efficient (42.6% FG, 29.9% 3-PT) at times, but Westbrook’s ability to draw fouls (9.8 free throw attempts per game) does wonders for his overall true shooting percentage, and with a usage rate as high as Westbrook’s when Kevin Durant is absent, it’s hard to blame him for missing some shots. It must be noted that Westbrook’s defense has taken a tumble as his offensive workload increases, but there is no doubt that he is a top-four guard in the NBA this season, making this an easy choice.
• Guard – Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers – Much like Westbrook, it just feels wrong that Paul (my third-place MVP vote) gets placed on the second team. Alas, that is the climate. While his second-team counterpart stuffs the stat sheet with volume, Paul remains the most surgical guard in the league, leading the NBA in assists (10.2 per game) with a 49/40/90 shooting line that makes anyone not named Stephen Curry or Kyle Korver jealous. In addition to those eye-popping numbers, CP3 has been exceedingly durable, appearing in every game this season, and his defense is easily the best of any guard on the first or second team. That is, of course, the formula for the MVP case surrounding Paul, but even if you fall short of buying in to that level of hype, his inclusion here is a no-brainer.
• Forward – Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs – Fans who simply comb through box scores may be surprised by Leonard’s inclusion here (especially over Griffin), but he has been a monster for the entirety of the season. For starters, Kawhi Leonard is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He leads the NBA in individual defensive rating and steals per game while placing top-5 in defensive win shares, and for all intents and purposes, he’s the league’s most terrifying wing defender at this moment. Offensively, Leonard has also made huge strides, maintaining a high level of efficiency while increasing his usage, and he now averages 18.7 points per 36 minutes while operating in the balanced system for the Spurs. Lastly, the Spurs are more than 10 points (!) per 100 possessions better when he plays this season, and that if that isn’t an indicator of his overall value, I’m not sure what is.
• Forward – LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers – In some cases, raw numbers tell the story. LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while appearing in 71 contests this season, and Portland’s go-to forward played through a substantial injury that was once thought to be keeping him out of the lineup for weeks on end. Aldridge added a three-point shot to his arsenal this season, making 35.2% of his attempts, and that aided in helping his efficiency while his field goal percentage also saw slight improvement. In previous seasons, the biggest knock on Aldridge was that he was so reliant on his (deadly) mid-range jumper, but when he is cooking, the former Texas star has a varied offensive game that makes him impossible to stop. Buzz always surrounds his teammate, Damian Lillard, due to periods of greatness, but Aldridge is the consistent engine on that team, and Portland’s offense falls off a cliff (more than 8 points per 100) when he sits. He’s a monster.
• Center – Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – You’ll have to allow me to cheat on Duncan’s position… just this once. Because Tiago Splitter and Aron Baynes combined to make 51 starts, it is accurate to say that the 38-year-old Duncan is (still) operating as a power forward. However, he plays enough minutes to qualify for this spot in my mind, and simply put, it worked out better this way. Duncan continues to defy all thought of the aging process, averaging 17.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes. His defense has been unbelievably good, to the point where he will be listed on some DPOY ballots, and when called upon, Duncan can return to the transcendent player that he once was at his peak. To be honest, Duncan was a legitimate contender for first team honors in my mind, and if not for a strong campaign from the center on that group, he would have been deserving. I feel safe in saying that Tim Duncan isn’t your typical 38-year-old big man, and the greatest power forward of all time can function as a center for the good of the order.

Next: Stephen Curry