What the NBA All-Star rosters should look like

Eastern Conference Reserves

John Wall, PG Washington Wizards – John Wall remains awesome, even if things haven’t gone according to plan in 2015-2016. Wall generated some “sleeper” buzz in the preseason MVP discussion, but much of that was based on the assumption that the Wizards would take a leap forward. However, the exact opposite has happened. Washington sits with a paltry record that coincides with a down year from Wall. Fortunately, a down year is still quite good when compared to the rest of the conference. Wall sits second in the league in assists (9.6 per game) while averaging a career-best 19.6 points per game, and not even a dip in his shooting (51.6% TS) can keep him off the All-Star team. If not for Kyle Lowry, even, Wall would be a legitimate starter alongside Jimmy Butler.

Isaiah Thomas, PG Boston Celtics – The inclusion of Thomas might be a shock to some people, especially if they haven’t been closely monitoring the Boston Celtics this season. However, Thomas compares favorably to both Dwyane Wade and Reggie Jackson (his biggest competition in this spot) this season, and the 5-foot-9 guard has been easily the best player for Brad Stevens. Thomas is averaging a jarring 21.6 points and 6.7 assists per game this season, and has put together that scoring punch while maintaining a very solid 55.5% true shooting on the year. Thomas lives at the free throw line (6.3 attempts per game) and creates nicely for others. Throughout the season, fans of the Phoenix Suns have (correctly) lamented the decision to move on from him in favor of the current backcourt iteration for that franchise. Isaiah Thomas might not seem like an All-Star, but he is playing like one.

DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF Toronto Raptors – 2015-2016 has been the best season of DeRozan’s career from an efficiency standpoint, and he should be rewarded for that progress. The talented wing still can’t shoot threes (29% on 1.8 attempts per game), but DeRozan has posted a six-year high in true shooting at 54.9%, and there is no denying his raw numbers, including a scoring clip of 22.9 points per game. There are knocks on his game at both ends, but it is tough to argue against a 21.1 PER and strong overall metrics with a player that is scoring at the level of DeRozan, and the Raptors acting as a strong playoff-bound team definitely helps his case.

Carmelo Anthony, SF/PF New York Knicks – From a statistical standpoint, Anthony has taken a small step back from his peak form. He is no longer a candidate to lead the NBA in scoring, but in the same breath, Anthony has played extremely well at times while helping to lead the Knicks into the playoff race. He is averaging 21.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, which accurately depicts his impact, but beyond that, Anthony is an efficient player (21.47 PER) who ranks as a top-5 small forward in the NBA in ESPN’s RPM metric. Carmelo Anthony probably isn’t quite the player that he was five years ago, but when it comes to All-Star consideration, he is a virtual lock.

Paul Millsap, PF Atlanta Hawks – Millsap remains one of the more underrated commodities in the NBA. While it would never happen in the fan voting era, the talented power forward should garner legitimate consideration for a starting nod in the East based on his ridiculously stellar play to this point in the year. The Hawks are largely seen as a collective unit and, from an individual standpoint, Al Horford garners the most accolades. Still, this season has belonged to Millsap, who rates higher in ESPN’s RPM than Horford, and Millsap ranks number among the top five players in the East in PER. The Hawks aren’t going to win 60 games again this season, but even after signing a massive contract in the off-season, Paul Millsap is on pace for the best year of his career and a third consecutive All-Star selection.

Kevin Love, PF Cleveland Cavaliers – This was a photo finish between Love and Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford for the “final” frontcourt spot in the East, but in the end, the fantastic team-based work of the Cavs put Love over the top. His raw numbers (16.2 points, 10.7 rebounds per game) are better than Horford’s at this stage, and even with a dip in field goal percentage (41.7%) this season, Love has maintained efficiency with a 20.15 PER. If all things were equal, Horford would probably get the nod based on his defense, but Cleveland should be rewarded for their lights-out record (27-9) and with Kyrie Irving falling short in terms of actual playing time due to injury, Love is the beneficiary.

Chris Bosh, PF/C Miami Heat – Chris Bosh ranks among the top 20 players in the NBA in PER, VORP, win shares, win shares per 48 minutes, ESPN’s RPM, offensive win shares and defensive win shares. Let’s just agree that Bosh remains criminally underrated. For the more casual fans that don’t dive into advanced metrics, the two-time NBA champion is the best player on the Miami roster this season while averaging 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game with 47/38/80 shooting splits, and he has been the biggest reason that the Heat are in the running for a top-four seed in the conference.

Next: West Reserves