Snubbed

[WigNosy]

ALL-STAR SNUBS

With every all-star game, there are complaints about who got snubbed and why they were left out. But of course, you have to kick someone off to put someone in so the question is - did someone go that didn't deserve it? I'm going to quickly run down every team and look at how their all-star weekend went.

76ERS

The sixers went into the All-Star break with the best record in the East... and yet didn't have a single All-Star. Probably their best candidate was Ben Simmons or Enes Kanter simply due to the lack of productive Centers in the league... but the guys who made it ahead of him were more productive everywhere except rebounding (and didn't miss that by a lot). The Sixers' great balance limits their stars' numbers and while that's great for winning games, it does hurt when all-star selections come around.

BOBCATS

John Wall got in as a starting point guard, so the Bobcats were pretty happy there - but the Bobcats were somewhat surprised that DeAndre Jordan didn't make the all-star team. They probably shouldn't have been - his lone all-star appearance happened last season. He puts up rebounds and blocks - great for Defensive Player of the Year awards - but I think lack of scoring hurts him for all-star selections. Klay Thompson has had kind of a down year, which surprised me. I thought he'd score more. But he doesn't do much else and when other players are posting higher scoring numbers than he is, he's not an all-star.

BUCKS

Damion McNary made the team and to be frank, he's the only player on the Bucks' roster who's got his game together enough to even be considered.

BULLS

They traded for Westbrook and he made the team handily. Vernon DeSantis is probably just below all-star level right now, especially with the season Jokic is having. The only difference between him and all-star Greg Monroe was really steals, so don't be surprised if DeSantis takes Monroe's C spot in a season or two.

CAVALIERS

Dirk Hardpeck is the only guy on the team you might even consider for an all-star spot and 25 ppg is impressive... but only 6.7 rebounds probably hurt him. He's not going to pass Anthony Davis for the starting PF spot - nobody is - and Damion McNary's scoring was pretty close and his rebounding and especially blocks were better. But Dirk has the potential to make a team down the road if McNary has an off year or Dirk has a great year. Playing away from Hassan Whiteside, who eats up a ton of rebounds, might help Dirk too.

CELTICS

You could make a case for Tyler Ulis if he was at PG but since he's slotted at SG he got matched up against the wrong set of players. Don't be surprised if Ulis' explosive scoring lets him make a team or two before it's all over. Arguably snubbed, but I think the SGs ahead of him were slightly better.

CLIPPERS

In the East, Kemba Walker's probably an all-star - his numbers might even be better than Eastern starter John Wall's. But he's in the West, where all-star point guards abound. You could definitely make a case for Walker and his scoring over Ricky Rubio but Rubio is a truly transcendent passwer and an exceptionally good rebounder and defender (steals) which probably offsets his lack of scoring in the minds of most (this writer included).

GIRZZZLIES

Team tax didn't have anybody worth considering. No snubs here.

HAWKS

The Hawks were lucky to get three all-stars. Monroe is having only a slightly better year than some of the Centers he beat out and Randle was last man to get on the squad. Ellinger wouldn't be an all-star in the West, but the East is surprisingly light on point guards right now. Nobody else on the Hawks deserved being in the conversation so no snubs.

HEAT

Call me crazy, but Bojan Bogdanovic might have put up an all-star worthy season this year. He scored more than Gary Harris and outrebounds both Harris and Randle. But both those guys are much better on the defensive end, which is why they edged him out. We're probably seeing peak Bojan this year and I wouldn't have complained had he made it, but I can't really say he's definitively had a better season than either guy picked ahead of him.

JAZZ

Kight and Gebhard have had great years, but they're not as good as the guys they'd have to bump out... yet. Give the Jazz duo another couple of years and one or both is likely to get an all-star invite though. Almost snubbed but not quite.

KINGs

Kyrie made the squad handily, but Duren missed out. He's putting up huge numbers... but the guys ahead of him in the SG slots are both averaging over 30 ppg and putting up rebounds and assists too. Duren is mostly a victim of Paul George's eligiblity shifting from SF to SG right before the all-star weekend. He probably could have edged Rubio as an at-large though, so I'd say borderline snubbed.

KNICKS

Two All-Stars with Jokic and Harris. Lin is no longer playing at an all-star level, so they have nothing to complain about - Harris was probably even a surprise selection for them.

LAKERS

Both Gustave LeCroix and Giannis Antetokounmpo are putting up solid scoring and rebounding numbers for wings but nothing overwhelming. Don't really see a case for snubs here.

MAGIC

Dennis Schroder is filling up the stat sheet with 20.4 points per game, but his assists are nothing to write home about and that's about all he does. Like Klay Thompson with the Bobcats, if you're going to be one-dimensional and make an all-star team, you'd better be amazing at that dimension. Schroder's not, so not snubbed.

MAVERICKS

Both Bradley Beal and Ricky Rubio made the squad. Beal I'm fine with. Rubio I thought was a little lucky to get in due to his low scoring but his high rebounds, assists, and steals help. Jimmy Butler is a scorer who at this point in his career doesn't bring much else. Not snubbed.

NETS

The Nets were pleasantly surprised that Tyreke Evans got the starting nod in the all-star game... and unpleasantly surprised Buddy Pedraza missed out. Buddy's numbers are a little better than McNary's in almost every area so... yeah, Buddy got snubbed.

NUGGETS

Their lone representative, Blake Griffin, was a no-brainer. I think in the East, Chet Dooley might have had an argument at PG with his double-double average but has no chance in the West (see Kemba Walker with the Clippers above). Jrue Holiday had a nice season but not as good as Duren (who missed the game too) so he's got nothing to complain about. No real snubs in Denver.

PACERS

Tobias Harris slipped in at backup SF due mostly to the surprising fact the East doesn't have dominant SFs (remember Tyreke Evans started). The East SFs need to step up their game. Nobody else on this team really looks snubbed... Reggie Jackson, Lebron, and Steph are all past their primes.

PELICANS

Isaiah Thomas rightly made the team, he's been spectacular this season. Nobody else should even have been considered (sorry Aaron Gordon).

PISTONS

Anthony Davis made the team. Duh. Rudy Gay and Lance Stephenson are shells of their former selves and not worthy of consideration. Can't find any snubs here.

RAPTORS

Super-balanced team but nobody averaging even 15 ppg. Hard to find even marginally deserving candidates here.

ROCKETS

Ty Lawson isn't going to make the team (see comments on Kemba Walker and Chet Dooley). Al Horford is still balling and rightly made the team. Nobody else on the Rockets deserved a second look.

SPURS

Paul George is doing everything for the Spurs this year including selling popcorn and sodas. Of course he made the team. And you know, Arron Magness (19.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg) wouldn't have been a totally awful choice... but you're not bumping Durant or Griffin for him. Maybe if he played C?

SUNS

Kevin Love as another no-brainer who made the team. The BIGGEST SNUB belonged to James Harden, who is destroying people at the SG position... but the guess here is that Harden was held out of the game due to injury (he would have been D2D by the time the break hit but was put on IR). So that was kind of a self-inflicted snub.

THUNDER

Jabari Parker is another of those guys I could have seen getting an at-large bid. Louie Stephens, if played at C, probably could have made the team with 18.7 ppg and 8.6 rpg. But Parker isn't bumping Kevin Love or Andrew Wiggins off the team and Louie Stephens at PF isn't going to bump Durant or Griffin. So the Thunder should probably look into moving these guys to other positions for next year. Parker is a borderline snub.

TIMBERWOLVES

Andrew Wiggins made the all-star team. Otto Porter Jr. is their next best player and he's not putting up all-star numbers just yet. No issues here.

TRAILBLAZERS

Derrick Rose made it. I was kind of amazed C.J. McCollum did not, another victim of "Paul George to Shooting Guard" - he's a one-dimesional score but he's a REALLY good one and you probably could argue he deserved an at-large spot. So yeah, snub.

WARRIORS

Jay Adkins made the team as a backup C. As mentioned, there are some other good players at the PF position who probably could have supplanted him easily if they were eligible at C. So no snubs here and probably a bit of good fortune too.

WIZARDS

Damian Lillard made the team as a reserve and nobody else was considered. Yup, that looks right to me, too.

So, to conclude:

SNUBBS: Dirk Hardpeck (probably due to Whiteside taking too many of his rebounds), Kemba Walker (wrong conference for PGs), Bojan Bogdanovic (maybe), Jeffrey Duren (but only as an at-large), Buddy Pedraza (biggest snub not on the IR), Paul Magness (put him at C instead of PF), James Harden (self-inflicted), Jabari Parker (borderline), C.J. McCollum (borderline).

[NOLa.]

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