Picking 2022-23 Eastern Conference NBA All-Stars
My heart breaks for those who fall short!
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
St. Jerome in His Study, Joose van Cleve, 1528
The newest fan voting returns for the 2022-23 NBA All-Star team have Giannis Antetokounmpo passing Kevin Durant as the top vote-getter in the East (neither has been playing), Jayson Tatum extending his lead over Joel Embiid for No. 3 in the East frontcourt and Anthony Davis maintaining his lead over Zion Williamson for No. 3 in the West frontcourt. It’s becoming clear to me that Embiid will not be starting in the All-Star Game unless Durant sits due to injury; assuming he does finish 4th in fan voting, he’d likely need to win the player and media vote to get in there, and that’s not likely.
Alas.
It’s time to pick the official GMIB All-Star rosters. Note: I don’t have a media vote, and I’m also not an NBA coach who can vote on reserves. This is perfunctory and performative. We’re doing the Eastern Conference today and will follow up with the West early next week.
Starters:
Joel Embiid
Jayson Tatum
Kevin Durant
Donovan Mitchell
Jaylen Brown
I still think Antetokounmpo is the best player in the league, but this is a nearly impossible choice with four of the top eight players in the league this season all being East frontcourt players. This is like when you had Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki as West forwards and had to pick two. (The two were Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic, obviously.)
I’m taking Brown over Kyrie Irving, who will be a starter in reality. This is actually a good comparison since both players are No. 2 options on their teams. Irving’s a better playmaker, though he’s not in the upper tier in that category. Brown is twice the defender that Irving is. It’s not particularly close to me, and as you’ll see, I don’t think Irving’s All-Star case is particularly compelling.
Reserve Frontcourt:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Pascal Siakam
Julius Randle
Giannis is a no-brainer, and I think despite the Raptors’ incessant struggles Siakam has proven himself worthy of an All-Star spot (25-8-6, 36 games played so far). For me this third spot boils down to Randle or one of the two Heat candidates, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. As always, the advanced stats adore Butler, even if most observers would agree that Adebayo has contributed more to the Heat this season. But Randle has been extremely durable and very good, so I’m giving it to him.
One wrinkle is that once you get into the reserves, and depending how you feel about Adebayo’s candidacy, there are more great guards than slots. So if you think one Knick should be in and you think it should be Jalen Brunson, you’d put Butler (or your last frontcourt player of choice) here to save a wildcard slot for Brunson. That’s not what I’m doing: I think Randle has been really good and really deserving.
Reserve Backcourt:
Trae Young
James Harden
As always, love him or hate him, Trae Young is freaking good. Think of it this way: similar efficiency to Brunson with much more volume and playmaking.
Harden is having one of the most underrated seasons of any former MVP this season. The two-man game with Embiid has been deadly effective, and Harden has cut down on a lot of his worst habits. Helluva season. The two other closest contenders here are Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton, though I looked at others as well. Hali’s advanced stats are absurdly good and the counting stats and team quality are on par or better than Brunson. Harden scores as much as Brunson, more efficiently with double the rebounds and assists per game for a better team. The big advantage that Brunson has over both but especially Harden is games played. I think Harden has been better enough to give him the nod.
Wildcards:
Tyrese Haliburton
Jimmy Butler
I think Hali is in: 20-4-10 on high efficiency for a team much better than its roster would suggest it should be. The last spot comes down to Brunson, Irving, Butler and Adebayo. The advanced stats just think Butler has been exceptional in his games, and reality usually bears out what the advanced stats say about Butler. The counting stats are similar between Brunson and Butler, and Brunson has a lot more games player, but efficiency and All The Non-Counting Stuff favors Butler in a big way. The counting stats and reliability are pluses for Adebayo, but the advanced stats don’t love the overall season he’s having. Kyrie similarly only has the counting stats in his favor.
Others Receiving Consideration: Jalen Brunson (first injury call-up), Bam Adebayo, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Kuzma, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, Al Freaking Horford, Kristaps Porzingis.
Scores
Warriors 118, Celtics 121 (OT) — Stephen Curry closing the first half.
Absolutely wild finish. I can’t believe the Celtics almost coughed it up!
Raptors 126, Timberwolves 128 —
Minnesota wins a close game! And it was a nice comeback: they trailed by 14 in the fourth.
Nets 112, Suns 117 — The Nets Are Not Okay (I Promise). Ben Simmons ejected in the third. The defense without Kevin Durant looks like a nightmare. Kyrie Irving is not a high-level No. 1 option for an NBA offense.
In other news, Cam Johnson is back! 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench.
Sixers 105, Blazers 95 — The Sixers are 4-0 on their Western road swing and now tied for second in the East. One game left, against the best team they’ll face on this trip: Saturday night in Sacramento.
Joel Embiid is 0.1 points behind Luka Doncic for the scoring title lead. Seven straight games with at least 30 points. He’s averaging exactly 10 made free throws per game.
Schedule
The NBA is once again ceding the weekend to the NFL on national TV. Still some good games on League Pass, though! All times Eastern.
FRIDAY
Pelicans at Magic, 7
Knicks at Hawks, 7:30
Warriors at Cavaliers, 7:30
Heat at Mavericks, 7:30, ESPN
Clippers at Spurs, 8
Pacers at Nuggets, 9
Nets at Jazz, 9
Grizzlies at Lakers, 10, ESPN
Thunder at Kings, 10
SATURDAY
Celtics at Raptors, 5
Magic at Wizards, 7
Hornets at Hawks, 7:30
Bucks at Cavaliers, 7:30
Rockets at Timberwolves, 8
Pacers at Suns, 9
Sixers at Kings, 10
SUNDAY
Clippers at Mavericks, 2:30
Pelicans at Heat, 3:30
Knicks at Raptors, 6
Thunder at Nuggets, 8
Grizzlies at Suns, 8
Nets at Warriors, 8:30, NBA TV
Lakers at Blazers, 9
Links
What Kelly Dwyer writes is not basketball coverage, it is art. ($)
In which Aaron Gordon tells Rohan Nadkarni that if he’s selected as an All-Star he’ll do the Dunk Contest. Do your job, NBA coaches!
Marc Stein talks to Steph Curry about the state of the Warriors. ($)
Dan Devine on the cases of potential first-time All-Stars.
Christian Wood is out at least a week with a fractured thumb. It’s fine, though, the Mavericks have plenty of depth.
Mitchell Robinson is also out with a thumb injury. We Need To Have A Conversation About Thumbs.
What the Connecticut Sun are thinking.
This Showtime documentary on Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf looks incredible. Coming February 3.
David Thorpe in TrueHoop on the rise of the Thunder. ($)
Ooh, the Lynx are going to meet with Courntey Vandersloot in free agency.
Jonathan Givony at ESPN+ on how Bronny James is shaping up as a prospect (he says he’ll potentially be in the low first round in the site’s 2024 mock). ($) I enjoy the fact, though, that Carlos Boozer’s son Cameron might be the best American prospect in that draft.
Rest in peace, Chris Ford.
The NBA is considering preseason games in Africa.
And Finally
Be excellent to each other.
Can't wait for the Bill Walton alternative broadcast! Guy has already helped us discover so many neat alternatives, right? Alternatives to music (the Grateful Dead), alternatives to compassionate housing policies (internment camps)! He's so alternative.
Hurts my head so much that Kyrie is getting so many votes. Am I the only one who's still upset, angry, and disgusted by his antisemtism?