The real NBA All-Star crisis has nothing to do with Alex Caruso or Tacko Fall
That second starting guard spot in the East is a nightmare
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J.M.W. Turner, Fisherman at Sea
The first batch of NBA All-Star fan voting returns were released on Thursday, and wow, how I love NBA All-Star fan voting returns. There’s so much bizarre data baked into these things. The biggest story is that Luka Doncic is the leading vote-getter at this point, barely nudging Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. As things stand, Luka and Giannis would be captains picking teams at the end of the month, a stunning triumph for the globalist NBA.
The goofy story that captured the public imagination is the presence of Lakers guard Alex Caruso and Celtics center Tacko Fall in the top 10 in their respective categories. SB Nation’s Matt Ellentuck celebrates this feat. Caruso and Fall are nowhere near close enough in the fan vote to actually make the All-Star team, so this is just a funny thing to follow through the fan voting. Besides, the NBA has mostly fixed All-Star joke voting by adding in player and media votes for the starters (which we should really call the Zaza Pachulia Solution).
There is a real crisis revealed in the first balloting release, though: the second guard spot in the East.
Right now, Kemba Walker has the No. 3 spot in the fan vote. Walker is a deserving pick as a reasonable representation of the Celtics’ high quality. (Is Walker more deserving than Jaylen Brown in that spot? Hard to say. But it’s totally understandable why more fans are voting Walker than Brown.)
No. 1 in East backcourt fan voting is Trae Young. Young is putting up big numbers, and leaves a trail of gasp-worthy highlights in his wake. I’m a huge fan of his game and his future. But also, you know, he plays for the worst team in the league, the 7-27 Atlanta Hawks. Can you lead a team to .200 winning percentage and be an All-Star starter? No, this really should not be possible.
But really, who else is there to pick for the starter slot in the East backcourt? Kyrie Irving is No. 2 in voting behind No. 1 Young and ahead of No. 3 Walker; Irving has played 11 games this season. Derrick Rose is No. 4. Zach LaVine is fifth, Ben Simmons is sixth, Brown is seventh and Kyle Lowry, Bradley Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie round out the top 10.
The fan vote is weighted equal to the sum of the media and player vote. We can look at last year’s voting to get a sense of where players and the media might go here. For instance, last season, media rated Simmons much higher than players did. Players rated Beal much higher than the media did. Brown basically didn’t register. Lowry is not going to be a factor without being a clear-cut top-2 choice for the media (he’s not).
So here’s the problem. Given where actual worthy second options like Simmons, Brown, Beal and Dinwiddie are in fan voting (too low to actually win the spot without really high ranks on media and player voting that they are unlikely to get), the only real alternatives to Young as a starter are Irving or Rose.
Derrick Rose finished awful high in player voting in the West backcourt last season … above even Damian Lillard.
Some members of the media seem to be engaging in the Derrick Rose redemption arc story. It’s true: his basketball comeback after his string of injuries is an incredible story. But it’s really hard to see in detail through the dark cloud of his disgusting behavior for which he has seemed the opposite of remorseful or apologetic.
The All-Star Game is a celebration. Derrick Rose is not worth celebrating. (Though sexual assault cases have never stopped the league or its broadcasters from celebrating players in the past.) These realities are on a crash course unless the lead guard on a 7-27 team becomes an All-Star starter.
Let’s go, Trae.
Scores
Hornets 109, Cavaliers 106
Nuggets 124, Pacers 116
If you hear people on the street screaming about Michael Porter Jr. today, this is why.
Raptors 76, Heat 84
Jazz 102, Bulls 98
Warriors 84, Wolves 99
Nets 111, Mavericks 123
Thunder 109, Spurs 103
Grizzlies 123, Kings 128
Sacramento ends its losing streak thanks to a classic De’Aaron Fox game.
Weekend Schedule
Here’s a look at the best games happening this weekend.
Friday
The ESPN doubleheader is Sixers-Rockets (8 p.m. ET) followed by Pelicans-Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET). Pretty good since New Orleans is playing well lately. There are no other games with two competitive teams, but Blazers-Wizards (7 p.m. ET, League Pass) should be fun in the sense that neither team can stop anybody.
Saturday
Nothing on national T.V., but League Pass heads might want to check out Raptors-Nets at 6 ET, Nuggets-Wizards at 8 ET and Spurs-Bucks at 8:30 ET.
Sunday
Again, no national T.V. and not much in the way of exciting, high-level match-ups. But there’s a Knicks-Clippers matinee (3:30 p.m. ET), and Blazers-Heat (6 ET) and Grizzlies-Suns (8 ET) could be fun.
Links
Just a powerhouse piece on David Stern’s ruthlessness and power from the great Henry Abbott. I’d seen the photo of Stern holding up a Putin Clippers jersey standing between Vladimir Putin and Donald Sterling before. But it’s been years, and holy smokes did I spit coffee on seeing it again in that obituary. Highest recommendation on Henry’s piece. Essential reading.
Everything Brian Phillips writes is essential reading, so here’s his piece on how Stern made the NBA huge while keeping it accessible. Here’s the great Howard Beck on his history with Stern. Important Mechelle Voepel piece on Stern’s huge role in growing women’s basketball. And the legend Harvey Araton looks back at Stern’s life and battles.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m doing a little more writing for SB Nation over the next few months. Here’s a piece I wrote for them on the truly awful races for the No. 8 seeds.
Marc Spears on Josh Jackson’s journey now going through the G League.
Brian Windhorst on how the Heat and Raptors uncover hidden talent.
Vander Blue, chasing the G League scoring record and another NBA chance.
Free De’Aaron Fox, writes Michael Pina.
Jimmy Butler has left Jordan Brand and is now a pretty high-profile sneaker free agent.
Jonathan Tjarks on Donovan Mitchell thriving in Mike Conley’s absence. The Jazz are two games out of the No. 2 seed.
Kevin O’Connor has some storylines to watch for the next decade.
Are the Pistons planning to trade away their veteran stars, tank and rebuild? Tom Gores seems open to that possibility. In related news, 19-year-old French forward Sekou Doumbouya got his first start for Detroit on Thursday … and looked pretty good for a 19-year-old French forward making his first NBA start.
FULL PRACTICE FOR ZION WILLIAMSON! In othr injury comeback news, Caris LeVert should return this weekend.
The three ways NBA players react to getting dunked on.
Oh wow an oral histoy of the 2004-05 Baby Bulls.
What would Darren Collison do for the Lakers? What do the Lakers need to do to add him?
Thanks for your support. We’ll be back Monday assuming, well, that any of us are back Monday. (Sorry, I default to gallows humor.) Be excellent to each other.