Middle of the Season

Title was a Meek reference...

Sup?  I've been slacking again...as is my custom.  It's a combination of year-end/year-beginning/month-end work bullshit, getting back in the gym after getting bored with Insanity, and spending time with various people.  Just a lot of stuff.  I've been watching a lot of basketball though (and taking an almost perverse joy in watching the Lakers lose in an embarrassing manner), so I DO have some mid-season thoughts.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013 NBA All-Star starters

NBA All-Star 2013

My first thought is I'm pissed that I can't go down to Houston for the game due to work.  My second thought is that I'm not terribly upset with the choices.  That being said, I am annoyed at a couple of things.

Eastern Conference

Let's start with the good here. LeBron, Anthony, and Wade have all been very good this year; the former 2 are MVP candidates, and for all of the talk about Wade declining, he's still producing 20.8/4.7/4.5 on a TS% of 57.8 (his PER is 23.8, above Kobe's).  Rumors of Wade's demise are greatly exaggerated, and in a conference where the best teams have mostly had sub-par guard play, it makes sense that he's starting.  It's hard because we expect so much more from Wade, but he's probably still the best SG in the league.

Now for the bad.  Kevin Garnett is great.  People forget that part of the reason Kobe was only the best player in the league for a couple of years is that KG was the best player in the league for a couple of years.  Even now, in his 18th season, KG is arguably the best defender on his team.  If Garnett doesn't play well, the Celtics will not get far in the playoffs, period.  That being said, 14.7/7.2 are not All-Star starters numbers, period.  I was pissed at Roy Hibbert getting an All-Star spot last year, and Garnett doesn't get an exception for his past glory.  A number of bigs were better qualified, including...

HE'S AN ANIMAL

Chris Bosh is averaging a modest 17.3/7.2/1.4, but on an excellent TS% of 60.6.  Outside of LeBron, he's been the most consistent Heat player this year, and he's arguably had to make the most sacrifices/changes in this Big 3 experiment.  Dude can still ball, as Denver learned in the 3rd game of the season.  We underrate him, but if he was leading a team, he'd be a 20/10 guy easily.  The coaches rectified this mistake by voting him in as a reserve.

Fucking lol'd.

Yup, Mr. Spray Paint-Hair is actually playing pretty well this year, averaging 16.1/10.0 while helping anchor a Bulls team still without their best player, former MVP Derrick Rose.  While I predicted Chicago would get the 5th spot this year, there were others who felt they wouldn't be able to stay in the playoff hunt without Rose.  They currently lead their division and are a few games out of 1st place in the East.  Boozer is a huge part of this, as is...

Soul!

Joakim is one of those players whose numbers don't tell the entire story.  12.2/11.0/2.1 are pretty good numbers for a center these days, but the fact that he plays 38min a night (when he had been playing ~30min a night before this season) is testament to how hard Coach Thibodeau is riding Noah.  He leads the defense, period.  His effort is never in question, and the team largely follows his example.  Like Bosh, Noah was voted in as a reserve by the coaches. 

I'm speechless.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is still in pretty good form this season, averaging 12.1/10.9/1.1 while sporting a sizzling TS% of 69.7 (which is DOWN from last year!).  The best pick-and-roll finisher in the league today is still a huge part of what the Knicks do; he's arguably an anchor for the Knicks both offensively and defensively.  For those of us who grew up watching basketball in the 90s, numbers like 12/11 aren't that impressive; we saw the Ewings, Robinsons, Shaqs, Hakeems, etc., not to mention the plethora of power forwards.  However, at some point we have to get over the fact that bigs today can't hold a candle to those of the past, and from there appreciate what we do have these days.  Tyson Chandler is a perfect example of what a team wants from their center today, and I'm really surprised that Knicks fans didn't vote him in; luckily the coaches had more sense than the fans.

I'm astonished as well, Brook.

The biggest snub on the East, IMO, is Brook Lopez.  His presence on the Nets fits his frame; you could argue his absence was the largest factor in Avery Johnson's firing.  I've heard some people say that the lack of Nets selected for the All-Star team was a show of solidarity for Avery, but...you're going to punish Brook for that?  In case you were wondering, Brook's PER is 4th in the league, only behind...you know, 3 MVP candidates (LeBron, Durant, and CP3).  His numbers are impressive, especially considering he only plays 29min a night (18.6/7.4/2.1), and the team is 24-11 with him, 2-5 without him.  His rebounding could use work, but a PER of 25.4 is ridiculous. Melo is having an MVP-candidate season and his PER is lower than Brook's.  A travesty, especially considering the effort the Nets and the NBA have made to make the Brooklyn Nets the new hotness.  Embarrassing.

Then there's the selection of Rajon Rondo.  Rondo is a very good example of why we need to watch the games instead of simply looking at stats.  His numbers are good; 13.7/11.1/1.9 are very solid...but when you watch the games, you see he just doesn't take over games the way you want your best player to.  His assist total is inflated by unnecessary passes when he has easy looks at the basket, he avoids contact so he doesn't get to the foul line, and while his mid-range game is better than it has ever been, it's still not something that teams are threatened by.  Additionally, his team isn't exactly overperforming; despite picking up Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, and despite Paul Pierce's recent performance, the Celtics were hovering around the .500 mark when voting finished.  If we're going to ignore a team's record when considering who is an All-Star, then I can think of a number of perimeter players equally qualified to be on the team.

Lmfaoooooo

Jrue Holiday has done his best with a team missing arguably arguably the 2nd-best center in the NBA when healthy.  His numbers are great, 19.0/9.0/1.4 would be appreciated on any team.  He's the lead guy on a team just trying to stay afloat until their star big returns, and his team's record really isn't that terrible when you consider they also lost two pretty big parts of last year's team.  Coaches agreed with this and voted him in as a reserve.

Yup, you're down 10 again.

I was not a Kyrie believer.  When he was drafted by Cleveland as the #1 pick after only playing 11 college games, I thought that Cleveland had gone crazy.  That being said, I'm a fucking idiot. Yes, Cleveland is 12-32, tied for the most losses this season...but Kyrie is far from being the problem.  He's been spectacular, averaging 24.0/5.6/1.8 on 47/40/85 splits.  I used to think John Wall was a better player, but Irving is such an outstanding shooter (while Wall is a pretty poor one) that despite Wall's athleticism, I have to give it to Kyrie.  In my opinion, if we were going to ignore records, then Kyrie should have had the starting spot at PG for the East.  Again, coaches agreed that he should be on the All-Star team, and they voted him in.


The Rondo selection isn't anywhere near as egregious as the Garnett selection, IMO.  He's still a top PG despite his flaws, and he's played at an above-average level.  My biggest gripe with his selection is that his team has been mediocre, so there's no way that it should have had 2 starters.  Rondo starting alone would have been fine, and I would have been OK with Paul Pierce being a reserve selection.



Western Conference


Again, let's start with the good. Chris Paul is the best PG in the game, and has played like it.  His team is currently the 3rd seed in the West, and even that is partially due to him being injured for the past few games. They ran off a 17 game win streak and at times looked like the best team in the NBA.  He deserved the starting spot.  While Blake Griffin's numbers have been down, this is partially due to his minutes decreasing.  If you've watched the games, then you've seen an improved mid-range game, passing ability, as well as defensive commitment.  With Kevin Love injured, Dirk working himself back into prime condition, and the advancing ages of Garnett, Duncan, Z-Bo, etc., Griffin is in the argument for best all-around PF in the game. He deserves his spot.  Kevin Durant...I don't have to get into why he deserves it...which brings me to my issues.


People have been bitching about Dwight's lack of efficacy this year, despite him leading the league in rebounding.  Personally, I think he's been fine considering he's recovering from back surgery and has been dealing with a shoulder injury.  16.7/12.1/2.5 is a line that most centers would love to have...but Dwight has been better than this.  His team is currently 7 games below .500, and his numbers outside of rebounding probably don't justify him being voted in over some of the following:

You got selected. Thumbs up indeed.

People have really wanted to throw Tony Parker over Tim Duncan in the MVP talk, and for the life of me I can't understand it.  The Spurs go where Tim Duncan goes, period.  17.5/9.8/2.7 sounds good, but when you consider it's coming in 30min a night, that's excellent production.  And his team?  The Spurs are currently the 2nd seed in the West, effectively even with the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Coaches voted this perennial All-Star into the game.

Friends!  Ones you can depend on!

It's really difficult for me to separate Z-Bo and Marc Gasol.  While Z-Bo cleans up on the boards, averaging 11.5 rebounds/game, Marc Gasol, despite the numbers, is probably the best center in the game right now.  That's right, a man averaging 13.3/7.5/1.8 may very well be the best center in the game.  Again, you've got to watch the games.  His passing and defense are keys to Memphis' success, and when combined with Z-Bo, they make the best big duo in the league today.  If I was voting for someone to start in place of Dwight, I'd probably select Marc, but the selection of Z-Bo by the coaches doesn't make me mad at all.

This just looks weird.

The argument against David Lee has always been that his numbers are meaningless, but now that he's on a team that's winning games, it's impossible to argue against the sole 20/10 guy for most of this year (he's currently at 19.7/10.7).  His health and presence on this team (combined with a teammate who I'll mention later) have been a large part of why the Golden State Warriors are currently 5th in the Western Conference. I personally would have selected him over Dwight, considering his team's record, and the coaches indeed selected him as a reserve.

"That guy's got problems"

Yup, that's DeMarcus Cousins.  Why is he there, you say?  While I wouldn't select him over Dwight, 17.9/10.6/1.5(!) is pretty good for a big.  His FG% is pretty poor for a big, but man. DeMarcus is the epitome of the "if he ever gets it together mentally" player.  Even with all of his on-court issues, he's been very productive, albeit for a bad team, and I've got to wonder if all he needs is some veteran guidance.  This is an All-Star talent, despite him not making the All-Star team.


And then there's...

He's slowly going insane.

Kobe Bryant has been very good this year.  Despite his steady slide in production, he is still at near-career-best shooting efficiency numbers.  That being said, his team is still 7 games under .500.  If we're going to put on airs about how we won't select a Monta Ellis (for example) because his team is doing poorly, why in the world are we giving the 11th seed in the West 2 starters?  At least Boston's the 8th seed in the East.  While I'd sooner remove Dwight from the starting line-up than Kobe, there are some other guards I would have rather seen in the starting line-up.

This guy...

The first Russell W to recently take the sporting world by storm is still a beast.  Filling in the playmaking gap left by James Harden's departure, Russell is again among the league leaders in assists per game; he's averaging 22.6/8.3/5.3/1.9 on admittedly poor shooting efficiency.  His detractors will always point to the number of shots he takes while being a teammate of the best scorer in the league, but without Russell's aggressiveness, Kevin Durant would not perform at the level that he does, period.  Westbrook deserved a starting spot IMO, and the coaches made sure he was in the ASG.

#BEARDGANG

It's not just because we're rocking similar beards...James Harden, despite his recent shooting slump, has been pretty damn good in his new starting role.  He's currently averaging 25.9/4.5/5.5 and has led the Rockets, who most of us thought would be pretty bad this year, to a 24-22 record and the current 8 seed in the West.  He leads the league in FT attempted and FT made, and is pretty much the reason the Houston offense clicks.  Coaches voted him in, and he'll basically serve as the host for the All-Star weekend.

OH MY GOD IT'S HEALTHY

In a pretty odd occurrence, Stephen Curry has been mostly healthy this year, playing 40 games at 38min a night.  In an equally odd occurrence, he's been shooting better from 3pt range (45%) than from 2pt range (42%).  He's a really good shooter, so I'm expecting his FG% to go up, but 20.9/6.5/1.7 is pretty good.  The other part of why Golden State has done so well WITHOUT Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry deserved at least an All-Star nod, and he's pretty much the biggest snub on the Western team.

You're still a fuckboy for this shit.

I know I basically shat on Tony Parker earlier, but man.  Tony Parker is good.  Very good.  The numbers aren't eye-popping; 19.8/7.5 are good, but Jrue Holiday's look better, for example.  Then you look at the 33min/game he's playing.  AND the 52/39/81 splits.  AND the fact that his team leads the league in wins.  Then you realize...yo, Tony Parker is playing pretty damn well.  His PER of 22.9 is even with Russell Westbrook's, and his TS% of 58 is higher than Kobe's, Wade's, and Stephen Curry's.  Since he's a Spur, he'll never get the fan vote, but I wouldn't have been mad at him starting at one of the guard spots either.  Coaches voted him in as a reserve.



Personally, I believe the All-Star Game is an opportunity for good players on bad teams to get some recognition of their skills.  As such, I don't have a problem when that happens.  That being said, I feel like I often would hear that certain players shouldn't get All-Star recognition because of how their teams had performed (see: Ellis, Monta).  I can also understand when someone says that an All-Star player should be able to make his team a good team (even though we have clearly seen cases where that simply isn't true).  All I ask is that we keep the shit consistent.  It's irritating when good players (see: Curry, Stephen) are snubbed because they aren't that well known, despite their team doing well...it's even more irritating when players get voted in due to name recognition more than for their play (see: Ming, Yao).  Admittedly, in the Western Conference, both Kobe and Dwight have put up solid numbers, but I can't think of any reason for Kevin Garnett to be in the All-Star Game over Brook Lopez, even if the coaches are voicing their disapproval of what went down in Brooklyn.  Let's try to do better.