Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: Western Conference Play-In Race

March 7th, 2023 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Western Conference standings have been bunched up for much of the 2022/23 season, but a Portland win and a New Orleans loss helped push the congestion in the play-in race to a new level on Monday night.

The Jazz, Trail Blazers, Lakers, and Pelicans now own matching 31-34 records, tying them for the Nos. 9 through 12 spots in the West. The No. 13 Thunder, at 30-34, are a half-game back of that quartet.

There’s also still a logjam a little higher in the standings. The 34-31 Warriors currently control the No. 5 seed in the conference, but they only lead the 34-32 Timberwolves by a half-game and the Mavericks (33-32) and Clippers (34-33) by one game apiece.

The Mavs and Clips have a two-game cushion on those four teams tied at 31-34, but both clubs have been inconsistent in recent weeks, so it’s not as either one has an iron grip on a top-eight seed.

With just over a month left in the regular season, it looks like the race for the West’s six guaranteed playoff spots and four play-in berths will go down to the wire.

On paper, the Lakers and Pelicans would seem to have an edge in the play-in race over the Jazz, Blazers, and Thunder. After all, Utah downgraded its roster at the trade deadline by trading away Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley, and you could argue Portland took a step back too by moving Josh Hart and Gary Payton II. Oklahoma City wasn’t exactly a deadline buyer and hasn’t shown any organizational urgency to make the playoffs this season.

The Lakers, meanwhile, traded away a first-round pick at the deadline to upgrade their roster, and the Pelicans entered the season determined to build on last year’s first-round exit. Both teams are highly motivated to play in the postseason.

Still, the Lakers are missing LeBron James and the Pelicans don’t have Zion Williamson available, so neither club is at full strength. The Blazers aren’t tanking, and if the Jazz and Thunder are, they’re not doing a great job of it so far — All-Stars Lauri Markkanen and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have helped make sure those two teams have been competitive all season.

Further up the standings, the Warriors, Wolves, Mavs, and Clippers all looked like good bets to make the playoffs entering the season, but all four have had some rocky stretches. Injuries (to Stephen Curry, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Kawhi Leonard, among others) have played a part, but the Wolves (Rudy Gobert), Mavs (Kyrie Irving), and Clippers (trade deadline additions, plus Russell Westbrook) have all had a hard time smoothly assimilating new players, and Golden State’s struggles on defense and in road games have resulted in an up-and-down season.

Strength of schedule could be an important factor in the season’s final weeks. According to Tankathon, the Pelicans, Mavericks, Lakers, and Thunder have some of the easiest schedules (based on opposing winning percentages) the rest of the way, while the Blazers, Jazz, Wolves, and Warriors will face tougher paths. The Clippers are right in the middle.

We want to know what you think.

Which six teams will clinch guaranteed playoff spots in the West?
Which four clubs will earn play-in berths?
Which three current play-in contenders will be left on the outside looking in, and which two teams will be eliminated in the play-in tournament without getting a playoff series?
Do you expect any of the teams currently outside the top four to move up into that group by catching the Grizzlies (38-25), Kings (38-26), or Suns (36-29)?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts and make your predictions!

Community Shootaround: Raptors’ Season

February 28th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors could have blown things up after underachieving during the first four months of the season.

They have some prominent players headed to free agency and nearly every one of them saw their names in trade rumors.

Instead of hitting the reset button, the Raptors actually added a key piece before the trade deadline by re-acquiring center Jakob Poeltl from San Antonio.

The Raptors started to catch fire before the All-Star break and they’ve picked up where they left off. Prior to losing at Cleveland on Sunday, they had won four straight and seven of their last eight games. The Raptors, who entered Tuesday ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, bounced back with a 104-98 victory over Chicago.

Better health has certainly been a key, though Fred VanVleet hasn’t played since the break for personal reasons. Poeltl has been a major factor at both ends since his return to the organization, solidifying the troublesome center spot in the process.

Toronto essentially has six starters, though the reserve corps beyond Precious Achiuwa is suspect. Those seven players are all capable of big offensive nights, led by Pascal Siakam (25.3 points per game) and VanVleet (19.7 PPG). Toss is last season’s Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. and the Raptors have the firepower to scare any of the top Eastern Conference teams.

Newly acquired Will Barton, snagged off the buyout market, could fortify the bench.

This group may not be together for long. Poeltl will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, though the Raptors acquired him with the intent of re-signing him. VanVleet and Trent Jr. are expected to decline their player options in order to enter the free agent market in July.

That brings us to today’s topic: Considering the Raptors’ improved play this month, do you feel they made the right decision by holding onto their top players prior to the trade deadline? What do you think their ceiling is this season if their core players continue to remain healthy down the stretch?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Race To The Bottom

February 26th, 2023 at 11:57am CST by Luke Adams

Coming into the 2022/23 season, there was some concern that the presence of Scoot Henderson and (especially) Victor Wembanyama at the top of the 2023 draft class could result in some pretty aggressive tanking from the bottom third of the NBA’s teams.

It hasn’t played out that way so far though, due to a competitive race for the top 10 spots in each conference. In the West, the top 13 teams all either hold a playoff or play-in spot or are no more than 1.5 games back of the No. 10 seed. It’s not quite as congested in the East, but the conference’s 13th team is only four games out of a play-in spot.

As a result, there have been only four teams in full-on “race for Wembanyama” mode, and one of those four clubs hasn’t exactly been in tanking mode as of late, winning its last four games. Here’s what the bottom of the NBA’s standings look like as of Sunday morning:

Houston Rockets (13-46)
San Antonio Spurs (14-47)
Detroit Pistons (15-46)
Charlotte Hornets (19-43)
Orlando Magic (25-36)
Indiana Pacers (27-35)
Chicago Bulls (27-33)
Los Angeles Lakers (28-32)
(tie) Portland Trail Blazers / Oklahoma City Thunder / Washington Wizards (28-31)

Given that the odds for the No. 1 pick are the same for each of the NBA’s three worst teams, it seemed as if we’d get a four-team race for those three spots at the bottom of the standings. But the Hornets have won their last four games and appear far better positioned to continue getting victories than the Rockets (losers of eight in a row and 23 of their last 26), the Spurs (losers of 15 in a row and 21 of 22), and the Pistons (losers of four in a row and seven of their last eight).

Of course, if the Hornets were to play .500 ball the rest of the way, they’d still end up with just 29 wins, so they may end up with the NBA’s fourth-worst record even if they finish strong. After all, the Bulls, Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Wizards all seem motivated to make the play-in.

The Magic, Pacers, and Thunder are perhaps candidates for stealth end-of-season tanks in order to secure top-five lottery odds, since none of those clubs expected to be a playoff team this season. But they’ve been competitive all season and would probably have to start ruling out some of their top players due to injuries if they want to start winning less often (similar to what Portland did last year).

As for the race to the bottom among the NBA’s three worst teams, it’s hard to bet against the Rockets, who also finished with the league’s worst record in 2021 and 2022. But the Spurs are giving them a run for their money with their recent stretch of futility, posting an abysmal -15.8 net rating during their 15-game current losing streak. And the Pistons seem happy to experiment with new lineups while incorporating recently added players.

We want to know what you think. How will the race for lottery positioning play out the rest of the way? Which team will finish as the NBA’s worst? Has the Hornets’ recent success locked them into the fourth spot in the lottery standings? Are there any teams with 25 or more wins that you expect to go into full-on tank mode in the coming days or weeks?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in!

Community Shootaround: Sixth Man Of The Year

February 24th, 2023 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after word broke last summer that Malcolm Brogdon was being traded from Indiana to Boston, the veteran guard spoke about his willingness to sacrifice his personal numbers and play whatever role his new team asked of him for the sake of winning.

Nearly eight months later, Brogdon has made good on that promise — in 51 games as a reserve, his 14.9 points per game represent his worst scoring average since the 2017/18 season, and his 25.5 minutes per game are a career low. But the 30-year-old is leading the NBA with a career-high .465 3PT% and the Celtics own the league’s best record (43-17).

The contributions Brogdon has made to the NBA’s top team, including as a defender and play-maker, have made him the frontrunner to become this season’s Sixth Man of the Year. Betting site BetOnline.ag currently lists him as a -175 favorite to win the award, and in a discussion published today by The Athletic, Eric Koreen, Josh Robbins, and Sam Amick all made Brogdon their top pick.

Still, we have about a month-and-a-half left in the regular season, and it’s not as if Brogdon’s somewhat modest counting stats will make him a runaway winner.

Norman Powell shows up on two of the unofficial ballots put forth by The Athletic’s trio, and BetOnline.ag gives the Clippers swingman the second-best odds (+350) to become this season’s Sixth Man of the Year. After a slow start to the season, Powell has bumped his scoring average to 17.0 points per game on a sparkling .486/.417/.805 shooting line, and he’d be the sort of instant-offense player who often wins this award.

Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is also a popular choice, with Koreen and Robbins selecting him as their runner-up. His season-long stats, including 12.7 points per game, don’t jump off the page, but Quickley has averaged 15.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 3.4 APG with a .478/.391/.810 shooting in his last 29 games (dating back to Dec. 20) and the Knicks’ defensive numbers are much stronger when he’s on the court.

Bucks big man Bobby Portis has averaged a double-double (14.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG) while primarily playing a reserve role, though a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf for the last month will hurt his case.

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has only played 39 games and has started 22 of them, but he’ll likely come off the bench for most of the rest of the season and is putting up an impressive 19.7 PPG and 3.6 APG on .452/.384/.813 shooting.

BetOnline gives Maxey the third-best odds and Clippers guard Russell Westbrook the fourth-best odds. Westbrook’s numbers with the Lakers (15.9 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 6.2 RPG) certainly warrant Sixth Man of The Year consideration, but his case will be hurt by the fact that he was traded and then bought out — we still need to see how he fits with his new team too.

Warriors guard Jordan Poole (20.9 PPG, 4.5 APG) and Mavericks big man Christian Wood (17.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG) are among the other players who have posted strong offensive numbers but could end up having too many starts to qualify. This is more likely for Poole, who has already made 36 starts and is part of Golden State’s current starting five, than for Wood, who has made just 17 starts and has come off the bench so far this month.

Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, having averaged 17.2 PPG as a rookie, may get a look from some voters, though his efficiency stats have dropped off over the course of the season (he’s shooting 43.0% from the field and 32.2% on threes).

What do you think? Is Brogdon your pick for Sixth Man of the Year at this point or is there someone else you like?

Head to our comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: All-Star Game

February 21st, 2023 at 7:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s usually a lot of excitement surrounding All-Star weekend, but the All-Star Game itself has turned into a joke for many fans, with no one particularly interested in playing any defense and hustling up and down the court being optional.

Since 2014, no losing team has failed to score fewer than 150 points. This year’s contest in Utah took it to new levels of absurdity, as both sides would have scored over 200 points if the “target score” rule wasn’t used in the fourth quarter. Nuggets coach Michael Malone called it the “worst basketball game ever played.”

It wasn’t always that way, In 2005 and 2006, the final scores were 125-115 and 122-120. That would be a typical score now for a regular season game.

The NFL finally gave up on the concept of having a Pro Bowl game this year, opting for a flag football extravaganza. Major League Baseball tried to make its annual All-Star Game more meaningful a few years back by awarding the winning league home field advantage in the World Series.

Is it time for the NBA to make its All-Star more meaningful, or at least make it less like a Harlem Globetrotters-style offensive exhibition?

The league did make a major change in 2018, appointing team captains and scrapping the East vs. West conference showdowns. The teams are now chosen by the captains. This year, the league added a little twist, having the captains choose the squads on game night.

It’s up to interpretation whether that format has been more successful, or simply more confusing for fans to choose a side. It’s safe to say no one really cares which team ends up winning.

Erasing the game altogether would probably not fly. Host cities have a lot invested in the game but it would be nice to find some middle ground between the game being a shameless exhibition and a hard-fought contest.

That brings us to today’s topic: Do you like having captains choose the All-Star teams or would you prefer to revert back to the East vs. West matchup? In what ways would you propose to improve the quality of the All-Star Game and make it more meaningful?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player

February 20th, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Since 2000/01, 12 of the 22 Most Improved Player award winners have been 23 years old or younger. Only three — Julius Randle (26), Goran Dragic (27) and Hedo Turkoglu — were older than 25, with Turkoglu the oldest winner during that span at 28.

Of the past 22 winners, 17 had played fewer than five seasons. Needless to say, a younger, relatively inexperienced player typically wins the award.

The three frontrunners for the ’22/23 MIP award are slightly different. According to BetOnline.ag, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+140) is neck-and-neck with Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (+145), followed closely by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson at +250 (Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Nets guard Cam Thomas are each viewed as long shots at +4000).

Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, is in his fifth season. Markkanen, 25, is in his sixth. Brunson, 26, is in his fifth. That’s not to take anything away from any of the players whatsoever, I just thought it was interesting that they are slightly more experienced than many of the past winners over the past couple decades.

All three have compelling cases. On top of averaging 30.8 PPG (his previous career-high was 24.5), 4.7 RPG and 5.7 APG on terrific efficiency (.508/.343/.912 shooting line for a .624 true shooting percentage), Gilgeous-Alexander is one of only three qualifying players (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Joel Embiid are the others) averaging at least one steal (1.6) and one block per game (1.1).

He has also led Oklahoma City to a surprising 28-29 record, good for the No. 10 seed in the West at the moment. I don’t think many people would have predicted the Thunder would be in the play-in tournament this late in the ’22/23 season, especially after No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out before the season began with a foot injury.

Markkanen is also averaging a career-high in PPG at 24.9 (previous high was 18.7) on elite efficiency — of players averaging at least 20 PPG, his .657 TS% only trails Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. He’s shooting at career-high levels from all over the court, including twos (.594), threes (.412), FG% (.512) and FT% (.877). The Finnisher is also averaging a solid 8.6 RPG for the resilient 29-31 Jazz, the No. 11 seed in the West.

Brunson has been instrumental in the Knicks’ turnaround this season, with New York currently sitting at 33-27, No. 6 in the East. Like his primary competition for the award, he’s averaging a career-high 23.9 PPG (previous high was 16.3) on top of a career-best 6.2 APG. His shooting slash line of .485/.411/.838 is excellent, and his .592 TS% is well above average for a point guard.

We want to know what you think. Who would you currently select for the Most Improved Player award? Why? Head to the comments to weigh in.

Community Shootaround: Should All-Star Rosters Be Expanded?

February 19th, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

In 1963, there were only nine teams in the NBA but 24 spots available in the All-Star Game, observes Lev Akabas of Sportico (subscription required). Sixty years later, the league’s number of teams has more than tripled, to 30, but the league still only names 24 All-Stars per season (barring injuries).

An expansion of All-Star rosters is long overdue, in Akabas’ view, since players are putting up record-setting scoring numbers in the current era, meaning many with All-Star caliber résumés find themselves on the outside looking in.

Akabas points out that 21 players who are averaging at least 20 points per game this season weren’t named All-Stars. Not all of them had strong cases, but many did — James Harden, for instance, is averaging 21.4 PPG while also leading the NBA in assists per contest (10.8) for a 38-19 team, but didn’t qualify as an All-Star.

Besides leaving out worthy candidates, naming just 24 All-Stars across 30 teams hurts fan engagement, contends Akabas, since there will always be a number of clubs who don’t have any players in the game. He singles out Atlanta and Washington to illustrate this point — those are two of the NBA’s top 10 media markets, and the Hawks and Wizards rank among the East’s top 10 teams in 2022/23, but neither club will be represented in this year’s All-Star Game.

Akabas also argues that, since some players’ contracts include All-Star bonuses, there’s a significant amount of money on the line, and with just 12 All-Stars selected per conference, a snub can have a major financial impact on a player.

Additionally, Akabas says, a player’s career number of All-Star appearances goes a long way toward determining his legacy, and the fact that players from previous generations had an easier path to the game when there were fewer teams – and fewer players – in the NBA makes it more difficult to compare stars from different eras.

I don’t find Akabas’ point about All-Star bonuses particularly compelling – those contracts were negotiated with the current format in mind – but the rest of his case is reasonable. Certainly, with teams permitted to carry up to 13 active players in a normal regular season game, it makes sense to at least expand All-Star rosters by one in each conference, increasing the total number of players from 24 to 26.

Still, that bump to 26 or more players often happens naturally. In each of the last three seasons, three All-Star replacements have been named for injured players, and we have to go all the way back to 2005 to find the last All-Star Game that didn’t feature at least one injury replacement. Those substitutions often allow the NBA to rectify the year’s most egregious snubs.

We want to know what you think. Do you like the fact that the NBA still names only 24 All-Stars per season? Does the fact that it’s more difficult, statistically, to make an All-Star team now than it ever has been in the past add to the event’s appeal by making the All-Star roster a more exclusive club?

Or do you think it makes sense to increase the All-Star rosters – if only by one spot per conference – to account for the grown of the league’s player pool that has occurred over the decades?

Head to the comment section below to share your two cents!

Community Shootaround: Golden State Warriors

February 18th, 2023 at 3:20pm CST by Rory Maher

During the 2021/22 regular season, the Warriors went 53-29 and had the league’s 16th-best offense and second-best defense, good for the fourth-best net rating. They led the NBA in net rating during the playoffs, winning their fourth title in eight years.

Expectations were understandably high entering the season as Golden State looked to defend its championship. The Warriors lost some bench depth, but that didn’t seem insurmountable with the primary core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole still in place.

Things haven’t gone according to plan. The Warriors dropped three of their last four games entering the All-Star break and have already equaled last season’s loss total, currently sitting at .500 with a 29-29 record. Entering the break last season, they were 42-17.

Their offense has actually improved — it’s up four spots to 12th in the league. The primary culprit has been the defense, which has fallen all the way down to 20th. Golden State’s net rating in ’22/23 isn’t much better, currently sitting at plus-0.1, which ranks 19th in the NBA.

Injuries to Curry and Wiggins haven’t helped. Wiggins is healthy now, but there’s still no timeline for Curry’s return to action following a left leg injury.

The team’s lone trade ahead of the deadline — sending out former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to bring back defensive stalwart Gary Payton II — has to be considered a disappointment on several levels. Not only did selecting Wiseman not work out, but Payton’s physical was flagged and he’s expected to miss an extended period of time with an abdominal injury.

The five-man unit of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Looney has been absolutely dominant, recording a plus-21.9 net rating with what equates to the league’s best offense and defense. It has been far and away the most effective five-man group in the league that has played 300-plus minutes.

However, the bench has been a problem the entire season, and the team’s reliance on making jump shots has hurt when trying to close out games — the Warriors are last in the league in free throw attempts (they were 26th last season, but the defense was much, much better).

If the season ended today, the No. 9 seed Warriors would need to win a couple of games in the play-in tournament to reach the postseason. Their spot is tenuous, as they only hold a one-game lead on the Jazz and Trail Blazers, the current No. 11 and No. 12 seeds.

However, the West is so close, they’re also only 2.5 games back of the No. 4 seed Clippers, so a strong finish to the season could secure them homecourt advantage in the first round — the Warriors are 22-7 at home, but only 7-22 on the road.

Assuming Curry is healthy and they get in, no one will want to play the Warriors in the playoffs. They have been the most successful team in the league over the past decade and their core has a wealth of experience. But trying to get there has been a bumpy road.

We want to know what you think. Will the Warriors make a late-season push and secure a playoff spot outright? Or will they be stuck in the play-in mix for their final 24 games?

Head to the comments and share your thoughts on the Warriors’ outlook for the rest of the regular season.

Community Shootaround: Kyrie Irving Trade

February 5th, 2023 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Well that was quick.

Just a couple of days after Kyrie Irving requested a trade, the Nets found a taker in the Mavericks. Brooklyn didn’t get any stars in return but considering Irving’s reputation and a short window to make a deal, the front office is probably happy to excise Irving from the locker room.

Dallas was desperate to find another ball-handler and star talent to pair with Luka Doncic, who has the highest usage rate among all NBA guards.

Irving has played well when he hasn’t stirred controversy this season. That backcourt dynamic will be fascinating to watch.

Coach Jason Kidd and GM Nico Harrison have past relationships with Irving and believe they can keep him happy, which may be a foolish assumption. Irving has been called the worst teammate in any sport by some media members.

If he can work out an extension agreement with the front office, perhaps he’ll be satisfied and motivated for at least the remainder of this season.

The Nets received two rotation players – Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith – in return, as well as some draft capital.

The loss of Finney-Smith could impact the Mavs’ defense and they still have the Christian Wood situation (extend him, trade him or allow him become a free agent after the season?) to deal with before the trade deadline.

As for Brooklyn, it’s quite familiar with Dinwiddie, who figures to absorb a good portion of Irving’s minutes. The Nets now have three players – Finney-Smith, Royce O’Neale and Ben Simmons – who don’t provide significant scoring. They may have to make another move this week to address that issue.

That brings us to today’s topic: What do you think of the Mavs-Nets deal? Does Dallas become a serious championship contender with the addition of Kyrie Irving? Has the Nets’ window closed or will they be better off without Irving and all the drama he creates?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: All-Star Reserves

February 2nd, 2023 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The 2023 NBA All-Star reserves will be officially announced on Thursday night during TNT’s broadcast prior to the tip-off of the Grizzlies/Cavaliers game.

As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, there will likely be plenty of players left disappointed once the announcements are made, given that there have been more All-Star caliber performances this season than there are spots on the All-Star rosters.

In the Eastern Conference, Sixers center Joel Embiid is a lock to be an All-Star reserve after missing out on a starting five that features Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyrie Irving, and Celtics wing Jaylen Brown is probably a safe bet to join him.

That leaves five spots up for grabs for a group that includes Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, Knicks teammates Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Sixers guard James Harden, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday.

At least four of those players will miss the cut, and that’s before we even get to other worthy All-Star contenders like Hawks guard Trae Young, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, and Bulls guard Zach LaVine.

In the West, where LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, and Stephen Curry are starters, a handful of would-be All-Stars may not have played enough games to earn a spot on the team.

The coaches who voted on reserves will have had to decide whether high-level performances by the likes of Suns guard Devin Booker (29 games), Lakers big man Anthony Davis (28 games), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (28 games) outweigh the fact that they’ve been unavailable for significant chunks of the season.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Kings center Domantas Sabonis, and Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen are probably the best bets to be named Western Conference reserves. If they all make it, that would leave two spots open.

Voters who believe Booker, Davis, and Leonard haven’t played enough may lean toward Leonard’s Clippers teammate Paul George, Sabonis’ Kings teammate De’Aaron Fox, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, or Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, among others.

Of course, injuries could open up more All-Star spots beyond the standard 12 in each conference. It remains to be seen whether Durant and Williamson will be able to play in Salt Lake City, and it’s possible more players will have their availability compromised in the next couple weeks. But picking this year’s initial 24 All-Stars is no easy feat.

We want to know what you think. Which seven players in each conference would you select as your All-Star reserves now that the starters have been locked in? Which players are the most difficult omissions?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your picks!

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