Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: Defensive Player Of The Year

March 25th, 2023 at 4:14pm CST by Rory Maher

According to betting site BetOnline.ag, Bucks center Brook Lopez and Grizzlies forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. are in a two-man race for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Interestingly, when I considered doing a Community Shootaround on this topic a few weeks ago, Jackson was a pretty strong favorite with Lopez the runner-up, but those odds have flipped — Lopez is currently the leading candidate at minus-225, followed by Jackson at plus-175. The only other two players listed are Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo (plus-2500) and Heat center Bam Adebayo (plus-3300), but they’re considered long shots with the regular season nearing its conclusion.

Both Lopez and Jackson have compelling cases. Lopez anchors the NBA’s top defense, which is the primary reason the Bucks have the best record in the league. With Lopez on the court, the Bucks have a 106.3 defensive rating, and they’re 4.1 points per 100 possessions worse defensively when he’s not playing.

It’s been a remarkable year for the 34-year-old, who is averaging a career-high 2.5 blocks per game (second in the league) and has only missed two games. According to NBA.com‘s data, he has contested more shots than any player in the league by a significant margin, with opponents shooting 4.5% worse than expected on those attempts. Among players who have contested at least five shots per game at the rim, opponents are shooting just 50% against Lopez, which ranks second in the league, per NBA.com.

Jackson has played 15 fewer games than Lopez following offseason foot surgery, and has played fewer minutes in those games (28.1 MPG compared to 30.6 for Lopez). Barring injury, there’s no way for him to make up ground in those areas. He has only contested 13.8 shots per game versus Lopez’s 22.9.

That said, there’s a strong argument to be made that Jackson has been more impactful in the time he has been on the court, even if he’s played nearly 600 fewer minutes to this point. The Grizzlies hold the league’s third-best defense. With Jackson on the court, the Grizzlies have a 105.7 defensive rating, and they’re 5.7 points worse defensively when he’s off the court.

Lopez ranks second in blocks per game because he trails Jackson, who is averaging 3.0 while leading the league in block percentage. He’s also averaging 1.0 steal compared to 0.5 for Lopez, so Jackson easily clears in steals plus blocks (4.0 vs 3.0).

Opponents are shooting 4.7% worse than expected with Jackson as the nearest defender, and they are only shooting 46.4% at the rim against him — that’s the best mark for a full-time player since 2013/14, according to NBA.com.

We want to know what you think. Who should win the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022/23? Head to the comments to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: New Orleans Pelicans

March 19th, 2023 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

After finishing last season strong without star forward Zion Williamson available, the Pelicans enjoyed the best of both worlds in the first half of 2022/23. Williamson appeared in 29 of New Orleans’ first 37 games and played at an All-Star level, while the team also performed well in the games he didn’t play, winning six of eight.

When Williamson went down with a right hamstring strain in early January, the Pelicans looked like they were still in pretty good shape. They’d gotten off to a 23-14 start and – with Brandon Ingram set to return later in the month from a toe injury – there was reason to believe they’d remain competitive even without Zion in the lineup.

That’s not how it’s played out, however. Since January 4, the Pelicans have gone just 10-23 and have cratered offensively, posting a 111.3 offensive rating — only the bottom four teams in the NBA’s standings (the Rockets, Pistons, Spurs, and Hornets) have been less productive offensively during that time. Prior to Williamson’s injury, New Orleans had the league’s eighth-best offensive rating (114.7).

With Williamson still sidelined, having suffered a setback in his rehab process, New Orleans’ months-long slump has caused the team to plummet from a top-three seed to potentially missing the play-in tournament entirely. Heading into Sunday’s games, the Pelicans’ 33-37 record places them 12th in the Western Conference, one game behind the No. 10 Jazz.

Friday’s contest in Houston was supposed to be the start of the softest part of the Pelicans’ rest-of-season schedule. A 4-0 run against the tanking Rockets (twice; on Friday and Sunday), Spurs (Tuesday), and Hornets (Thursday) would’ve helped right the ship in New Orleans and likely allowed the club to reclaim its place in the West’s top 10 entering the season’s home stretch.

Instead, the Pelicans dropped the first of those four favorable matchups, falling 114-112 in Houston.

New Orleans will have a chance to avenge that loss to the Rockets later today, but time is running out for the Pelicans to turn things around. Even if they capture a play-in berth, they don’t look like a great bet to earn a playoff spot, given how they’re playing as of late.

This was supposed to be the year that the Pelicans evolved from exciting young upstarts to genuine contenders — there were comparisons to the 2020/21 Suns, who made the NBA Finals a year after narrowly missing the postseason despite winning all eight games they played in the Disney World bubble. New Orleans followed that blueprint in the early part of the season, but have fallen apart without Williamson in the second half.

The Pelicans have continued to express optimism that the former No. 1 overall pick will return before the end of the season, but that’s hardly a lock. And whether or not he returns this spring, another injury-plagued year for Williamson has raised serious questions about how heavily New Orleans can rely on him going forward.

Williamson’s maximum-salary rookie scale extension will go into effect in 2023/24, so he’s ostensibly the cornerstone the franchise is building around, but he has made just 114 appearances since entering the NBA in 2019.

We want to get your thoughts on both the current and future versions of the Pelicans.

Will this year’s team earn a playoff spot, be eliminated in the play-in tournament, or miss out on the play-in altogether? If the Pels don’t start to climb back up the standings soon, does it even make sense to bring back Williamson this season?

And what about the seasons beyond this one? Do the Pelicans just have to hope for the best regarding Zion’s health or is it time to start getting more serious about potential contingency plans?

Take to the comment section below to let us know what you think!

Community Shootaround: Eastern Conference Play-In Race

March 12th, 2023 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

The playoff and play-in races in the Western Conference have gotten more attention than those in the East so far this season, in large part because so many of the West’s would-be contenders – like the Warriors, Clippers, Mavericks, and Lakers – are packed so tightly together among a huge group of teams competing for postseason spots.

Still, with just four weeks remaining in the regular season, the Eastern Conference play-in race has gotten awfully close too. Heading into Sunday’s action, the teams from No. 9 to No. 12 in the East are separate by just a single game, as follows:

Toronto Raptors (32-36)
Chicago Bulls (31-36)
Washington Wizards (31-36)
Indiana Pacers (31-37)

These four teams aren’t exactly on their own island in the Eastern standings — the 34-34 Hawks only have a two-game cushion on Toronto, and the 36-33 Heat aren’t much further ahead. Conversely, the 28-40 Magic probably can’t be counted out of the play-in race yet.

Still, with only about 14 or 15 games left on most teams’ schedules, the most likely outcome at this point is that two of the four teams listed above will earn play-in berths and two will be left on the outside looking in.

The Raptors and Bulls, the two teams currently holding the final two play-in spots, have had somewhat similar seasons. They won 48 and 46 games respectively in 2021/22, clinching top-six seeds in the East, and came into this season expecting to match or exceed last year’s success. Instead, both clubs have been horribly inconsistent, losing more games than they’ve won and experiencing repeated letdowns every time it seemed like they were about to make a breakthrough.

Nonetheless, neither team is throwing in the towel on this season. Despite outside calls for players like OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan to be traded at last month’s deadline, both Toronto and Chicago held firm, with the Raptors actually buying rather than selling by acquiring Jakob Poeltl from San Antonio. Both teams have enough high-end talent to be a spoiler in the play-in tournament if they make it, but they’ll need to perform more consistently down the stretch if they hope to secure playoff spots.

The Wizards also aren’t lacking star talent, with Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma enjoying career years alongside longtime standout Bradley Beal. However, that trio hasn’t been quite good enough to make up for a mediocre supporting cast — the team has a plus-4.9 net rating when Beal, Porzingis, and Kuzma play together, but a minus-0.3 rating overall.

Still, with all three of their top players healthy and a more favorable schedule down the stretch than Toronto or Chicago (per Tankathon), the Wizards should still be considered a strong candidate to claim a play-in berth.

The Pacers, meanwhile, looked like they might be ready to tank after they plummeted down the standings during Tyrese Haliburton‘s 10-game injury absence in January (they lost nine of those games). But they’ve bounced back nicely as of late, winning five of their last seven contests and sticking around in the play-in picture.

Of the four teams discussed here, Indiana is the one with the least urgency to make the playoffs this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Pacers fall off a little and perhaps rest some banged-up players in the season’s final weeks, turning it into a three-team race for the East’s ninth and 10th spots. As inconsistent as the teams directly ahead of them in the standings have been though, it’s too early to rule out the Pacers.

We want to know what you think. Which two teams out of the Raptors, Bulls, Wizards, and Pacers do you expect to make the play-in? Will any of them move into the East’s top eight, either before the regular season ends or by winning two play-in games? Do you see the Magic making a run to turn this into a five-team race, or can they be safely crossed off the list of play-in contenders?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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!

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