With only a few days left until voting closes for your NBA All-Stars it’s a perfect time for me to put forth my predictions on who will be playing in NOLA. These may differ from what the actual rosters look like, but these are the players I think deserve the nod. Season averages accurate as of Jan 12th. PPG = Points per game, RPG = Rebound per game, APG = Assists per game, starters in bold.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

Backcourt: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers – 23.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.7 APG

Backcourt: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors – 28.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.8 APG

Frontcourt: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls – 25.0 PPG,6.7 RPG, 4.6 APG

Frontcourt: Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – 26.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 8.1 APG

Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks – 23.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 5.6 APG

Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks – 19.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.4 APG

Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls – 18.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.8 RPG

Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks – 22.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.1 APG

Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers – 21.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.7 APG

Paul George, Indiana Pacers – 22.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.3 APG

Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics – 28.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 6.1 APG

Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors – 22.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.2 APG

Image from nba.com

SNUBS

Joel Embiid, Kemba Waker, John Wall, Jabari Parker, Hassan Whiteside

I spent a long time tossing up between John Wall, Kyle Lowry and Joel Embiid for the last spot. In the end I rewarded Lowry for helping to lead to the Raptors to another impressive record come mid-season. Kemba and Wall fall victim to the amount of dominant point guards we have in today’s NBA, while Jabari Parker’s break our year has him deserving of consideration. Unfortunately for Whiteside the way the game is trending their is a flavour for smaller guys. His block tally wouldn’t be very relevant in a game like this. Embiid has been a revelation for the 76ers, but he will be playing in this game for the next decade.

Image from bleacherreport.com

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Backcourt: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder – 31.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 10.5 APG

Backcourt: James Harden, Houston Rockets – 28.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 11.8 APG

Frontcourt: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs – 24.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.1 APG

Frontcourt: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors – 26.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.6 APG

Frontcourt: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – 29.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 2.2 APG

Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors – 24.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.9 APG

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings – 28.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.9 APG

Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers – 17.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 9.7 APG

Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors – 10.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 7.5 APG

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors – 21.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.0 APG

Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies – 19.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.2 APG

Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz – 22.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.5 APG

Image from sircharlesincharge.com

SNUBS

Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Mike Conley, Karl-Anthony Towns, Eric Gordon

MUCH like Walker and Wall in the East, Lillard, McCollum and Conley miss out on selection due to the fact that there are just too many great guards and not enough spots at the moment. Karl-Anthony Towns has been hurt by his team’s W/L record, but he and his sidekick Andrew Wiggins should be pencilled into this game as soon as they start to win some more games. Eric Gordon is having his best years as a pro now that he is finally healthy. He definitely should be in the conversation, but outside of his scoring he hasn’t done a ton else.

Banner image from twitter.com