THE first vote returns surfaced on Thursday with Giannis Antetokounmpo the overall leader. With just nine days left to vote the starters are now pretty clear, barring anything ground-breaking. However, there is still some movement left in the final few spots for each roster.

All-Star Predictions Take One

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

STARTERS
Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
Lebron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

OLADIPO loses his spot in the starting lineup after recently missing five straight games. DeMar DeRozan gets the nod, with help from his ridiculous career night on Monday, with Bradley Beal hot on the heels of both of them. It’s highly unlikely that any of the three frontcourt starters are dethroned, so expect things to stay relatively similar right up until voting closes.

RESERVES
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
Al Horford, Boston Celtics

THE East roster looks very similar to last time around. The only difference is that Al Horford has been added to one of the wildcard spots, rewarding Boston for their 32-10 start. The only other real threats I see taking one of the final spots are Kyle Lowry or John Wall, but considering the way they are playing compared to their peers, they will need to put forth an impressive case over the coming weeks.

Image from wizofawes.com

WESTERN CONFERENCE

STARTERS
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Demarcus Cousins, New Orleans Pelicans

NOTHING changes out West. As it stands in the fan voting right now Westbrook wouldn’t dethrone either Harden or Curry in the backcourt and Draymond Green is the only potential threat to one of the New Orleans big men.

Image from slamonline.com

RESERVES
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder

THIS could get interesting. Right now I think that Westbrook, Butler, Green, Aldridge and Jokic are locks leaving two spots open. The candidates include the two on my list right now Klay Thompson and Paul George with Chris Paul and Karl Anthony-Towns on the outside looking in. That isn’t even including the likes of Damian Lillard or Devin Booker and we all knew that the loaded Western Conference would mean there are some glaring omissions on the list.

PERSONALLY, if I was creating the rosters I would probably substitute Klay for CP3, but given the fact that the Warriors are the only team left with single digit losses they probably deserve four players on the team. With Harden out for a few weeks though, Paul going on a tear could help push his case forward.

Peace ✌️

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