NBA All-Star voting roundtable, predictions: Who among Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic will start?

The NBA season is not even two months old, but the 2021 All-Star Game scheduled for March 7 in Atlanta is fast approaching. In a normal season, we wouldn’t even have reached Christmas yet, but the league’s condensed schedule will give us our All-Star matches on Thursday and reservations soon after. So, with the selection process coming to an end and the players presenting their cases, several of our writers came together to define who they hope to be chosen, who they hope to be snubbed and what we want from this event as a whole.

Who are your absolute blocks, without justification at each conference?

Sam Quinn: I have seven in the West. Anthony Davis would have made eight, but knowing that he would not play, I see no argument against LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Paul George or Rudy Gobert. As for the East, it is Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton and Jaylen Brown. Yes, you could argue against Harden or Irving based on out-of-court issues, but they are arguably All-Stars based on performance and that’s what matters.

James Herbert: In the East: Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Khris Middleton, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. James Harden and Kyrie Irving should be stopped based on their numbers, but at least I had to think about how Harden’s inelegant departure in Houston and Irving’s nine lost games should be compared to his offensive production, especially given his guilt in defense porous from Brooklyn. In the West: Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Paul George, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis. (Yes, I am aware that this is 75 percent of the team. I maintain that.)

Brad Botkin: In the East, I have almost the entire list engraved in stone: Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, James Harden, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Ben Simmons. I don’t see how any of these 11 guys don’t understand. I am tempted to say that Zach LaVine is blocked for the final slot, but I will leave it open to the possibility of Trae Young, Julius Randle, Nikola Vucevic, Jerami Grant, Domantas Sabonis, Collin Sexton, Fred VanVleet or Kyle Lowry. But I’m pretty sure that LaVine comes in. The West has a little more room to maneuver with just nine blocks: LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Paul George and Rudy Gobert.

Damian Lillard. Stephen Curry. Luka Doncic. Who are your two Western Conference holders on the backcourt?

Botkin: Curry is a no-brainer. Between Lillard and Doncic, it’s Lillard. He’s playing the superhero again by keeping the Blazers in the middle of the playoffs, despite long-standing injuries to CJ McCollum (whose presence would have contributed to some really risky decisions by the All-Star in the West) and Jusuf Nurkic. Doncic has been statistically great, but his team underperformed, and if we’re dividing our hair, that’s the difference.

Herbert: Curry and Lillard. Curry was a no-brainer, but the second point was painful, because I think Doncic is playing the best basketball of his life right now. I just chose the guy who has been most consistent since the start of the season.

Quinn: Like the rest of the group, I’m competing with Curry at one point, but I think I’m in the minority giving Doncic the other. It is very, very close, and Lillard has been more valuable in the context of his team, but with relatively close scores and efficiency, I give Luka a slight advantage due to his superiority in gameplay and defense. They are neck and neck, though, and Lillard would be a good starter if chosen.

Zach LaVine campaigned openly last season. Mike Conley may not have another chance. Outside of your locks, which possible first timer would you most like to see in the All-Star game?

Quinn: I think the degree of difficulty of Julius Randle’s season is being overlooked. Having an average of 23 points in the 47/40/80 pitches is not an easy task in general, but getting there in a squad devoid of pitches and games is kind of insane. He has an average of more assists than LaVine and is a better defender. Your own trainer seems determined not to use sensible rotation. Randle went from one of the most toxic players in the NBA to the MVP of a current playoff team, and it is worth rewarding, especially when he is the one who drags the squad, kicking and screaming towards competence.

Herbert: In a literal sense, the answer is Zion Williamson, because who wouldn’t want to see him in an All-Star game. But my real answer is Conley, both for sentimental reasons and because he’s been amazing.

Botkin: I want to see Conley come in, and I believe he will. In any other year, I think he can be despised by De’Aaron Fox, but given that this All-Star game is almost entirely about national recognition, with the game itself being something most guys don’t even want to play , is the perfect chance to reward Conley with his first All-Star nod without much fuss. Furthermore, he is not a charity selection. He’s been fantastic all season for the best team in the league. As mentioned above, I also think that LaVine gets a nod in the East.

Who do you expect to be the most despicable?

Herbert: Conley. Sigh. It didn’t help that Jazz kept rolling without him.

Botkin: Unfortunately, I think De’Aaron Fox falls short in the West.

Quinn: I hope LaVine defeats Young considering the general distaste that coaches seem to have for his fault hunting (and his defense), but on merit, he is more deserving. No, the score numbers are not that robust, but your game is eons ahead of LaVine. The Hawks have 15.6 points per 100 possessions worse in attack when Young sits down, almost twice the decline of Chicago without LaVine and a steady start to his career. LaVine is not exactly the empty calorie marker that some have suggested, but he is not the pilot of Young’s elite team attack.

Several stars were opposed to the idea of ​​playing an All-Star game. Should this year’s event be optional for selected players?

Herbert: This * seems * a good solution, but I’m not sure what the point of having an All-Star Game is if it’s optional. (If your counter-argument is that you’re not sure why you have an All-Star Game during a shortened pandemic season, well, fair.)

Botkin: I don’t see how you can make the game optional. Who would play? We know that nobody is really in favor of this game as it is, and it would be the perfect excuse to get a much-needed break in the middle of the season without any reaction, citing legitimate concern COVID. If you’re going to have a game, you have to make the game mandatory, or else you’re going to have a lot of guys opting out and ending up with Kyle Kuzma starting from the West.

Quinn: Wouldn’t giving everyone the ability to choose not be much lower in quality, but would it be so unlikely to give teams with especially short seasons a reward for their playoff races last season? I would say that the Lakers, Heat, Celtics and Nuggets are being punished for their success, and allowing their players to give up can serve a number of valuable purposes. Reward victory, open the door for more newbies, ensure that more attendees strive to give fans an appropriate show and, perhaps most importantly, placate furious LeBron.