NBA 2023 Eastern Conference All Star Selections

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Apr 9, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) shoots a floater against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Isaiah Joe (7) during the first half at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

With the starting lineup already selected, narrowing down the remainder of high-end Eastern Conference talent down to just seven names was grueling. There’s too much talent to narrow it down to that many names, but that’s what makes this exercise fun and challenging.

These selections are narrowed down to three categories: easy locks for the reserves, tough picks, and the honorable mention cuts. These selections also have to abide by the senseless positional requirements of two backcourt players, three frontcourt players, and two wildcard picks. How about we do away with the positional stuff in 2024 because we see what disaster arose from the starting lineup selections.

Reserves Locks:

Joel Embiid

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No case needs to be made for Joel Embiid to be selected as an All Star this year. Everyone hates the positional selections, and no way one of Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Joel Embiid should be snubbed from the starting lineup while guards a couple tiers below this quartet get the selection.

Joel should have made it over one of those three, though. Probably Giannis. For the third consecutive season, Embiid has been the second best player in the league, only behind Nikola Jokic. Give this man his flowers.

Tyrese Haliburton

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Much like Embiid, Haliburton should have been selected as a starter. His case isn’t for starting isn’t as indefensible as Embiid’s, but surely he’s been better than Kyrie Irving this season.

What Haliburton has done to this Indiana Pacers team is nothing short of remarkable. Credit to Rick Carlisle and the Pacers supporting cast, but this is Haliburton’s show. For one, just look at the abysmal play Indiana has had since Hali went down with injury. This offense falls apart without Haliburton on the floor, seeing a 6-point swing on that end of the floor with him on vs. off. The Pacers were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league this season, and when Haliburton was healthy they were playoff contenders.

There’s no player who provides his combination of playmaking, scoring, and an outside shooting threat in the league now, or maybe even ever. He’s only 0.1% away from being the first player in NBA history to average at least 20 PPG and 10 APG while shooting 40% or better from outside.

Jaylen Brown

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It’s crazy to think that Jaylen Brown casually became one of the league’s best scorers. His scoring average this year is less than half a point per game below Kevin Durant’s career scoring average — the man who just so happens to possibly be the best scorer to ever play the game.

Brown still has his shortcomings, mostly in the dribbling department, but being far and away the second best player on the best team in the league, and a top 15 scorer in the league, it won’t take voters much convincing to select him as a reserve.

Reserve Debatables:

Jimmy Butler

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Jimmy Butler is inevitable. He’s like a cockroach; you just can’t kill him. Every year, fighting through adversity, injury, fake dreadlocks, and anything else that you think would keep him away from getting an All Star nod, Jimmy Buckets just doesn’t care. This is what makes him one of the best secondary superstars of this generation.

The Miami Heat have been miserable on offense this season, scoring the fourth-to-least amount of points per 100 possessions. Jimmy Butler is the only reason it isn’t last. With Butler on the floor the Heat’s offense would rank 11th in the league, which isn’t mountain-moving. The numbers look way more impressive in comparison to what the offense looks like without him, which would be more than a full point below the worst offense in the league.

Jimmy missed some time, but overall has still kept his standard of being a top 15 player in the league.

Bam Adebayo

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Bam’s been one of those players who has gotten a little bit better every year since he got drafted. This is steadily showcased in his scoring average increasing every season of his 6-year career, pushing him to a career high 21.4 PPG this year.

Offensively, that’s pretty much where the improvement halts. Besides his scoring, he’s taken hits in his efficiency and looks a quarter-step behind in the playmaking department. This bears the question why is he an All Star? The answer is simple. Defense.

Bam Adebayo’s defensive versatility looks better than ever. With Jimmy Butler forced to start at power forward for the most of the season and three of the Heat’s backup bigs out for at least half the year each, Adebayo is playing a very scarce role on the team. He’s been forced to tackle any and all defensive assignments and has passed that test with flying colors.

This season Bam has guarded ball handlers far more than any other season in his career, and still manages to transform into an elite post-up  defender and rim protector. Even with the drop in assist numbers, Adebayo is still comfortably one of the best playmaking centers in the league and can put the ball on the floor with assurance that something good will arise. This wasn’t a tough pick.

James Harden

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We, as a collective, have to realize we’re beginning to take James Harden for granted. He’s transformed his game more drastically while maintaining qualitative relevance more than anyone in the NBA in recent memory. He went from having one of the best volume scoring seasons the league has ever seen, to a pass-first point guard whose primary focus is getting others involved before he looks at the basket. It’s not to say he wasn’t always a great passer, but that wasn’t always his first priority every time he brought the ball up the court.

He’s way out in first in assists per game, still scoring over 20 a night, and the primary playmaker on the hottest team in the league. In the last 23 games he’s played in, the Sixers are 18-5 and The Beard has averaged 11.6 APG to go along with an elite 40% shooting from beyond the arc in over 7-and-a-half attempts per game.

Don’t overthink it, Harden may not be the MVP he once was in Houston, but he’s still comfortably an All Star talent. 

Pascal Siakam

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Buried under what’s been a disappointing year for the Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam has been nothing short of phenomenal himself. He’s one of those players you ideally gauge will slow his improvement down every offseason since he won the Most Improved Player of the Year award back in 2019, but continues to get better every season.

His playmaking is better than it’s ever been, he continues to steamroll defenses attacking the rim and is finishing with a career high percentage inside the restricted area, and continues to stay active on defense.

It’s not fair to put the blame of the Raptors’ struggles on Siakam because he’s been great. Actually, before missing 10 games in the earlier stretch of the year with an abductor injury, Siakam was one of the 10 best players in the league. If Siakam gets snubbed, he will be the first player in NBA history to average 25+ PPG, 8+ RPG, and 6+ APG and not make an All Star team.

Cuts:

DeMar DeRozan

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DeRozan was a tough cut. More impressive than him being the best player on a very meh Chicago Bulls team, if the season ended today, DeMar would be a finalist for the inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year Award. Behind the guard trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox, and Kyrie Irving no one has impressed more in crunch time than DeMar DeRozan.

It’s almost unheard of for a player to average 25/5/5 and not be named an all star. In fact, DeRozan is just one-tenth of a rebound per game from being the first player to ever do so. The thing that hurts him is team success. Yes, Siakam is selected above him, but Pascal has held a larger proportion of his team’s offense than DeRozan.

With the offensive options the Chicago Bulls have, there’s no reason they should be top 10 in that department. It’s embarrassing that with players like DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic running the show, they’re in the bottom third in offensive rating this season. Unfortunately the lack of translation between DeRozan’s personal success and his teams’ successes has something that’s followed him throughout his career.

Don’t be confused, DeMar DeRozan has been great this year, but with only 12 players getting selected to the All Star game, some players have to get snubbed. It sucks even more being the first person to be cut.

Jrue Holiday

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It sucks, but we just have to accept Jrue Holiday inevitably retiring with a single all star nod to his name early in his career in Philly. If 19.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 7.2 APG on 46/37/85 shooting splits with his regular great defense as the second best player on many people’s favorites to get out the Eastern Conference.

The rule is only 12 players make it, but if a selectee gets injured, surely Holiday’s names will be amongst the first to be called. If not, Jrue Holiday is bound to become the best 1-time All Star of all time.

Darius Garland

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It was tough only getting one other Cavalier as an honorable mention. Allen’s rim protection is still amongst the best in the league, and despite the “down” year Mobley’s been having compared to expectations he’s still been the most versatile big defender in the league this season not named Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Garland, however, feels like the team’s number two. He’s still been one of the better playmakers, and has quietly become one of the best volume shooters from outside in the league, but it’s one of those cases where there’s a bunch of great players not making the cut. It’s quite ridiculous how stiff the competition has been this year.

Brook Lopez

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Anytime you’re a Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner, you have to be shortlisted as a nominee as an All Star. Unfortunately, defense just doesn’t provide as much impact to winning as it did a couple decades ago. Not to say Brook is anything close to useless on offense, but it’s clear that the league’s X amount of best players are there mostly because of their offensive impact.

Regardless, Brook Lopez has had a fantastic season. With the Bucks’ regular season “Batman” Khris Middleton missing the majority of the season, Lopez stepped up in more ways than one to help retain Milwaukee’s contendership. As it stands, he’s probably my pick for the midseason Defensive Player of the Year and continues to add so much that doesn’t get tracked on counting stats, but every player and coach acknowledges and appreciates.

Julius Randle & Jalen Brunson

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It’s only fair this Knicks duo gets paired in together. Many have to choose between the two because there’s no way they’ve both been good enough to get a selection. Personally, I’d lean Brunson. He’s been the team’s best player on a nightly basis.

Randle is putting up stats similar to his All NBA season in 2021 (something I was much lower on than popular opinion,) but there’s been too many instances late in games where Randle individually made game-costing mistakes or decisions. He’s had a good season, but not one worthy of All Star consideration.

Brunson has a smidge more of a case, but still comes up short. Brunson has taken a huge hit in his finishing around the rim. Despite this, he’s putting up career high scoring and assist numbers, and maintains his average level of defense despite having a similar frame to the league’s worst on that end. The competition is stiff, and Brunson just hasn’t been better than Harden, Adebayo, Butler, DeRozan, or Jrue.

Trae Young

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When shortlisting All Stars, there had to be a second glance at the list of players before acknowledging Trae Young’s name. 

He’s been worth defending more often than not, but this is one of those times he’s worthy of the criticism. We’ve gotten to the point the shooting is a legitimate concern. Yes, his diet of shot selection is more difficult than 99% of other players in the league, but on the flipside, Young shouldn’t be given any slack on not being able to create easier shots for himself.

27 PPG and 10 APG are usually the counting stats that scream All Star, but the team’s been underwhelming even with their big addition of Dejounte Murray, His three-point percentage is 4 points below league average, and the Hawks offense has dropped from elite last season to average this season. Trae Young is still one of the brightest young stars in the league who is way above schedule from his general assessment coming out of Oklahoma, but the criticism this year is valid. Don’t let the counting stats fool you.

Bojan Bogdanovic

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If there was an award for the most underrated player in the league, Bojan Bogdanovic’s name should be engraved onto the trophy. The Pistons have had a miserable season, even more so if you include losing the sophomore year of the team’s star prospect Cade Cunnungham, but besides that Killian Hayes slowly becoming an NBA player and Bojan’s performance overall are the shining spots.

Here’s an interesting stat: of all the players who are scoring 20 PPG and have a true shooting percentage above 62% — and there’s a fairly long list of them — Bogdanovic is likely to be the only one not selected to the All Star game this season. No seriously, this list includes Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Lauri Markkanen, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, and the aforementioned Bojan Bogdanovic. He’s been great.

Franz Wagner

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Not as serious of a consideration as the others listed above, but felt like his name had to be mentioned. All Stars are better than ever and the second-year Wagner unfortunately just comes up short to the star-studded Eastern Conference Bunch. 

Yes, Franz is the only nominee for the Orlando Magic. As good as Paolo Banchero has been as a rookie, Wagner has consistently been the team’s best player this year. It’s not fair to expect improvement to be linear, but Franz is on the right track and can easily throw his name as a more serious contender as soon as next year. He’s been the best player of the 2021 draft class.

Nikola Vucevic

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The case for Nikola Vucevic isn’t all too strong. If DeRozan isn’t getting in, Vucevic sure as hell isn’t either, but his recent play does deserve some commendation. He’s been consistent with his scoring totals despite having his lowest usage numbers since his sophomore season. Also worth mentioning he’s having a career year in how efficiently he’s scoring the ball too.

This also seems like the appropriate place to mention Zach LaVine because he isn’t getting a nod later in this piece. Having two honorable mentions for a sub .500 team is already a lot, and he’s been the clear third best player on the Bulls. LaVine is good, but his game has devolved into nothing but scoring, and even that he’s taken a dip in. It’s not the year for him.

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