If the Athletic’s John Hollinger is right, the Boston Celtics may be a bit disappointed with their representation at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
The former Memphis Grizzlies executive and analytics guru sees but one Celtic making the cut, though as consolation, he’ll be a starter.
That would be UConn product Kemba Walker, getting the nod as a starter in the East backcourt alongside the Philadelphia 76ers’ floor general Ben Simmons.
While former Celtic Kyrie Irving may have held a lead over the Bronx native for the entire span of fan voting, his extended absence to injury and general prickliness of late led Hollinger to leave the Australian off his All-Star list entirely.
He also thinks Trae Young — who was also ahead of Walker in fan voting — belongs in the All-Star game, though not as a starter, as he relates here:
“I can’t vote Young as a starter ahead of Walker when Walker is playing much more meaningful minutes and not padding his numbers in garbage time the way Young is. But against the next tier of guards, Young clearly has the advantage. He’s a one-man offensive engine who makes virtually every decision for a team that essentially has no other serious threats.”
It seems likely Young will end up a starter, though, and Irving’s situation is hard to read on a game-to-game basis, never mind weeks in the future.
Wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum didn’t make the cut, the former not even in the running from Hollinger’s perspective.
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— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) January 16, 2020
No rationale for that series of decisions, but the field is crowded, and both Brown and Tatum are competing against a number of other solid cases in their respective side of the court.
Hollinger named Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat to his starting East backcourt, with the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Bucks’ Chris Middleton and Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam filling out the frontcourt reserves.
He also has the Bucks’ Eric Bledsoe joining Atlanta’s Young as a backcourt reserve, and the Indiana Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon for the final two wildcard nods.
While this is a reasonable selection, it feels a little heavily slanted towards Milwaukee, Miami and Indiana, particularly given the Pacers have clearly produced numbers in the win column well behind teams like Boston and Toronto.
We’ll find out the results soon enough, with NBA All-Star Game starters, including team captains, to be revealed Thursday, Jan. 23 on TNT NBA Tip-Off. The same network will announce the reserves selected by NBA coaches a week later on Jan. 30.
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