Replacing 6 Former All-Stars with 6 All-Star Ballot Snubs
Out with the old, in with the new.
On Friday afternoon, the NBA announced its player ballot for the 2014 All-Star Game in New Orleans. The ballot was filled with plenty of former All-Stars and big-name players, regardless of how they've played this year (if at all).
...and it was so boring.
Yes, the All-Star weekend should be a showcase for the league's brightest stars, but the ballot itself should ensure that the league's best players from this season should at least make the list. For some under-the-radar players, it's an honor just to be nominated.
So let's have a little bit of fun. Let's take six former All-Stars who, whether through injury or just poor play, have no chance of making the All-Star Game and replace them with six players who are having better seasons, according the player efficiency rating and/or Basketball Reference's win shares—a formula designed to quantify each player's contribution to his team's wins.
All statistics are as of Nov. 15, when the ballots were announced.
Michael Carter-Williams for Danny Granger
1 of 6
Carter-Williams: 19.2 PER, .111 WS/48
Granger: Has not played yet in 2013-14
No player has surprised this season quite like Michael Carter-Williams, the first rookie to win NBA Player of the Week in his first week since Shaquille O'Neal. He's averaging an insane 17.4 points, 7.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. To put that into perspective, the only rookies in NBA history to average at least 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds were Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson.
As for Granger, a 2009 All-Star, he has barely played in the past two seasons, and his Pacers have grown in his absence. Even when he comes back, he might not be one of the top five players on his own team.
Wesley Matthews for Steve Nash
2 of 6
Matthews: 18.2 PER, .180 WS/48
Nash: 6.7 PER, -0.044 WS/48
Steve Nash is destined for the Hall of Fame, but in 2013-14 he looks ready for the rocking chair. When he plays, that is, which is not often.
Even with the Lakers missing their brightest star in Kobe Bryant, Nash's season might just be the most depressing story of the season, for both the fans and Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni.
Per ESPN Los Angeles' Ramona Shelburne:
"Remember the days when D'Antoni used to talk about Nash's return like it would unlock the mysteries of the universe -- or at least of his offense -- for a team that neither seemed eager to learn nor able to execute it? He'd harken back to their days together in Phoenix, picturing it in his mind's eye like it was yesterday and not 2006, and hoping they could recreate some of that old magic during this late-career revival.
He doesn't do that anymore, though. Perhaps last year was simply too painful for both of them. Perhaps he's just practical.
"
As for Matthews, he has been a scoring machine for the surprising Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 15.8 points per game on over 50 percent shooting for the league's third-ranked offense.
Andrea Bargnani for Amar'e Stoudemire
3 of 6
Bargnani: 20.1 PER, .125 WS/48
Stoudemire: -1.3 PER, -0.262 WS/48
No, it's not a joke.
As bad as the Knicks have been this year, they would not have won two of their last four games without the help of Bargnani, who has been shockingly effective and both sides of the floor. Bargnani is second on the team with 15.0 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting. On defense, he even made Dwight Howard look foolish by limiting him to one made field goal and blocking one of his shots.
As for Stoudemire, the Knicks haven't even trusted him to play in the absence of center Tyson Chandler. With numbers like he's been putting up this season, it's not hard to see why.
.png?w=256)
Jordan Hill for Pau Gasol
4 of 6
Hill: 25.7 PER, .249 WS/48
Gasol: 14.2 PER, .011 WS/48
This is the toughest call. Gasol is averaging a double-double this season, but he has been a disaster on offense, shooting less than 40 percent, committing 2.3 turnovers per game and accumulating -0.3 offensive win shares.
Instead, why not give his spot on the ballot to the Lakers' best big man in 2013-14, the 26-year-old Jordan Hill. Though Hill was only recently made a starter, he has given LA energy and defense at the power forward position, and he leads the team with 1.0 win shares.
Jordan Crawford for Rajon Rondo
5 of 6
Crawford: 21.5 PER, .208 WS/48
Rondo: Has not played this season
If he weren't injured, Rondo wouldn't only make the ballot without a second thought, he would probably start at point guard for the Eastern Conference team in February.
But he's not healthy, and nobody is quite sure when he will come back. He will probably make his season debut some time before the All-Star break, but as we've seen with Derrick Rose, it often takes even the best guards a while to return to All-Star form after major knee surgery.
Instead, Rondo should pass his ballot spot off to Crawford, his Celtics teammate. Boston has been a pleasant surprise thus far, even without the services of Rondo, and Crawford is a big reason why, averaging 11.8 points (on 48.8 percent shooting) and a team-leading 4.4 assists per game.
Amir Johnson for Kevin Garnett
6 of 6
Johnson: 16.6 PER, .172 WS/48
Garnett: 6.2 PER, -0.089 WS/48
Unlike fellow future Hall of Famer Steve Nash, Garnett might still have enough left in the tank to be an above-average NBA player this year. But he sure hasn't looked like one in his first few weeks in Brooklyn, averaging 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds on just 30.6 percent shooting.
As for Johnson, he has put together a quality season thus far north of the border, averaging 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on 56.0 percent shooting for Toronto.
.png?w=480)
