2011-2012 All Star Game: The Snubs and Streches of the Ballot.
The All-Star ballot is finally out, only two weeks into the season, and for the most part the panel of media who regularly cover the NBA (Bill Simmons of Grantland, Sekou Smith of NBA.com, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star/PBWA, and Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated) did a solid job.
It’s not extremely difficult to pull out the league’s top 100 players, but it does become a challenge to pick the last 20 of them on this 120-player All-Star ballot. Although I agree with the majority of this list, I do think there were some snubs that deserved some notoriety on this ballot for their pedigree and expectations this season while other guys on this list were real stretches in being considered for this ballot.
Note: It’s my opinion that the “snubs” listed deserved to be put on the ballot but will not necessarily make the All-Star team in their respective conferences.
The Snubs:
On an incredibly weak Pistons team, Ben Gordon has an opportunity to be the team’s leading scorer this season, especially with the departure of Richard Hamilton. Sure, Detroit will be bad, but individually Gordon will have the opportunity as a starter to score in bunches on a Pistons team that lacks any real talent in the scoring department.
Caron Butler, LA Clippers
The Butler signing has really gone under the radar in "Lob-City" following the additions of Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups. But we all forget just how good of a player Caron has been over his career, prior to the injury he had with Dallas last season. On a team where Butler will be relied on to defend the opposing team’s best wing player and have the opportunity to knock down a plethora of open shots off of Chris Paul assists or Blake Griffin double-teams, he could end up having one of the better years of his career.
Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves and Jimmer Fredette, Sacramento Kings
If Kyrie Erving, Kemba Walker and Ricky Rubio make the ballot, why shouldn’t these guys? All the top rookies in this year's class play on fairly poor teams. Williams and Fredette will both be relied on to be heavy contributors on their respective teams, as will the other rookies on the ballot. It isn’t far-fetched to assume that both of these guys will be up for Rookie of the Year honors come the end of this season.
Jamal Crawford, Portland Trailblazers
Portland currently has six players on the ballot this year and it’s very difficult to really replace Crawford with anyone of them. But in Crawford’s defense, he has the opportunity to be the team’s second leading scorer behind Aldridge, despite coming off the bench. He’s a high volume shooter and the team’s best one-on-one player. It’s unfortunate the former Sixth Man of the Year couldn’t get a shout out on this year’s ballot.
The Stretches:
I fully understand that all teams need to be represented on the ballot, but these two franchises are the laughingstocks of the league. Both will most likely finish with top picks in next year’s draft (again), still waiting on an impact player to turn their franchises around. The fact that All-Star is associated with any of these players is entertaining at best and the furthest thing from reality.
Jonas Jerebko, Detroit Pistons
He’s a bench player on a bad team with no real position and no real upside. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Jerebko fan on the court. But a player who’s never averaged anywhere near 10 points or seven rebounds for an entire season does not belong on this list.
Joel Anthony, Miami Heat
Do I really need to go into detail on why this guy shouldn’t be on the ballot? Okay, he's a solid defender and decent shot blocker. He'll never play serious minutes for this team at any point during the season. Udonis Haslem would have been a better choice if the panel really wanted four players from the Heat.
Anthony Morrow, New Jersey Nets
I don’t doubt for a minute that he should be at All-Star Weekend, but only for the three-point contest and not the All-Star game. Morrow, who is one of the league’s better three-point shooters, is just out of place on this ballot. He’s a career bench player and is only starting on a depleted Nets team that is in dire need of some offensive help for their lone star point guard Deron Williams. The Brook Lopez injury probably swayed the panel here to put Morrow on instead of any other Nets player.
Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City Thunder
He's never sniffed an All-Star appearance during his finals’ runs with Boston, so it’s hard to imagine how Perk’s stats will jump any higher on an OKC team that's predominately perimeter oriented. He’s an above average defender in the post, but defense is not really a stat that propels you into an All-Star game.
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