NBA All-Star Game 2012: 10 Biggest Snubs

Well, the All-Star rosters have been announced, with several controversial selections.  The roster, which contains five first-timers, is quite different from last year's, due in no small part to a myriad of injuries.  Here are the top ten players who won't be playing in Orlando in a couple weeks, but should be.

10. Pau Gasol, L.A Lakers

This is by no means Gasol's best season, but it is approaching one of All-Star caliber for the man who has been All-NBA each of the last three seasons.  

Gasol's absence seems due to two factors: the immense depth at his position in the West, and the appearance of Andrew Bynum on the All-Star roster for the first time.  

The absence of Gasol also highlights a disturbing trend by the fans and coaches: overvaluing American players at the expense of foreign ones.

9. Kevin Martin, Houston

Having four (albeit four quite deserving) point guards on the West roster means only one shooting guard, which means K-Mart gets left out in the cold.  

Martin is averaging 18.7 points a game, which is 16th in the league.  He also adds in .901 from the charity stripe.  

Martin is one of those players who you'd think should've been an All-Star at some point, but hasn't been for some inexplicable reason.  Also, does it seem right that Oklahoma City and the Lakers get two All-Stars each and over-.500 Houston gets none?

8. Carlos Boozer, Chicago

Chicago got two All-Stars: Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.  I would've selected Carlos Boozer instead, as he's been doing more for the team than Deng.  

Boozer and Deng average a similar number of points, but Boozer has played in and started more games, has more rebounds, is shooting better from the field and has a better defensive rating. But, Boozer has almost half as many win shares as Deng.

Furthermore, not selecting Boozer makes the East roster very small forward-heavy, in contrast to the power forward-heavy West roster.

7. Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee

I know that there are a lot of good Eastern point guards, and the Bucks are by no means one of the best teams in the East, but Jennings deserves some consideration.

The third-year guard is averaging almost 18.9 points a game (the most by a non-All Star point guard), along with 5.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.3 threes.

6. Jose Calderon, Toronto

This is another example of a foreign player who should have received consideration and is not getting any.

Calderon has more total assists than anyone else in the NBA, the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the East (more than twice as good as the turnover-happy but still-selected Deron Williams), and adds in a free-throw percentage of .919.  

So why isn't he an All-Star?  Probably because he doesn't play in a big-name market like New York or New Jersey.

5. Ryan Anderson, Orlando

It seems somewhat preposterous that Miami only has won only three more games than Orlando, but they have three All-Stars and Orlando only has one—especially when Orlando is the host, and especially when Orlando has a guy like Anderson.

Anderson is leading the league in threes by a wide margin, is ninth in the league in offensive boards (this playing alongside the man who is first in total boards), and is in the Top 15 in true shooting and effective field-goal percentage. He is also 12th in PER (third-best among non-All Stars) and fifth in offensive win shares.

4. Tyson Chandler, New York

With their poor record, the Knicks probably don't deserve two All-Stars (especially if their first one is hurt). However, Tyson Chandler has been one of the better centers in the East this year.  

Chandler is leading the league in field goal percentage, is ninth in total boards and also tops in offensive rating and third in win shares. That is quite remarkable considering he's on a sub-.500 team that also has 'Melo, Amar'e and Linsanity.  

Chandler is another one of the those players that begs the question why he has never been an All-Star.  Though, I do admit that it was right to include Hibbert, as Indiana needed somebody.

3. Monta Ellis, Golden State

Another year, another decent season for Ellis without an All-Star nod.  

The Golden State guard is sixth in the league in scoring (second in the league among shooting guards), and adds in 6.3 dishes and 1.8 steals.   He dropped 48 points just the other night.  Ellis is the only player in the top dozen in scoring not to be on the squad. 

It seems an anathema that Ellis keeps putting up decent stats, yet hasn't made an All-Star team.  As with Martin, Ellis was snubbed in part do to the fact that the West opted for four point guards.

2. Josh Smith, Atlanta

Players who should have been All-Stars and haven't, take four.  The Atlanta Hawks have been performing solidly even without Al Horford, and are probably deserving of two All-Stars.  

The cornerman Smith should have also been selected for his strong all-around numbers, which include 15.6 points, 8.9 rebounds (17th in the league), 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals (23rd), two blocks (sixth, and highest by a non-big man) and two total defensive win shares (second).  

Smith getting passed over for Paul Pierce comes down to two things: the fact that he's been consistent rather than weak early and strong late, and the fact that he isn't a marquee player on a storied though over-hyped franchise.

1. Paul Millsap, Utah

Paul Millsap is the best power forward not on either squad.  He's pulling in 16.5 points and 9.7 boards while shooting .523 from the field on a playoff-bound Utah team.  

Millsap is also leading Western power forwards in steals.  The only justification I can see for him being left off is the immense depth at the four this season, although the selection of Dirk Nowitzki over Millsap makes me wonder.