NBA All-Star Game 2015: Predicting Snubs Ahead of Starting Lineups Reveal
With a handful of emerging stars, the obvious established players to pick from and a loaded Western Conference, the 2015 NBA All-Star Game figures to bring an all-time high of snubs to the surface.
Selecting 12 players from the East and the West to include in the world's best pick-up game proves to be a massive headache each season, but 2014-15 promises to be even tougher. Few players have played their way out of All-Star worthiness, but the insane emergence of some less touted teams and players has other names generating interest.
The starting lineups will be announced on Thursday, and NBA.com previously released the top vote-getters on Jan. 8 to give fans a view of who might start the contest. But with only seven other spots to choose from after those starting five are released, more than a few worthy stars are bound to be left out.
The following guys have done more than enough themselves to warrant an invite to the Big Apple, but will more than likely be spending the weekend at home.
Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors (West)
There's impossible, and then there's making the All-Star Game as a Western Conference guard.
What Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has done this season has been nothing short of magnificent, emerging as the star player that Golden State paid him to be before the season. He's averaging 21.9 points per game, and his player efficiency rating (21.8) comes in sixth among guards in the West, per ESPN.com.
The problem? Only five make the team.
Thompson might make up some ground over a few other West guards due to his impact on the NBA's best team, but that only overshadows name recognition so much. He'll seemingly be competing with the likes of Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, Damian Lillard, Mike Conley and a heap of other worthy choices.
On top of a more consistent season than all of those names, Thompson has also shown he has the defense part down, per The NBA Show's Matt Steinmetz:
Few would argue if Thompson somehow ended up in the starting lineup, but instead he's doomed to be left out altogether.
Jeff Teague, PG, Atlanta Hawks (East)
With the season Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague is having, he should be an All-Star shoo-in.
Only two Eastern Conference players with more than 30 minutes played per game rank higher in PER than Teague (22.7), and their names are LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He averages over 17 points per game and ranks only behind John Wall and Kyle Lowry from the East in assists per game (7.4).
To help his cause even more, Teague leads a Hawks team that has taken the East by storm, currently leading second-placed Washington by six games and running away with the top overall seed. So, what's keeping Teague from his first-ever All-Star selection?
Nothing more than insane depth and name recognition of those he's competing with.
Teague is still far from a household name, as told by him not even ranking in the top 10 among East guards in the latest fan voting return. Wall and Wade were in position then to start, which means he'll have to be one of the top three guards selected after them in a field that includes Lowry, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and DeMar DeRozan.
Still, his numbers overshadow those of everyone he's competing against, per Bo Churney of ESPN:
If Teague's marvelous season isn't enough for him to be noticed, perhaps a deep postseason run for the Hawks will do the trick.
DeMarcus Cousins, C, Sacramento Kings (West)
As preposterous as it is that the previous two players mentioned will be left out of the mix, neither compares to the snub value of DeMarcus Cousins again missing the cut.
Cousins was regarded as one of the biggest snubs this time last year in a season where he finished with averages of 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game along with a career-best 49.6 field-goal percentage. In 2014-15, he's been even better, eclipsing his points and rebounds career highs yet again.
But the West takes no prisoners.
With Anthony Davis and Blake Griffin in line to start, that leaves Marc Gasol, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard all ahead of Cousins in the final vote reveal. That's not even mentioning Dirk Nowitzki, who came in just behind Cousins.
Take it from a supposed starter that Cousins certainly belongs.
"Absolutely," Griffin said of Cousins' place in the All-Star Game, perCowbellKingdom.com's James Ham. “The way he’s played is incredible and you can’t deny his production, his numbers. You saw what happened when he wasn’t playing, but I say this every year – there are guys that deserve to play in the All-Star game that unfortunately don’t get to play in the All-Star game.”
It was a snub the last time Cousins wasn't included in the festivities. This time there may not be a word in the dictionary to justify him not being in New York for the All-Star Game.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
