Best Candidates to Replace Kobe Bryant, LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015 All-Star Game
Injuries have always been, and will forever be, the absolute freaking worst.
But when those injuries claim NBA superstars—by reputation or current standard of craft—in conjunction with All-Star announcements, they're even worse than the freaking worst. And that's what brings us to this space.
On the same day the 2015 NBA All-Star Game starting fives were revealed, the league lost both Kobe Bryant and LaMarcus Aldridge to serious injuries.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced that Bryant, who was named an All-Star starter, would be out indefinitely with a torn rotator cuff. Though he appeared to suffer it—and then play through it—against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles says this has been an issue for months, not days:
Not surprisingly, word came down a day later that he's done for the season:
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers confirmed Aldridge tore a ligament in his left thumb that requires surgery. He's expected to miss somewhere between six and eight weeks of action.
While he wasn't named a starter, Aldridge has made three consecutive All-Star appearances. Given the season he's having—23.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game on 46.2 percent shooting—it's safe to say he was headed for a fourth.
Now he, like Bryant, will be unable to participate. So the process of finding their replacements should start immediately.
| East | John Wall | Kyle Lowry | LeBron James | Carmelo Anthony | Pau Gasol |
| West | Stephen Curry | Kobe Bryant | Anthony Davis | Blake Griffin | Marc Gasol |
Bryant is supposed to start, so his situation becomes more about identifying an All-Star lock to take his place and then finding a substitute for that would-be reserve. In Aldridge's case, we'll need to look past the assumed locks, focusing on those worthy contenders who might not snare the selection otherwise.
Ready to turn this somber subject into a spirited shindig? Let's do it. Here are the players—who are already on the All-Star fence as it is—most likely to be associated with the extra roster spots.
Potential Kobe Bryant Replacements
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Duh.
There's really no decision here. James Harden should have been the pick to start, but All-Star voting is a glorified popularity contest in which Bryant's brand reigns supreme. The absence of Harden from the starting lineup is a super-snub.
After all, it's only right for Harden to have the opportunity to start beside Stephen Curry, whom he's battling for the league's MVP award. As Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins writes:
"Harden and Curry are neck and neck. I give Harden a slight edge because he is filling practically every meaningful column on the stat sheet and shouldering his team's entire offensive burden. He leads the league in scoring, but he's also playmaking, rebounding and, yes, defending. He's the model for modern efficiency, living at both the three-point line and the free-throw stripe. Curry has gotten more help from his sidekicks, like Klay Thompson, than Harden has from his, like Dwight Howard.
"
Nightly box scores have become Harden's playground. His player efficiency rating ranks third behind those of only Curry and Anthony Davis (both All-Star starters), and he's averaging a rationale-rending 27.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 45.2 percent shooting.
Only four other players have maintained 27/5.5/6.5/1.5 benchmarks for an entire season: Dwyane Wade, Larry Bird, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Do the right thing, NBA.
Start this man.
Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
Let's stay traditional with this one.
Klay Thompson's All-Star candidacy (as a reserve, assuming Harden starts) shouldn't even be a question with an extra spot up for grabs. But like every shooting guard in the Western Conference, he's liable to be dwarfed by infinite depth at point guard.
When Bryant wasn't good to roll in last season's All-Star tilt, it left Harden as the only true shooting guard on the roster. The docket was overrun by point guards and stretch forwards, which could happen again.
Or...Thompson could nab his first ASG selection. He's evolved in every facet of the game under Steve Kerr—the West's head coach—playing so well that he was a roster candidate long before an extra spot opened up.
Although his playing time is down from last season, Thompson is averaging career highs in points (21.9), rebounds (3.6), assists (3.1), steals (1.3) and even blocks (0.9). After three seasons of failing to post an above-average PER, he now ranks eighth among all guards (21.8) and third among shooting guards, trailing only Harden and Dwyane Wade.
That he's also on pace for the second-highest three-point success rate (44.4) of anyone to ever attempt at least six per game also bodes well for his eligibility.
Regardless of how Thompson would secure the nod—outright or because of Bryant's absence—he deserves it.
Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Since Harden is already a lock to make the All-Star program, we get to travel three deep here. Good thing, too: Mike Conley deserves some love.
Just eight other players aside from Conley are averaging at least 17.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game this season. Four of them have been named All-Star starters: Kyle Lowry, Curry, James and Bryant. The other four are prominent All-Star candidates if not surefire locks: Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Wade and Harden.
Conley could feasibly be the only player of these nine left off the All-Star catalog, even though he's quarterbacking the Grizzlies' best offense in a decade.
Even though Memphis has the second-best record in the savage Western Conference.
Even though he ranks ninth in backcourt PER.
Forgive me, I've just run out of reasons why Conley should at least achieve reserve status. And hey, with Bryant now on the shelf, the league itself may be too.
The Pick
That starting spot will go to Harden. There's no doubt about it. Like Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta opined: "The statistical argument for Harden over Bryant is so extreme, it's almost laughable. Harden's season is historic...Bryant's season, on the other hand, is experiencing the opposite extreme."
Forced to choose between Conley and Thompson for the now-vacant reserve slot, the pick has to be Thompson. The point guard field is already so deep with Chris Paul, Westbrook, Lillard and Curry. If Conley wasn't going to make it before Bryant's injury, his selection would be overkill now.
It makes more sense to tab Thompson, who mans a position that's been begging for two-way stars like himself.
Potential Replacements for LaMarcus Aldridge
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Time to make some good ol' fashion assumptions.
If the West's roster stays true to last year's format, it will consist of three forwards and one center outside the three frontcourt starters. Position classifications don't matter, but this will be our guide.
We're going to assume the center will be DeMarcus Cousins, because, well, it should be DeMarcus Cousins. That would leave just two forward spots to go around if Aldridge was healthy, one of which would have assuredly gone—and is still going—to Kevin Durant, last year's MVP. Our job is to identify which deserving player could have been snubbed from that last spot.
Thus, we have Tim Duncan.
Laugh if you must, but he was left out last season. We're not taking any chances.
Whatever magic elixir Duncan continues to mix with his high-fiber oatmeal in the morning is working. He remains elite, continuing to thwart the ineludible Father Time.
Duncan is tied for fourth in defensive win shares while anchoring yet another strong San Antonio defense this season. Not one of the other top-10 players is older than 29. Duncan is 38.
Should his current per-game numbers hold, Duncan will also be the oldest player in league history to average at least 14.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 blocks for an entire season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the previous record.
He was 33, five years Duncan's junior.
Said a reflective Gregg Popovich in December, after Duncan notched his fourth career triple-double, per the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald: "He keeps doing amazing things."
Amazing things worthy of a 15th All-Star jaunt.
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder
When it comes to Serge Ibaka's All-Star candidacy, Hardwood Paroxysm's David Vertsberger puts it best:
Playing a deep power forward position cyclically hurts Ibaka in the All-Star department. He's routinely waging war against megastars like Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Davis and Aldridge. He had Kevin Love to deal with up until this season, too. Even the more accomplished Duncan steals some of his dap.
Removing Aldridge from consideration gives Ibaka a real shot at enjoying All-Star festivities as a participant. His evolution has gone almost unnoticed this season. Injuries to Durant and Westbrook initially took priority; now it's Oklahoma City's postseason pursuit that dominates discussion.
Ibaka has put together a fantastic campaign amid this craziness. His 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game are lower than last season's averages, but he's boasting newly minted, frequently used three-point range.
Not only has Ibaka made and attempted more treys this season than his previous five combined, but he's shooting 40.8 percent from deep overall.
Never before among qualified players has someone averaged at least 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while also putting in 34 percent or more of his three-pointers.
Never before, though, has the NBA employed a talent like Ibaka—a touted shot-blocker and explosive big man who, midway through his career, decided to become a deadly stretch forward.
There's merit in being the first of your kind. Ibaka's value—All-Star nod or not—is shining through.
The Pick
Ibaka definitely deserves to be recognized as an All-Star at some point. If that point can be now, without it coming at the expense of Duncan, great.
If not, there's always next season.
Duncan's minutes are the highest they've been since 2009-10, and he's the primary reason the defending champion Spurs haven't crumpled under injuries to Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills. He has to be the pick.
In the pantheon of storied NBA big men, no one has aged more gracefully than Duncan. There are only so many opportunities to reward such timelessness. This one, an All-Star salute, must be seized.
*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate as of games played Jan. 22, 2015, unless otherwise noted.
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