NBA All-Star Game 2015 Rosters: Latest Projections for East, West Reserves

It is a testament to how much our sports culture loves to debate that NBA fans get worked up about the All-Star Game rosters.

After all, the game doesn't count for anything outside of entertainment, and it is the fans themselves that actually determine the starting lineups. Fortunately for those who were snubbed, there is still a chance to make the roster as a reserve.

While the reserves are yet to be announced, fans and commentators can take their best guesses at who will fill the roster spots. Here is a look at some projections that do exactly that (each conference's reserve group is made up of two backcourt players, three frontcourt players and two wild-card players who can fill in anywhere).

Player	Team	Position
John Wall	Washington Wizards	Backcourt
Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors	Backcourt
LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	Frontcourt
Pau Gasol	Chicago Bulls	Frontcourt
Carmelo Anthony	New York Knicks	Frontcourt

Player	Team	Position
Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	Backcourt
Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	Backcourt
Anthony Davis	New Orleans Pelicans	Frontcourt
Blake Griffin	Los Angeles Clippers	Frontcourt
Marc Gasol	Memphis Grizzlies	Frontcourt

Player	Team	Position
Jimmy Butler	Chicago Bulls	Backcourt
Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers	Backcourt
Paul Millsap	Atlanta Hawks	Frontcourt
Chris Bosh	Miami Heat	Frontcourt
Al Horford	Atlanta Hawks	Frontcourt
Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	Wild card
Kyle Korver	Atlanta Hawks	Wild card

Player	Team	Position
James Harden	Houston Rockets	Backcourt
Chris Paul	Los Angeles Clippers	Backcourt
LaMarcus Aldridge	Portland Trail Blazers	Frontcourt
Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	Frontcourt
DeMarcus Cousins	Sacramento Kings	Frontcourt
Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder	Wild card
Klay Thompson	Golden State Warriors	Wild card
Damian Lillard	Portland Trail Blazers	Injury replacement for Bryant
Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City Thunder	Injury replacement for Aldridge

Most Intriguing Decision: Western Conference Backcourt

The NBA could put on an All-Star Game with just Western Conference backcourt options alone. That type of positional depth makes for some difficult roster decisions.

James Harden is the first name that jumps out as a potential reserve, but the question isn't whether he will be a reserve as much as whether he should be a starter. Granted, Kobe Bryant's injury means Harden will almost assuredly be part of the starting five when the ball is tipped anyway, but he deserved the initial recognition.

Harden is a legitimate MVP candidate who led the NBA in points per game entering play Friday evening at 27.2. He was also dishing out 6.7 assists and grabbing 5.5 rebounds a night and has been one of the best overall players in the entire league.

What's more, he carried the team while Dwight Howard was out with injury.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images

It gets more intriguing after Harden because there is only one other backcourt reserve spot and two wild-card slots available for the West. Of course, the backcourt conundrum gets a bit easier because Bryant and LaMarcus Aldridge are both likely to miss the All-Star Game with injury, which opens up two more available roster spots.

Chris Paul will be a reserve as the leader of the lethal Los Angeles Clippers attack with his 17.3 points and 9.8 assists per game as well as his impressive defense.

Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated also had Paul as a Western Conference reserve:

"

There's a debate to be had whether Curry has surpassed Paul as the league's top point guard. There's no debate to be had over Paul's All-Star merits. The Clippers are starting to pick up the pace after some ups and down, and Paul (17.6 PPG, 9.6 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG) continues to orchestrate brilliantly. He ranks third among point guards in PER [player efficiency rating], fourth overall in Win Shares, and sixth overall in Real Plus-Minus. Regarded as the top all-around point guard for the last five years, Paul ranks third in assists and seventh in steals, and he's heading up the league's most efficient offense. Case closed. NYC should mark his eighth straight All-Star selection.

"

That leaves a plethora of potential options for the two wild-card spots and possible injury replacements. Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, Monta Ellis, Mike Conley Jr., Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe can all make legitimate cases for inclusion on the roster.

Perhaps the Eastern Conference can borrow a couple of them?

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

Thompson summarized the predicament, via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports: "It's a loaded conference. There are so many talented players in this league. That's how it's going to be every year. It's not going to be easy."

Thanks to the sheer number of deserving options, the West will use those two wild-card spots on backcourt players. That's not to say there aren't deserving frontcourt players who would get left off, but there are just too many guards to ignore.

Thompson will be rewarded on the back of Golden State's success alone. The Warriors have the best winning percentage in the NBA and deserve multiple All-Stars even if one of them is a reserve.

Lillard will also get rewarded because of his overall numbers and ability to come through in the clutch. NBA.com lists Lillard as ninth in the NBA in scoring in clutch situations, which is a major reason why the Trail Blazers are 31-13 in the loaded Western Conference.

Westbrook will also get the nod as an injury replacement because of the way he carried the Oklahoma City Thunder back into playoff contention after an abysmal start while Kevin Durant missed significant time with injury. Westbrook also missed time, but he came back quicker than Durant and helped stabilize a situation that didn't look promising in the deep West. 

The All-Star Game is ultimately about individual accomplishments, but team success will play a role in the selection process as well with so many talented options in the Western Conference backcourt.

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