NBA All-Star Game 2015: Starting Lineup, Reserves, Roster Breakdown

On Sunday night, the stars will finally align for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game. When the game finally tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET, many of the league's biggest names will get a chance to start in the showcase.

Only two starters, Kyle Lowry and Klay Thompson, are new to the All-Star stage. Others like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Stephen Curry are more familiar with the task at hand.

DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver will all make their first All-Star Game appearance in Madison Square Garden. They'll have to contend with veterans such as Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh for minutes, but should certainly get a chance as the young guns. 

Before the game gets underway, here's a full look at the rosters and a breakdown of both sides.

East Starters	Team	Position
East Reserves	Team	Position
West Starters	Team	Position
West Reserves	Team	Position
Pau Gasol	Chicago Bulls	FC
LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	FC
Carmelo Anthony	New York Knicks	FC
John Wall	Washington Wizards	BC
Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors	BC
Paul Millsap	Atlanta Hawks	FC
Al Horford	Atlanta Hawks	FC
Chris Bosh	Miami Heat	FC
Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers	BC
Jimmy Butler	Chicago Bulls	BC
Kyle Korver (replaces Dwyane Wade)	Atlanta Hawks	BC
Jeff Teague	Atlanta Hawks	BC
Marc Gasol	Memphis Grizzlies	FC
LaMarcus Aldridge (replaces Anthony Davis)	Portland Trail Blazers	FC
Klay Thompson (replaces Blake Griffin)	Golden State Warriors	FC
James Harden (replaces Kobe Bryant)	Houston Rockets	BC
Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	BC
Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City Thunder	FC
Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	FC
Chris Paul	Los Angeles Clippers	FC
Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder	BC
DeMarcus Cousins (injury replacement)	Sacramento Kings	BC
Damian Lillard (injury replacement)	Portland Trail Blazers	BC
Dirk Nowitzki (injury replacement)	Dallas Mavericks	BC

Roster Breakdown

One of the most deserving players in the NBA almost didn't even earn a roster spot. That's just how difficult it can be to make it to the All-Star Game.

Damian Lillard, who's averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game this season, was initially a snub when the starters and reserves were announced. One of the biggest stars on a team that sits at 36-17 only received a nod from NBA commissioner Adam Silver when Blake Griffin pulled out of the game due to an elbow injury.

Lillard spoke about how excited he was for the opportunity, via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:

Not having Lillard on the roster would have been a travesty, especially since fans initially voted in Kobe Bryant, who hardly had an All-Star-caliber season before tearing his rotator cuff in January. Luckily, all is right in the world with the Blazers star now in the All-Star Game for the second time in his first three seasons.

Joining Lillard will be teammate LaMarcus Aldridge, who was named a starter on Saturday, replacing an injured Anthony Davis.

Aldridge is one of three replacements in the West lineup. James Harden and Klay Thompson were chosen for Bryant and Griffin, respectively, allowing Kerr to avoid choosing between the two. Thompson will be paired with backcourt-mate Stephen Curry for the only starters coming from the same team. The three-guard starting lineup should lead to a barrage of early threes for the West, which will go against a bigger overall Eastern side.

The Eastern Conference squad had a few surprises as well. In particular, none of the members of the best team in the NBA made the starting lineup. When the game tips off on Sunday night, four players from the Atlanta Hawks will suit up and start the game on the bench.

Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague were all selected as reserves, while Silver tabbed Kyle Korver as an injury replacement for Dwyane Wade. The fans in Atlanta voiced their thoughts about Korver's initial snub during a recent ceremony for the All-Stars, via Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report:

Though Korver was originally left off the list, the four Hawks should shine for the Eastern Conference under their head coach, Mike Budenholzer. Coming from a franchise that plays as a team every night on the court, the quartet should have no problem meshing with a roster full of superstars. Atlanta's four representatives also match an NBA record, last touched by the Boston Celtics in 2011.

Sunday also may mark the final appearance of 2014-15 for Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks star has spent all season battling through a knee injury that will eventually require surgery. With the Knicks well out of the playoff hunt, Anthony admitted it's likely he shuts things down once the lights go out at MSG.

"It's very likely. It's very likely. Now I've got to start thinking about the future," Anthony told Marc Stein, Marc Kestecher and P.J. Carlesimo in an interview on ESPN Radio, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. "This season is this season. So I really want to just sit down with my team and sit down with the proper people to just kind of plan this thing out and see exactly what I have to do to get done and just to fix it."

Going against a Western Conference squad that has no apparent weaknesses, the East will need some glue players to take them down. After the East broke a three-game losing streak last season, it will need everything in the tank to replicate that success on Sunday.

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