NBA All-Star Game Rosters 2016: Voting Results for Starters, Predicting Reserves

The NBA announced the 10 starters for its 65th annual All-Star Game Thursday evening. There were a couple of surprises and selections that were not deserved based on performances this season, but the fan voting process yielded a crop of players that was mostly expected.

With the first five for each team now decided, it's time to direct our attention to the reserves, selected by the league's 30 head coaches.

Remember, the Eastern and Western Conferences will each have seven reserves. Two of them will be backcourt players, three will be frontcourt players and the final two will be wild cards who can be of any position.

So let's predict which guys the coaches will send to Toronto with their reserve selections.

Before doing that, though, check out the final voting tallies for the starters below. You can find expanded voting numbers here on NBA.com.

Position	Player	Team	Total Votes Received
East
Backcourt 1	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	941,466
Backcourt 2	Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors	646,441
Frontcourt 1	LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	1,089,206
Frontcourt 2	Paul George	Indiana Pacers	711,595
Frontcourt 3	Carmelo Anthony	New York Knicks	567,348
West
Backcourt 1	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	1,604,325
Backcourt 2	Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder	772,009
Frontcourt 1	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	1,891,614
Frontcourt 2	Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City Thunder	980,707
Frontcourt 3	Kawhi Leonard	San Antonio Spurs	782,339

Predicting Eastern Conference Reserves

Backcourt

Jimmy Butler is an obvious pick here, as the Chicago Bulls star shooting guard has been arguably the best backcourt player in the East this season. He's actually led the entire conference in win shares thus far (6.5) and plays at a super high level on both ends of the floor.

His Washington Wizards have been a disappointment this season, but John Wall has been insanely valuable to the success his team has been able to muster. He averages 19.9 points, 9.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game and is also a plus defender at the point guard position.

Frontcourt

The Atlanta Hawks' Paul Millsap probably deserved a starting spot, but he somehow only earned the No. 15 spot in the Eastern Conference frontcourt voting.

Credit that to him playing on a low-profile team with an unassuming attitude and a workmanlike game. He's an advanced stats darling who plays both ends of the floor well and has guard skills in a toned 6'8", 246-pound body.

Andre Drummond has a glaring weakness at the free-throw line (a career-worst 35.5 percent at the charity stripe this year), but the Detroit Pistons' rising young center is one of the best rebounders in recent memory. He grabs 15.4 balls per contest and also has the skills and physical ability to put in 17.6 points per game.

He's not the flashiest of stars, but the Miami Heat's Chris Bosh is a well-respected talent around the league thanks to a diverse offensive toolbox and impactful team defense. Finally both healthy and without LeBron James taking possessions, Bosh is posting his highest player efficiency rating (21.9) since he played for the Toronto Raptors.

Wild Cards

The surprising Raptors have seen their athletic swingman, DeMar DeRozan, develop into a more efficient scorer thanks to an improved handle that has helped him get to the rim more frequently. At 23.1 points per game, he's currently 11th in the league in scoring.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Pau Gasol has the name recognition around the league to get the final spot. Although the Bulls big man bleeds points on defense at this stage in his career, the fact that he's averaging 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 blocks could sway voters in his favor despite guys like Atlanta's Al Horford and Detroit's Reggie Jackson both being more impactful players during the 2015-16 campaign.

Predicting Western Conference Reserves

Backcourt

Chris Paul has a running streak of eight consecutive All-Star appearances, and an even a slight down year won't be able to rob him of his ninth. CP3 has still been excellent, averaging an efficient 18.2 points and 9.6 assists per game for a Los Angeles Clippers team that is hitting its stride.

This season must seem like a nightmare compared to the last one for James Harden. His Houston Rockets have underachieved to the tune of a record around .500 most of the campaign, but Harden has still had a nice statistical year; 27.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists are nothing to scoff at, even with his poor defense.

Frontcourt

If the All-Star Game were purely based on merit, the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green would've started in Kobe's place. The 6'7" do-it-all forward is the second-most important player on the team with the best record in the NBA and is a nightly triple-double threat.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Anthony Davis' New Orleans Pelicans squad has been decimated by injuries and underachieved even despite the lost manpower, but it's hard to place too much blame on the 22-year-old Brow. His numbers (23.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game) aren't too far off where he was in his breakout 2014-15 season.

What's an All-Star Game without Blake Griffin? The Clippers star forward didn't get voted in as a starter for the first time in four years, but coaches will make sure the versatile offensive force makes it as a reserve. He was a dark-horse MVP candidate about a month ago.

Wild Cards

If the balloting were up to me, Cousins wouldn't need to be a wild card; he'd be one of the first three frontcourt reserves. He's putting up 26.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for a Kings team that recently snuck into a playoff spot.

However, he was only an injury replacement last season despite putting up similar stats, so don't expect a ton of respect from coaches.

Damian Lillard, like Cousins, is carrying a team hanging around the fringes of the playoff hunt. He'll never be one of the game's best defenders, but he has a smooth offensive game that adds up to 24.3 points and 7.0 assists per game. Golden State's Klay Thompson or San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge could get some love here, but the offensive exploits of Dame could be too much for coaches to ignore.

Note: All statistics are updated through January 22 unless otherwise indicated.