NBA All-Star Game Rosters 2017: Stat Predictions for East and West Starters
The selection of NBA's All-Star starters does not usually lend itself to controversy. The league's best and most popular players almost always intersect, and the most deserving usually find themselves in the starting lineup for the Eastern or Western Conference.
That's not the case this year, where perhaps the league's best and most dynamic player will not be starting February 19 in New Orleans. Russell Westbrook has been an unstoppable force since the start of the season, and a headline-maker who has taken the Oklahoma City Thunder and willed them to a 25-19 record that has them in the playoff structure.
While seventh place may not seem like a great achievement, Westbrook's former running mate Kevin Durant left in the offseason to join the Golden State Warriors, and that means Westbrook is basically trying to keep the team afloat by himself.
Westbrook has been remarkable, averaging a league-high 30.6 points per game and making the triple-double his signature. He is averaging a triple-double this season.
Westbrook will certainly be named to the Western Conference All-Star team when the reserves are announced, but it's a shocker that he was not named one of the starters. Westbrook will come off the bench unless one of the Western Conference starters pulls out.
Once you get past the Westbrook situation, a look at both team's starters reveals some incredible talent.
"The NBA revealed the 2017 All-Star Game starters on Thursday night: https://t.co/5F2zGKj6sf pic.twitter.com/7TUA3MatCf
— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) January 20, 2017"
The Western Conference feature guards Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets, along with forwards Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Durant.
The Eastern Conference starters are guards Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and forwards LeBron James of the Cavaliers, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Curry is the league's two-time MVP and he is averaging 24.6 points per game and shooting 46.5 percent from the field. Curry averaged 30.1 ppg last year. Harden is having another sensational year with the Rockets, scoring 28.9 ppg and leading the league with 11.6 assists per game.
Leonard is the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and he is averaging a career-best 24.8 ppg. Durant has made an excellent adjustment to the Warriors, and he is scoring 26.2 ppg while pulling down a career-best 8.6 rebounds per night. Davis is a force for the Pelicans, averaging 28.8 ppg and 12.1 rebounds per game. Those figures put him in the top 10 in both categories.
Irving is averaging 23.6 ppg for the Cavs so far this seasons, while DeRozan has been a force once again for Toronto. He is scoring 28.2 ppg, which ranks fifth in the league in scoring.
James is making his 14th appearance in the All-Star game and while he may dial it back from time-to-time, he will still dominate when the game is on the line. He is averaging 25.6 ppg for the World Champions. Butler is making the first All-Star start of his career, and he is thriving with a career-best 24.8 ppg mark.
Antetokounmpo has become the leader for the Bucks at the age of 22, and he is averaging 23.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per night.
While the All-Star game always feature spectacular offensive play and very little defense, the West won last year's game by a 196-173 score—it is very unlikely that any player will see more than 30 minutes of action.
Curry led all All-Stars with 28:50 of playing time in last year's game, and most starters tend to play 22 to 25 minutes.
As a result, the scoring and rebounding totals usually are somewhat balanced and deciding on the game's MVP is not always easy.
Paul George of the Indiana Pacers was the leading scorer with 41 points a year ago, while Westbrook scored 31 points to lead the West. Westbrook was voted a starter last year.
It would not be a shock if Westbrook was the leading scorer in the game this year even though he will be coming off the bench.
Predictions:
Look for Curry to make a big splash right away by hitting some of his patented three-point shots, and he should score 24 points, hand out eight assists and turn the ball over four times. Durant knows that Westbrook will undoubtedly have a huge game off the bench, so he will try to share the spotlight with 26 points and nine rebounds.
Leonard may forego some of his offense here, and while defense is just an optional activity at the All-Star game, he will come away with 14 points and four steals.
If anybody is going to take the shooting spotlight away from Westbrook, it will have to be Harden. He loves to stand out when playing with the best players—he had 23 points in last year's game—and he should score 30 this year.
Since Davis will be playing in front of his home fans, look for his teammates to set him up for a memorable game. He should finish with 34 points and 14 boards.
While it would seem obvious that the Eastern Conference will look to James for leadership, he played just 20:13 last year and scored 13 points. He will probably better those figures slightly as he should score 17 points in 22 minutes of action.
Irving could take up the slack for his teammate. He scored 31 points in the 2013 All-Star game, but he averaged just 13.0 points in his other two All-Star appearances. Look for Irving to score 22 points here.
DeRozan may be ready to fill it up for the East. He should be good for 30 points this year, and Butler will not be far behind 26 points and seven rebounds.
Antetokounmpo has established himself as a fine all-around player, but his All-Star game appearance will be his coming out party. Look for him to score 25 points and pull down seven rebounds.
