NBA Experts Mock Draft 2018 All-Star Game Rosters
For the first time in history, the NBA's All-Star Game rosters will be determined through a playground-style draft. Someone will inevitably take offense when LeBron James or Stephen Curry (the likely choices as the captains from their respective conferences) leaves them on the board for too long, so we're taking the decisions out of their hands.
Yours truly will be standing in for James (I'll vacate that responsibility once the hypothetical clash is actually being played), while Dan Favale is representing Curry. We'll each be making all the selections and providing the written justifications for our choices, but please feel free to direct all compliments to me and criticisms to Dan.
The format here is pretty simple.
The two of us argued for hours and hours about the selected All-Stars, which follow typical roster restrictions: five starters and seven reserves from each conference. The starters must be comprised of two backcourt and three frontcourt players; those compositions are mirrored for the reserves, plus the addition of two wild-card selections at any position for each conference.
Here's the final pool—the product of some unanimity and plenty of compromise:
- Eligible Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, Victor Oladipo
- Eligible Reserves: LaMarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Draymond Green, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul, Kristaps Porzingis, Ben Simmons, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook
Look, snubs are inevitable here, and it's the holiday season. Go easy on us and submit any and all complaints to expandtheallstarrostersalready@hotmail.com. Special shoutouts to Bradley Beal, Clint Capela, Paul George, Nikola Jokic and John Wall.
Dan was gracious enough to grant me the first pick, so I'll be kicking this process off by selecting from the starters. Once they're depleted, we can move on to the reserves and complete our rosters.
Let the battle commence.
Team James No. 1 Pick: James Harden, Houston Rockets
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You can't possibly go wrong with a handful of players in this spot, but I will consolidate the only MVP candidates who matter during the 2017-18 campaign. LeBron James has been utterly brilliant during his 15th professional season, and James Harden has been every bit his equal for the Houston Rockets.
Despite rule changes to limit his trips to the stripe with his unique style of play (10.9 attempts per game in 2016-17), he's continued to baffle opponents and referees alike (9.9 this year). His affinity for pulling up beyond the arc at the slightest hint of contact, and his aggressive endeavors to the basket, have still helped him earn parades to the line. In many ways, he's playing like he figured out the solution to offensive basketball—all while offering a bit more on the defensive side than in previous go-rounds.
Put Harden in any system, and he'll create opportunities to dazzle his way to an efficient supply of points and assists, Eurostepping and crossing over one foe after another when he's not draining pull-up jumpers or finding open teammates.
Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni has crafted the near-perfect set of schemes in which he can operate; surround him with a bevy of shooters and draw away defensive attention with another ace ball-handler in Chris Paul (more on him later, though we're not yet sure who will be explaining his brilliance).
Why "near-perfect"?
Because the All-Star stage, which incentivizes flashiness and the utter humiliation of opponents, is pure perfection.
Current Starters: James Harden, LeBron James
Current Reserves: None
Team Steph No. 1 Pick: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
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Ever the diplomatic teammate, Stephen Curry wouldn't pass over Kevin Durant in real life—not even after he threw vast amounts of shade at Under Armour.
It helps that Durant is also the best player on this list. Curry's latest absence from the Golden State Warriors rotation has seen Durant detonate as both an ungoverned scorer and high-volume playmaker. His game is suited in all forms for the no-defense fest that this All-Star meet-up has become. Curry and KD will fire off pull-up threes for days, and he's one of the few players who can effortlessly score in the half court, even by this superstar exhibition's standards.
My esteemed colleague talks about how Harden can be put in any system. He's not entirely wrong. But Durant can actually be put in any system, alongside any teammates, playing any given style. He is the quintessential plug-and-play superstar, as he's shown time and again with the Warriors.
He'll get his reps in isolation and attacking the basket, but he'll also shoot, roughly, a zillion percent on spot-up 30-footers in February's showcase. And in the event anyone decides to play defense, Durant is a low-key favorite to ruin the most poster-dunk attempts.
If nothing else, given the preexisting chemistry he shares with his captain, Durant makes too much sense as Team Steph's inaugural pick.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant
Current Reserves: None
Team James No. 2 Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
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This admittedly isn't a perfect fit for a team that features Harden and James. Ideally, we'd land a spot-up sniper who could space out defenses from beyond the arc and operate without the ball in his hands. But the idea of having two athletic marvels on the same squad, suffocating Team Steph with unrelenting length and positionless prowess, is too much to pass up.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has spent the season proving he doesn't need a jumper in order to compete for the NBA's scoring title. His lanky strides, endless arms and remarkable body control are overpowering, allowing him to jet past opponents in transition and sneak by them in the half-court set for his constant assaults on the rim.
But even if he's deferring touches to his team captain, he'll have value simply by working well with virtually any lineup we can muster. Along with his defensive versatility and preternatural passing instincts, of course.
Need a point guard? There's Giannis! Need someone to line up against juggernaut wings and at least make life difficult for them? Call the Greek Freak! Desperate for size and speed at the center spot? Antetokounmpo can handle it!
Having this type of flexibility from arguably the league's brightest young talent begs only one response: Yes, please.
Current Starters: James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Current Reserves: None
Team Steph No. 2 Pick: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
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Another big who plays like a wing? Yes, please.
Anthony Davis doesn't have the playmaking chops of Antetokounmpo or Durant, but this squad doesn't need him to. We have Curry and, well, Durant himself. Davis gets to focus on exploding toward the rim off screens and finishing no-look lobs from his MVP teammates.
The offense will sprinkle in some face-ups for The Brow, because he's too smooth and too dang good at under-control recklessness to be a glorified Clint Capela. But he's also flashed an improved three-point stroke this season; he'll splash in even more catch-and-shoot bunnies playing beside so much fellow star power.
Citing defense often feels disingenuous in these proceedings. The All-Star Game only exists now, it seems, to break scoring records.
But Davis' defensive activity is reflexive. He'll break up passes in the lane and swat shots at the rim into the 50th row. And if the game stays tight until the bitter end, forcing both sides to try for seconds at a time on the less glamorous end, Davis is more equipped than any other skyscraper—including Antetokounmpo and Durant—to shimmy between assignments of finesse (Harden), knifing drumfire (Antetokounmpo) and sheer horsepower (James).
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis
Current Reserves: None
Team James No. 3 Pick: Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics
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James and Kyrie Irving have already hugged it out.
Despite this summer's drama, they'll be just fine on the same team, and nothing will erase any hard feelings quite like one picking to play with the other in this playground-style draft. Maybe by the end of the midseason festivities, they can go out for an ice cream cone and enjoy the best Los Angeles has to offer. I'm thinking a journey along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, daydreaming about seeing their names in the center of future stars.
So why Irving? He's the only man left among the four remaining eligible starters who has a legitimate shot at becoming the All-Star Game MVP.
Al Horford is a fantastic basketball player and has arguably been more valuable than his point guard to the Boston Celtics' success. But his game isn't nearly as well-suited for exhibition love. Ditto for DeMarcus Cousins, since big men don't get the requisite interior touches during any modern All-Star showdowns. Victor Oladipo is having a phenomenal breakout season for the Indiana Pacers, but he's not on the same level.
It has to be Irving.
Give us all the yo-yo handles as he continues to assert himself as the best ball-handling wizard in NBA history. Yep. I'm going there. You can have Pete Maravich, Allen Iverson, Earl Monroe, God Shammgod, Rafer Alston, Jason Williams or anyone else your heart desires.
I'll sit back and watch as Irving puts any defender on skates with evolved versions of every dribbling move that preceded him. You know he's going to embarrass at least a few players during the All-Star Game—especially when the proceedings inevitably devolve into one-on-one showcases.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Current Reserves: None
Team Steph No. 3 Pick: Al Horford, Boston Celtics
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Al Horford and Davis should probably get acquainted, since they'll eventually be traded for one another. But seriously: This pairing makes sense—more so than a Davis-DeMarcus Cousins partnership.
No other star big man seems more genuinely excited to work his butt off in every aspect of the game. Horford lives to set screens, both on and off the ball. He passes out of the post and defers off the dribble. He's shooting better than 40 percent from three this season.
He's not the most physical rim-runner, but he has great touch around the basket. He switches almost everything on defense—not out of necessity, but by the Boston Celtics' own design, because he's so comfortable doing it.
Anyone who's turned off by his unostentatious points-per-game averages either doesn't watch enough of Horford, or, for some reason, despises incredibly valuable players who fill in almost every fathomable gap at a superstar level. And that's what we're building here on Team Steph: a collection of megastuds who don't need to commandeer possessions or hijack the spotlight, but instead thrive within the ebbs and flows of the game. Horford doesn't just fit that mold. He defines it.
What he brings to the table (i.e. a little of everything) matters even in an All-Star setting—particularly for this team.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: None
Team James No. 4 Pick: DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans Pelicans
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Every team needs a bit of nasty.
Even though DeMarcus Cousins has had some trouble carrying the New Orleans Pelicans when he's the only star on the floor, he's left little doubt that he's improved in many areas. His defensive intensity vacillates throughout games—and from one contest to another—but he's morphed into an imposing interior presence capable of snuffing out all different types of sets.
He's more involved than ever as a facilitator, whether looking for teammates setting up along the arc or initiating action from the top of the key. He's taking more triples and hitting them at a respectable enough clip that defenders have to honor the mere threat of his jumper.
Oh, and he's still dominating as a scorer through his awe-inspiring combination of finesse and physicality.
To guard our starting lineup, you need plenty of switchability. Every single member of the opening quintet can either call his own number or make life easier for one of his running mates. So how do you combat that, ensuring you have the athleticism necessary to corral the forwards while also featuring enough size to keep Cousins from playing bully ball?
The answer is simple: You don't.
Cousins may be the final pick of our starting five, but factoring in both per-possession excellence and availability, he's been the NBA's premier center thus far. And best of all, he fits in perfectly with the men selected ahead of him to create an unsolvable puzzle for the opposition.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: None
Team Steph No. 4 Pick: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
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Technically, Victor Oladipo is being foisted upon this team by default.
Really, though, we've been targeting him since Round 2. Our Steph proxy (me) had a feeling that LeBron's stand-in (Adam) would pick up Kyrie Irving in Round 3 after we snagged Anthony Davis. From there, we knew he'd need a big to complete his starting five in Round 4. That eliminated Oladipo from consideration, allowing us to roll with Horford and steal Mr. Oladipo here.
The Indiana Pacers combo guard/wing/whatever has been absolutely sensational this season, flashing elite shot-making off the dribble and in transition. He is torching fools when going one-on-one, and he's burning through enough dribble handoffs and spot-up threes to play off Team Steph's assortment of superstars.
This starting lineup oozes versatility, even while playing with two bigs. Davis and Horford defend like wings, and Durant offers a third layer of rim protection. Davis is the weakest shooter of the bunch, but even he can knock down triples from the standstill position. And contrary to Team James, we have three players who can initiate pick-and-rolls (Curry, Oladipo, Durant), as well as three who can serve as high-functioning rim-runners (Durant, Davis, Horford).
Give me the spacing of this five-man amalgam over the opposition's any day of the week—and six times on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: None
Team James No. 5 Pick: Chris Paul, Houston Rockets
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At the time of our draft on Dec. 21, Team Steph's starting five had combined to take 27.4 three-pointers per game, connecting at a 40.1 percent clip. Team James' opening lineup, meanwhile, sat at 30.1 and 38.5, respectively. Honestly, that's far better than I expected, considering James isn't known as a marksman, while Antetokounmpo notoriously avoids jumpers from beyond the rainbow.
Nonetheless, I assume James and his photographic memory can calculate this on the spot and would embark upon the same line of thinking, leading both him and us to take the best shooter available. You can never have enough marksmen in today's NBA, and our team's percentage isn't quite where it needs to be.
So step up to the plate, Chris Paul.
The Houston Rockets floor general knocked down 41.1 percent of his triples in 2016-17 while taking an even 5.0 attempts per game. He's firing away even more frequently in the Mike D'Antoni system, and his accuracy has trended only slightly in the wrong direction, still leaving him safely above the magical 40 percent baseline. As Zach Lowe wrote for ESPN.com earlier this season:
"My favorite subplot of the season: watching Paul adjust to the pace and freedom of Mike D'Antoni's offense. You can see his brain working: 'OK, I'm dribbling fast. Look at me go! Oh, here's Clint setting me a screen 35 feet from the hoop. My guy went under! Wait, I'm supposed to shoot, aren't I? But there are 19 seconds on the shot clock and I haven't signaled a play or yelled at anyone yet. Should I really shoot? I guess so. WHEE!'
"He's like a sheltered college freshman being dragged to his first frat parties. 'The beer is ... free? My parents wouldn't like this. Maybe I'll try one sip.' Five minutes later, he's doing keg stands."
Between his pre-established chemistry with Harden, his accuracy from downtown and his comfort in free-wheeling schemes, he's the only reasonable choice (Note: Far too much talent remains in the pool for this to be true) to serve as our sixth man.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul
Team Steph No. 5 Pick: Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Screw being diplomatic this time around.
Real-life Steph probably rides with Draymond Green here, because they're teammates, and rumor has it winning multiple championships together equates to an unbreakable vow of eternal loyalty. But the NBA, as of now, has no plans to televise the draft or publicize the selection order.
This, first and foremost, stinks. But it also allows for me to pull the old switcharoo without journeying too far into pipe-dream mode.
Jimmy Butler is officially beasting it in Minnesota these days. He struggled to start the season, but then, quite suddenly, the Timberwolves seemed to realize he's their best player. He's averaging 24.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals on 49.4 percent shooting over his last 15 games. His three-point marksmanship remains shaky, but you try downing treys at a league-average rate in Tom Thibodeau's twisted offensive structure.
Besides, Butler is canning 36.2 percent of his threebies over this span while emerging as one of the most automatic crunch-time options. Defenders are falling for his hesitations and head fakes, and he's reaching the line late in games at will. He'll have to play off the ball more during this meeting of basketball's one-percenters, but that won't be an issue.
He shoots at a high enough clip off the catch and will welcome the opportunity to jump-start fast breaks following defensive displays that Team James might think the two sides have agreed to eliminate.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Jimmy Butler
Team James No. 6 Pick: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
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At this point in the draft, we just want the perfect All-Star. We have the talent. We have the versatility. We have the shooting. Now we need the player who oozes every characteristic you could possibly want during a not-so-competitive contest that can sometimes grow competitive down the stretch.
The sheer number of ways Joel Embiid could affect this contest can't be counted.
One possession, he'll swat Stephen Curry's shot into oblivion, giving a fan in the eighth row an unexpected spherical souvenir. The next, he'll spot up for a three-pointer and tickle the twine. Then comes a face-up jumper from the elbow, followed by a dizzying array of post moves that make fans wonder which time machine brought prime Hakeem Olajuwon into 2018.
And all the while he'll talk unrelenting trash, attempt to bait the opposition into bone-headed decisions, inspire his running mates and exhort the crowd into a fervent uproar.
Ultimately, the All-Star Game is about pure entertainment, especially with no rivalry between the conferences and nothing—aside from the MVP award—on the line. Embiid might not be able to work the Twitter machine while the clock is running (then again, that may be false), but his histrionics and quality of play provide boosts that can't be matched by anyone else on either roster. He's a showman in every sense of the word, and he knows it.
Of course, it also helps that a healthy version of this 23-year-old big man has already become arguably the NBA's most impactful center.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 6 Pick: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
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Damian Lillard isn't getting enough love for his performance this season. His efficiency is down, and the Portland Trail Blazers turn in one of the league's clunkiest shot profiles; but he retains parking-lot range, is a human water wiggly off the dribble and boasts disarming bursts both on and off the ball.
Durant hasn't played with a point guard who can finish lobs for, like, a full minute. He deserves Lillard. Lineups that feature them and Curry will make sweet, unguardable offensive magic. Stir in Butler and Davis, and yeah, buddy, you have yourself a lethal cocktail built to steamroll even a LeBron-Antetokounmpo tandem.
No one is picking Lillard for his defense, but he's getting better on that end. He'll hear Terry Stotts' voice in his head enough times to try coaxing Irving into low-efficiency mid-rangers. And if he registers as a liability, Team Steph can always stash him on one of Team James' many non-spacers.
Mostly, though, Lillard represents the dare-to-detonate selection. Team James is thus far arming itself with wily and interchangeable ball-handlers. We, in response, must stock up on players with voodoo handles and high-swishability ceilings from 24 feet and out.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler
Team James No. 7 Pick: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
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"Team James is thus far arming itself with wily and interchangeable ball-handlers."
Bingo. And it's not going to stop now.
Ben Simmons isn't the best remaining player. At this ultra-early stage of his NBA career, he might actually be the worst basketballer in the pool of eligible contributors—again, speaking only about the present. But he knows how to play with Joel Embiid and continues the positionless theme of Team James, fitting anywhere from the 5 in a super-small lineup to the point in a unit that's going to feature offensive initiators at every single slot.
We've danced around whether defense matters, and, truthfully, no one really knows. Maybe this game will be a first-to-180 affair. Perhaps everyone will be motivated in this new format and strive to suffocate their foes. We're rolling with Simmons because he can excel in either scenario.
In the former, he'll be able to hit his athletic teammates with one lob after another. The possibilities are endless with Simmons, Antetokounmpo and James sharing the court.
They'll wait their turns to drive and finish or kick out to the perimeter, counting on another ball-handler to break down a defense already struggling to compress around the initial attacker. And if defense does matter, his nearly unparalleled mishmash of size and quickness allows him to stop one of Team Steph's surplus shooters before switching onto another at a moment's notice.
The Philadelphia 76ers have already proved young Simmons is at his best when playing with another star. I think we have a few of those.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 7: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
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As far as Green is concerned, Team Steph picked him up with its first reserve pick. He doesn't need to know otherwise.
Why break up a good thing? Playing with Curry and Durant is now second nature for Green. And contrary to many other All-Stars, he won't get caught up in the live-game three-point shootout and dunk competition. He'll be perfectly content playing the part of oversized setup man—flinging bullets to the corners on dives to the basket, orchestrating pick-and-rolls, leading fast breaks and hunting down iconic alley-oop dimes.
It doesn't matter if the rest of the player pool agree to do their best Andrew Wiggins-before-he-played-with-Jimmy impressions. Green will break up fancy passes and won't shy away from trying to ruin highlight poster jams.
And where Team James is assembling a hyper-versatile roster fraught with floor-spacing warts, Green is enough of a three-point threat to advance the all-shooting-everything motif Team Steph is (ingeniously) perpetuating.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green
Team James No. 8 Pick: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
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Fun fact: The last time a team shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc during an All-Star Game came back in 2012, when the Eastern Conference dropped 14 of its 32 treys (43.8 percent).
For all the love Team Steph is giving threes, they're not actually what wins these outings. In fact, the team that drilled more long balls has emerged victorious from just four of the last 10 affairs.
Maybe that's going to change as deep looks gain more and more prominence in the modern NBA, but wizard-like ball-handling and spring-loaded finishes at the basket have been more important throughout recent history. So for the time being, we'll just keep loading up on versatile players who can fill multiple roles, taking any marksmanship that comes included in the package as gravy.
Kristaps Porzingis can shoot. He can shoot extraordinarily well for a player who towers over mere 7-footers.
But it's his knack for protecting the hoop that draws us to him right now. No one has been more effective at shutting down the interior, as one player after another has found out the hard way while challenging him at the tin. He has the firecracker mentality necessary to actually contest dunks on the All-Star stage, as well as the length and timing to make those efforts count.
He'd be valuable to Team James even if he couldn't knock down triples. And yet, he can.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul, Ben Simmons, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 8 Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Karl-Anthony Towns, you are amazing. Was I hoping Kristaps Porzingis would be on the board? Maybe. (Yes.)
No matter. You're awesome, too.
Towns is having well-documented problems on the defensive end this year. He hasn't met a pump fake he won't bite on and is suffering from ingrained confusion, general inattentiveness or some combination of the two. But he remains a monster on the offensive end—the perfect conduit between jumper-jacking unicorns and conventional brute force.
Even now, more than two years into his career, his ability to put the ball on the floor off the catch takes defenses by surprise. Where Davis embodies composed chaos on drives, Towns overpowers using finesse cut with punchiness.
Playing him with Butler and Davis mitigates whatever defensive issues he injects. But the concern level on this front isn't high.
Towns' mixed bag of offensive goodies eclipses his defensive regression in a normal setting. Regular-season liabilities get a free pass on All-Star grounds. He'll finish lobs off passes from Butler, Curry, Durant and Lillard, while dropping in wide-open bunnies from beyond the arc. And whatever freelancing excursions he's afforded will make kindling out of whichever spaghetti noodles (Kristaps, Giannis) or plodders (Boogie) Team James throws his way.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns
Team James No. 9 Pick: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
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Spacing, spacing, spacing. Yada, yada, yada.
I can hear your misguided criticisms of this pick already: "Team James just keeps piling up non-shooters, and it's going to be so easy for the superior players on Team Steph to stash away defensive liabilities and still gum up any offensive sets."
Let me pre-rebut with the undeniable fact that DeMar DeRozan is a professional bucket-getter, capable of producing gaudy scoring figures without sacrificing efficiency. He might not shoot much from downtown and prefers outdated mid-range stylings, but that method works for him.
He's one of the NBA's leading scorers, is rather easily posting the best true shooting percentage of his career and, for the first time in forever, is almost making the Toronto Raptors better when he's on the floor.
Considering the widespread effectiveness of their bench representatives, that's actually a legitimate accomplishment.
At this stage of our draft, I want players who can fill their role with aplomb. And DeRozan can do exactly that when he's granted possessions—not to mention the undeniable athleticism he brings to our crop of wings. We'll have to use him carefully, leaving him on the bench whenever both Simmons and Antetokounmpo are logging minutes to prevent extreme clogging in the middle of any half-court set; but he'll serve as a terrific change-of-pace swingman capable of setting the scoreboard ablaze.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan, Ben Simmons, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 9 Pick: Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
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Now, I don't want to names, but a certain LeBron surrogate fought tooth and nail to keep DeRozan out of the player pool. Meanwhile, that same someone remained bullish on keeping Andre Drummond and Russell Westbrook in play. Alas, here we are, in Round 9, and two of the players he caped hardest for remain on the board.
Team Steph isn't about to take either one of them. Not yet anyway.
Kyle Lowry is a bloodhound everyone should want on their team. Certain people get uncomfortable when you suggest he's just as valuable to the Toronto Raptors as Irving and John Wall are to their respective squads. And that remains weird. Because that's exactly what he is.
A freezing-cold start to the season is a memento of the past. Lowry's efficiency has stabilized. He's not scoring nearly as much, but his usage rate has plunged in Toronto's new offensive model. That he's adjusted to their evolution—which comes replete with a much better shot profile—makes my case for him.
He doesn't need the ball in his hands 24/7/365. He's a spot-up assassin with a deadly touch coming around screens. When he does get a head of steam off the dribble, watch out. He's an expert distributor on the move and finds ways to finish around and through traffic despite his 6'0" frame.
The defensive potential—by All-Star Weekend's standards—when Lowry plays with Butler, Davis and Durant is through the roof, and he meshes perfectly with all of our other primary ball-handlers, from Steph and Dame, to KD and Jimmy Buckets.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns
Team James No. 10 Pick: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Fine, I'll bite.
Russell Westbrook hasn't been nearly as effective during the 2017-18 campaign as he was while winning MVP last season; though he's still awfully close to averaging another triple-double. He's uncharacteristically missing free throws, and his struggles have bled over to live action, where he's somehow completely forgotten how to knock down attempts from outside the paint.
But we're not using Westbrook as a No. 1 option. We're not asking him to hit pull-up jumpers and keep a defense honest.
Instead, he'll be allowed to explode toward the basket, bursting by any defender on Team Steph in transition, or when play slows down late in the shot clock. And despite his overall struggles—the fall from grace is astounding; we seriously considered omitting him from the field entirely—he's actually finishing plays inside three feet at a higher clip than last year's 57.6 percent.
As team captain, James will be giving this reserve point guard an ultimatum: Don't shoot jumpers under any circumstances.
I've revealed that strategy to you now, and to all of Team Curry by proxy. But that's alright by me.
You still won't be able to prevent Russ from punishing the rim on at least a few occasions. No one can during real NBA games, and we're now letting him expend equivalent amounts of energy in far shorter periods of time.
Current Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Current Reserves: Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Ben Simmons, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 10 Pick: LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs
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Team Steph will be throwing Team James a bone here. We know how much you're in love with non-shooters, so we'll make sure to take the last spacey big on the board.
Also: LaMarcus Aldridge has been fantastic this season. The San Antonio Spurs are scoring like one of the league's most efficient attacks while he's on the floor, and he's turning defenses into putty with his impossible fadeaways and green light from beyond the arc.
The improvement he's made as both a distributor and overall defender are straight fire, as well. He's doing a much better job zipping push-passes to three-point shooters when operating in the post, and I've never seen a version of Aldridge so alert on the less glamorous side. He no longer helps as much when his man is just one pass away, and his rim protection within the Spurs' defensive scheme remains above average.
This combination of range, playmaking and defensive engagement makes him an easy fit on Team Steph. He'll destroy Team James out of pick-and-pop situations with Curry, Durant, Green, Lillard and Lowry; complement Davis on defense in ways Cousins refuses to; and help cover up for some of Towns' gaffes on the interior.
To boil it down even further: Aldridge is having one of, if not the absolute best, seasons of his career. It would be foolish not to pick him up this late in the game.
Current Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Current Reserves: Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, LaMarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns
Team James No. 11 Pick: Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
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The holiday season is supposed to be a time of giving, so I'll generously leave Andre Drummond on the board for you. He's having a superior season to Kemba Walker, and I know you'll enjoy fitting him into your schemes.
Walker's three-point stroke has just about disappeared during the first half of the 2017-18 season, but we have confidence in his history. After all, he'd shown constant improvement over the last few years and finished 2016-17 hitting 39.9 percent of his deep looks on 7.6 per game.
If the form returns against looser All-Star defenses, Team James has unearthed a massive steal. If it doesn't, or defense is tighter than usual as a result of increased motivation from the drafting process, he'll be able to dip into his enduringly deep bag of tricks.
The Connecticut product remains a waterbug of a point guard, capable of darting all over the court with his eye-popping speed and ability to maneuver through tight spaces while maintaining possession. Defenses have to respect the potential of his step-back jumper, but they also can't play him too tightly without risking a quick burst to the basket for a poorly contested finish. Even without the luxury of a working perimeter jumper, he's finishing at an elite level around the hoop.
Sure, he's the fourth true point guard on a roster that also features plenty of non-traditional ball-handlers. But that's exactly what we've been going for from the start: working to baffle the opposition by ensuring that every single lineup has plenty of capable dribblers so the offense can be initiated from innumerable directions.
Walker can work with anyone else on this 12-man squad, and he'll thrive while surrounded by far more talent than the struggling Charlotte Hornets have provided.
Starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMarcus Cousins
Reserves: Chris Paul, Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Ben Simmons, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid
Team Steph No. 11 'Pick': Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
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Drummond doesn't really fit the skeleton of this team's identity, and yours truly was most definitely hoping Kemba would be the one left on the board so we could run out the pocket-sized quintet of him, Curry, Lillard, Lowry and Oladipo.
But, at the same time, I'm not complaining about this version of Drummond.
Snagging him is worth it for the alley-oop finishes alone. Trotting out the all-big lineup with Aldridge, Davis, Green and Towns is absolutely on the table as well, because why not? And sign us up for him caging every available defensive rebound, thus allowing everyone around him to get out in transition for potential outlet passes.
Oh, right. Drummond doesn't pass. Except...he does! He's averaging more than four assists per 36 minutes—a career-best rate by a couple of lightyears. He's also ditched many of his junky post-ups and no-man's-land hook shots.
Accepting his role as a rim-running, spot-passing big gives him All-Star Game appeal—especially when he'll be surrounded by four above-average flamethrowers at all times.
Starters: Stephen Curry, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Al Horford
Reserves: Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, LaMarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andre Drummond
Final Rosters
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Team LeBron
Starters
- LeBron James
- James Harden
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Kyrie Irving
- DeMarcus Cousins
Reserves
- Joel Embiid
- Ben Simmons
- Kristaps Porzingis
- DeMar DeRozan
- Russell Westbrook
- Kemba Walker
- Chris Paul
Team Steph
Starters
- Stephen Curry
- Kevin Durant
- Anthony Davis
- Al Horford
- Victor Oladipo
Reserves
- Jimmy Butler
- Damian Lillard
- Draymond Green
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Kyle Lowry
- LaMarcus Aldridge
- Andre Drummond
Who ya got?
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast co-hosted by B/R's Andrew Bailey.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference, NBA.com, NBA Math or ESPN.com and are current heading into games on December 21.
