Apparently, NBA fans love the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the Golden State Warriors.
The first round of results from fan votes for the NBA All-Star Game Feb. 19 in New Orleans are out, and the two top vote getters were the Cavaliers top two stars, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The top vote getter in the West is Golden State’s Kevin Durant, followed by Stephen Curry — the two biggest stars on the Golden State Warriors.
This year, the fan vote will account for only half of the All-Star starter’s vote (in previous years the fans picked the starters). This time around the fan vote will be combined with a selected media vote (25 percent) and player vote (25 percent) to choose the starters. Why the change? Because last year a social media campaign almost got Zaza Pachulia in as a starter (and the NHL did see a journeyman as a starter), so the NBA modified the system.
Here would be the starters, based on the fan vote so far:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Guards: Kyrie Irving (Cleveland), Dwyane Wade (Chicago)
Frontcourt: LeBron James (Cleveland), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), Kevin Love (Cleveland)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Guards: Stephen Curry (Golden State), James Harden (Houston)
Frontcourt: Kevin Durant (Golden State), Zaza Pachulia (Golden State), Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio)
I had asked you — the PBT readers — who should be the starters in the Eastern backcourt and you were much smarter, picking Irving and DeMar DeRozan, with a big push for Isaiah Thomas and John Wall. Any of those options are better than Wade, who has had a nice season in Chicago but isn’t what he once was.
There is no way Wade starts once the media/player votes are tabulated, same with Pachulia in the West.
Here are the fan votes, as they stand now (that is the number of votes at the end):
Eastern Conference
Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (CLE) 595,288
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 500,663
3. Kevin Love (CLE) 250,347
4. Joel Embiid (PHI) 221,984
5. Carmelo Anthony (NY) 189,817
6. Jimmy Butler (CHI) 189,066
7. Kristaps Porzingis (NY) 184,166
8. Paul George (IND) 138,332
9. Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 72,628
10. Jabari Parker (MIL) 64,141
Guards
1. Kyrie Irving (CLE) 543,030
2. Dwyane Wade (CHI) 278,052
3. DeMar DeRozan (TOR) 253,340
4. Isaiah Thomas (BOS) 193,297
5. Derrick Rose (NY) 129,924
6. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 128,940
7. John Wall (WAS) 87,360
8. Jeremy Lin (BKN) 59,562
9. Kemba Walker (CHA) 52,122
10. Avery Bradley (BOS) 32,822
Western Conference
Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (GS) 541,209
2. Zaza Pachulia (GS) 439,675
3. Kawhi Leonard (SA) 341,240
4. Anthony Davis (NO) 318,144
5. Draymond Green (GS) 236,315
6. DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) 202,317
7. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 125,278
8. LaMarcus Aldridge (SA) 101,724
9. Blake Griffin (LAC) 100,524
10. Marc Gasol (MEM) 97,370
Guards
1. Stephen Curry (GS) 523,597
2. James Harden (HOU) 519,446
3. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 501,652
4. Klay Thompson (GS) 293,054
5. Chris Paul (LAC) 173,830
6. Damian Lillard (POR) 117,857
7. Eric Gordon (HOU) 76,609
8. Manu Ginobili (SA) 65,832
9. Andre Iguodala (GS) 64,247
10. Zach LaVine (MIN) 53,642