This is the hard part. And the fun part. Picking the NBA All-Star game reserves.
The voters picked the starting five from each team, but picking the reserves is a balancing act of rewarding good players and making sure the teams doing well get represented. You can’t make this omelet without breaking some eggs, and I’m breaking the Celtics — they get none. No Knicks backups either.
And out West, no Mavericks make it.
It’s a harsh world where tough decisions get made. Here are my picks.
Eastern Conference Reserves: Deron Williams, Jrue Holiday, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, Chris Bosh, Roy Hibbert.
Just missed out: Luol Deng, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ryan Anderson, Tyson Chandler, Darren Collison, Danny Granger, Lou Williams
Why: Rajon Rondo would have made it had it not been for the injury. The next best point guard not listed to me is Holiday, who has been a go to guy on the Sixers, as much as they have one. I gave serious consideration to Kyrie Irving for a spot, who has had a fantastic start to the season, I don’t care if he’s a rookie. If you want to put Irving in there I am good with that. I just had to get a couple of Sixers in there.
Deng is a glue guy that is hard guy to leave off as he has been huge, but the injuries set him back. Didn’t like leaving Ryan Anderson off either, he has had a great start to the season. Leaving Granger off hurt, but that is a deep position.
I have Hibbert making it because at least one Pacer should make it to represent them. If you want to make it Granger and remove the Hawks Johnson go ahead, but now you’re disrespecting a Hawks team with the second best record in the East (better than the Pacers).
Western Conference Reserves: Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay, Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol
Just missed the cut: Pau Gasol, Nene, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Ricky Rubio, Ty Lawson, Al Harrington, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Marcin Gortat.
Why? First, to me Love, Westbrook and Aldridge should be unquestioned locks.
With Andrew Bynum as a starter it came down to Nene, Gortat and Marc Gasol at the backup five spot, and while you can make a real case for Gortat (who is having a fantastic year) so is Marc Gasol and he has had to take on more of a load with Zach Randolph down. So Gasol got my nod. Besides, doesn’t there always have to be one Gasol on the All-Start team?
Pau Gasol has been inconsistent and Dirk Nowitzki is just not having a good year. Steve Nash missed a couple games with injuries but you can put him on — you just can’t take off Westbrook (Gay would be my last guy to make the cut). Gallinari has been the leading scorer on a selfless team in Denver that has the second best record in the West.