That's the only way to go, make em' pay all day. Curious if CP3 was still playing for the chippers would he have gotten in? Come on..it's IN LA...of course he would!!
Just posting Kevin Pelton insider Biggest All-Stars Snubs.part on western conference...CP3 paragraph.. Western Conference Coach picks: LaMarcus Aldridge | FC | San Antonio Spurs Jimmy Butler | BC | Minnesota Timberwolves Draymond Green | FC | Golden State Warriors Damian Lillard | BC | Portland Trail Blazers Klay Thompson | BC | Golden State Warriors Karl-Anthony Towns | FC | Minnesota Timberwolves Russell Westbrook | BC | Oklahoma City Thunder My picks: LaMarcus Aldridge | FC | San Antonio Spurs Jimmy Butler | BC | Minnesota Timberwolves Draymond Green | FC | Golden State Warriors Nikola Jokic | FC | Denver Nuggets Chris Paul | BC | Houston Rockets Karl-Anthony Towns | FC | Minnesota Timberwolves Russell Westbrook | BC | Oklahoma City Thunder Who made my team Nikola Jokic Given the glut of All-Star candidates in the West, a defensively challenged big man averaging 16.2 points per game was a hard sell. Jokic also hasn't been nearly as efficient this season as in his breakthrough 2016-17, having seen his 2-point percentage drop from 62.8 percent to 52.5. And yet Jokic is still 17th in the league in WARP and RPM and 15th in Basketball-Reference.com's value over replacement player metric. Part of what these metrics are all valuing is Jokic's incredible playmaking for a big man. One of my favorite stats to explain the discrepancy between a player's perceived value and their advanced statistics is net assists: simply the number of assists a player hands out minus the field goals on which they're assisted (the latter figure via Basketball-Reference.com). Here are how the big men who were legitimately in contention for an All-Star spot compare on this stat: with Jokic on the court. While that partially owes this season to opponent 3-point shooting, his page on CleaningTheGlass.com makes clear that Denver has consistently rebounded better and fouled less frequently with Jokic on the court. He's not quite as bad there as his reputation, and he's a deserving All-Star. Chris Paul Wait, but seriously, why isn't Paul an All-Star? Yes, he's missed a big chunk of the season (17 of Houston's 45 games) due to injury, but we're not talking about a situation like Kawhi Leonard where one of the league's best players has been almost totally a non-factor due to injury. Despite missing that much time, Paul ranks 23rd in WARP and 18th in VORP, two stats designed to account for absences by factoring in playing time as well as production. When he's been on the court, Paul has been as good as ever, ranking third in the league in RPM behind Stephen Curry (a starter though he's also missed time) and teammate James Harden(ditto). If Paul stays reasonably healthy the rest of the season, his omission from the All-Star Game because he happened to be injured in the first half of the season and not the second half will look silly. He should be an All-Star. The All-Stars who didn't make my team Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson As the fourth option on the NBA's best team, Thompson is difficult to compare to the offensive anchors on less talented West teams. (Like the big men who did make it, he has severely negative net assists.) While my ESPN colleague Zach Lowe highlighted Thompson's performance in lineups without either Curry or Kevin Durant, I was more swayed by his numbers without Curry overall: .554 true shooting percentage (almost exactly league average) while using 26.6 percent of the Warriors' plays. That puts him in the same ballpark as All-Star omission Paul George, who's posting a .572 true shooting percentage with 25.4 percent usage. If I had to pick between George and Thompson, I'd go with George, who is a slightly better defender because he adds more disruptive plays as a help defender to the individual defense at which both excel. But ultimately I didn't think either George or Thompson were as valuable as the point guards and centers who are playing bigger roles in their teams' offenses. Lillard was a tough call. His individual numbers are unimpeachable. Lillard is scoring prolifically and efficiently, and both he and his team have improved defensively. But because of the presence of CJ McCollum and the much-improved Shabazz Napier, I'm not sure Lillard is quite as important to the Blazers as the big men who made my team, as reflected by his relatively small on/off differential. Who else didn't make my team Tyreke Evans, Memphis Grizzlies: Quietly, Evans' All-Star case is shockingly similar to Lou Williams' one. Neither quite merits it in a loaded Western Conference. Lou Williams, LA Clippers: There's no doubt Williams has played at an All-Star level over the past month, and this isn't fluky. He's 16th overall in WARP and not playing that far beyond his 2016-17 performance. However, it's worth pointing out that a larger role has exacerbated Williams' defensive shortcomings, and the Clippers have given up 7.4 more points per 100 possessions with him on the court. So Williams ranks a distant 96th this season in RPM.
And yet they'll manage to give the MVP to a Warrior because Harden had more help. Or record. Or something.
Small bummer, but not sure why 790 reported this ends Paul's All-Star streak. He missed last season and probably missed too many games this year. Klay is a laughable selection, though.
Give the media more credit. They will give it to Durant because - you know - he shined even though he had to fight for attention over three other allstars, while harden had the team all to himself so of course his stats are better. You think I’m joking, but I see this line of argument happening. If they can’t give it to Lebron bc his team is stinking, they’ll start pushing for Durant over curry as the best player on the best team...
Maybe one, but not both if HOU only gets one. Second best record in the league. F*** At least Paul gets rest. Win 60 and be healthy/fresh for the posteseason.
You knew it was going to happen. Welp, in the least, he'll continue to strengthen the injured parts. I'm a bit of a KAT and Oladipo fan, and it's always nice to see KLow win after what McStale tried to do (I know, I know, Kyle would do things differently...So would the Rockets/coaching choices, I suppose) *I really don't know if I think Draymond is deserving of a spot. If I put aside the absolute disgust I have towards him as a person/player, do his stats truly warrant an appearance? Maybe I just cannot leave my bias at the door...
Green is borderline as well. I get he is a great defender but 11 points a game isn't all-star caliber unless you got double digit rebounds or massive steals/ blocks. He's not on the leaderboard in any of those categories. I think Warriors benefited from the Champion effect
Dude who cares, I bet he would rather have the time off and rest so he can **** in his new home in all of the 18 bathrooms.
You know what, I am fine with this. The All-Stars is a meaningless game and CP3 is at the point in his career that he doesn't need these sorts of seasonal accolades. I rather he rest than play this completely worthless circus game. Hell, I don't even want Harden playing in it, but he is definitely still young enough to care a lot about participating. That said, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see CP3 participate in the Skills Challenge game.
