Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
LeBron James was named an all-star starter yet again.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images.)
Well, the all-star game was made official on Thursday. It is happening on Sunday, March 7th in Atlanta. I’ve said enough about how a lot of us don’t want this game happening.
BUT it’s going to happen. Let’s just make the best of it. Anyway, the starters were named on TNT before their doubleheader. So let’s go with the Eastern Conference first.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
KEVIN DURANT (NETS): Not only is he having a remarkable comeback from an Achilles injury but it seems like he’s pretty much back to normal. And normal for Durant is spectacular for the rest. 29.0 points (which would be good for 6th in the league if he qualified), 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks this season. What a return.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (BUCKS): The two-time defending MVP winner may not be standing out as much, especially since the Bucks are mired in this 5-game losing skid. But I mean, he’s still producing 28.0 points (7th in the league), 11.4 boards (also 7th) and 5.9 assists (just outside of the top 20). And we know how what kind of a defender he is (last year’s Defensive Player of the Year). There is still that chance he could go for a third straight MVP award.
JOEL EMBIID (SIXERS): He’s having a career year in scoring for the first-place Sixers (29.7 PPG). Embiid is also averaging 10.8 boards (good for 12th). Joel can also make a case for MVP this season as, at times, he has looked unstoppable.
BRADLEY BEAL (WIZARDS): Some would probably scoff at this selection but the dude is leading the league in scoring (32.8 points per). He even had a 60-point game this season. The Wizards don’t look so hot right now at 9-17 but they’re actually only three games behind the 8th spot. And Beal is keeping them within distance.
KYRIE IRVING (NETS): Irving is having a career-high in scoring (27.7 points per game) and we know him as probably having the best handles in the game (maybe even in history). He and Durant have led the Nets to the #2 spot in the East. And of course, Kyrie is the perfect player to have in an exhibition game. Probably not the best astronomy teacher, though.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
LeBRON JAMES (LAKERS): In any given night, he’s still considered the best in the game. And he could win his first MVP in 8 years. Chew on this: at age 36, he’s averaging 25.9 points (12th), 8.2 boards (Top 25), and 7.9 dimes (9th). And he’s led the defending champion Lakers to the second best record in the league at 22-8.
NIKOLA JOKIC (NUGGETS): Another one who seems to have leveled up his game. He’s easily having a career-best in points (27.4, which is 8th in the league), rebounds (11.1, also 8th), and assists (8.6, 5th). He’s also 9th in steals at 1.6 per. The Nuggets are precariously hanging on to an 8th spot but they’re also only three games behind #4 Portland. Jokic also has 6 triple-doubles this season. He is doing it all.
KAWHI LEONARD (CLIPPERS): The quiet one is having an awesome year. 26.7 points is good for 9th best in the whole association. Also has a career-high in assists at 5.0 and he is second in steals at 1.8. He’s missed a few games but he’s also helped the Clippers to the third best record in the NBA at 21-9.
STEPHEN CURRY (WARRIORS): The three-time champion and two-time MVP is second in the league in scoring (30.0 PPG) and leads the league in three-pointers made (145). This game-changer has hardly had any help but he’s keeping the Dubs in the playoff picture at 16-13. I’m so glad he’s back this season. At least, I am.
LUKA DONCIC (MAVERICKS): I don’t know if I have to say anything more than 29.1 points (5th), 8.6 boards (Top 20), and 9.4 assists (3rd). Yeah, the record’s not shiny (13-15) but we can all see that Luka is ballin’. It’s still so terrifying that he’s only 22 years old. Wait. He’s not even 22 until the 28th. Sheesh.
People like to argue all the time so you’d better believe disgruntled individuals in social media brought up snubs. Let’s go over them in the bullets.
Bullet Passes
So here’s how the fan voting went for the all-stars. Remember that their votes counted for half the total vote.
So what the fans voted for turned out to be the final results. By the way, James and Durant are going to be captains and, just like years past, they get to pick their own teams in the pool of all-stars. The reserves will be named next week.
Yes, I get that you can make a case out of guys like Damian Lillard, James Harden, Jaylen Brown, Rudy Gobert, and even Zach LaVine. But there is no need to put others down like Curry, Luka, and Beal, who ALL CLEARLY belong in this group. These people are just so miserable.
Jimmy Butler (13-10-13) and Bam Adebayo (16-12-10) are the first pair of teammates to have triple-doubles in the same game more than once! They did it last season on Dec. 10, 2019 against Atlanta. Hey, I even wrote about it!
Funny enough, we were talking about how rare that feat is as it had happened only 8 times before LeBron and Lonzo Ball did it in Dec. 15, 2018. Then it happened three times in two years and change afterwards and it’s done twice by Butler and Bam.
Jrue Holiday has missed 6 straight games because of health and safety protocols (that phrase again). The Bucks have lost 5 straight but again, this seems easier to stomach because Giannis has re-signed. Plus this is just a weird situation overall. We all know why.
Anthony Davis, who was NOT selected as a starter this year, will be out for four weeks. He wasn’t going to play in the all-star game, anyway. Plus Davis needs as much as rest as possible. Not only because of the injury but because the Lakers had such a quick turnaround after winning the title.
Back to LeBron James, he scored his 35,000th CAREER point in the Lakers’ loss against the Nets. He now has a total of 35,017 and Bron is now 1,911 points behind Karl Malone, who is the second all-time leading scorer in the league. To catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron would have to score 3,370 points to tie and 3,371 points to take over first place.
That’s not too bad for a pass-first dude, right?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that he doesn’t want social functions during all-star weekend. However, you see this and you can really only shake your head. We’ll see what becomes of that weekend. Yikes.
NBA Scoreboard
Feb. 18, 2021
Watch This Play
Also, LeBron still does these kind of things.
LeBron James explodes for monster dunk!
Full video: https://t.co/qWpGsbuhqX
Los Angeles Lakers vs Brooklyn Nets pic.twitter.com/Doow91Ygpx— Chaz (@ChazClavant) February 19, 2021
Hell of a night for LeBron but the Nets got one over him.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.