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The Actual Starters: Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder (18.853); Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors (16.82); LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (14.052)
The Should-Be Starters: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans (21.912); Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets (19.605); Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (18.965)
Next Up With Gripes: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves (13.622); Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers (13.099); Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder (11.269)
Snub No. 1: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans (21.912)
Astoundingly, the Western Conference starters checked in at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 in our objective analysis. Paul George, bolstered by his two-way prowess during an inspired season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, served as the leading member of that group, with Kevin Durant not too far behind. LeBron James checked in even further back, though that’s largely because he’s missed a significant portion of the season recovering from a groin injury that helped prove he’s not a true bionic man.
All three forwards have produced fantastic seasons. They all rank within the top dozen in player score, regardless of conference or positional affiliation. But none of them are Anthony Davis, who should’ve been a lock for the starting five during a season that could result in serious MVP consideration.
Perhaps Davis, whose player score trails only that of James Harden, is being penalized for the lack of success enjoyed by the New Orleans Pelicans, sitting at No. 12 in the Western Conference despite laying claim to the entire Association’s No. 12 net rating. Maybe he’s being dinged for the troublesome left index finger now keeping him out of the lineup.
Either way, he’s done enough as an individual to merit far more respect. His 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.6 blocks per game count as historic numbers, and the two-way burden he’s shouldering for the bayou-based franchise would make Atlas shrug, clearly incapable of hefting so much weight for such a prolonged period. If Davis isn’t on his game as both a defensive stopper and alpha-dog scorer, the Pelicans won’t stand a chance that night.
Durant, George and James are each playing at All-Star levels. This is still the most egregious snub of all.
Snub No. 2: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets (19.605)
For the purposes of this article, we’re not buying into the notion that players should be rewarded just because they’re on good teams. But Nikola Jokic’s case is a bit different; the Denver Nuggets, replete with a collection of quality contributors who won’t earn much reserve consideration, are great because of him and his teammate-boosting heroics.
Jokic’s efficient scoring makes him valuable enough. While shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from beyond the rainbow and 84.7 percent at the stripe, the big man rains in 19.8 points per night with a steady diet of twine-tickling jumpers and finesse-driven post moves.
But his individual point production isn’t what makes him most special. Not even close.
Thanks to his touch lobs to cutters, the dimes squeezed through tight lanes and the transition feeds that clearly establish him as the best quarterback in Colorado, Jokic has produced more potential assists per game than all but 16 players—the vast majority of whom are point guards. Even more impressively, his Nuggets teammates have connected on 65.9 percent of their shots off his assist-worthy passes. That’s not too shabby for a collection of compatriots who have shot 46.2 percent from the field this season, and 42.5 percent on shots that wouldn’t result in Jokic assists.
Jokic is an offensive wizard, and he’s keying a top-five offense while still finding time to play his improved brand of positional defense.
Snub No. 3: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz (18.965)
Rudy Gobert is a stellar offensive contributor in his own right. Though reliant on setup passes from his teammates, he rarely takes bad shots and thrives in pick-and-roll situations, displaying both timing and touch on his athletic dives to the rim. But even while he averages 14.9 points on a devilishly good 66.6 true shooting percentage, defense remains his primary calling card.
Only Joel Embiid is contesting more shots at the basket, which makes sense when the fourth-rated Utah Jazz defense intentionally funnels players toward the French 7-footer’s painted domain. He’s the lifeblood of the stopping unit, swatting shots with aplomb and actively deterring players from even daring to test his lanky arms and preternatural timing. It all adds up to a 4.77 score in ESPN.com’s defensive real plus/minus, which, if maintained, would allow him to pace the league for the third consecutive season.
In reality, Gobert was never going to be an All-Star starter. He’s not even a veritable lock to make the roster as a reserve, given the depth of talent in Western Conference frontcourts. But he should be both in a world that values defense as much as it does offense and views value as value even when not derived from scoring exploits.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @fromal09.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats accurate heading into games Jan. 24 and courtesy of Basketball Reference, NBA.com, PBPStats.com, NBA Math or ESPN.com.
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