The starters for the 2015 NBA All-Star Game were announced on Thursday night, the results of which provided very few surprises.
NBA on TNT revealed the 10 players voted into the All-Star Game:
Stephen Curry was the leading vote-getter, which came as a bit of a shock. Most expected LeBron James to top the ballot. You can see the full results below:
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders felt that it represented a major career achievement for the Golden State Warriors point guard:
Pro Basketball Talk's Kurt Helin also felt that Curry was more than deserving of the honor:
The most questionable pick by the fans was Kobe Bryant. Almost everybody expected the Los Angeles Lakers star to be there, but it's more a reputation pick than performance-based. Bryant is averaging 22.3 points on 37.3-percent shooting, and the Lakers are one of the worst teams in the Western Conference.
The 36-year-old will be heading to his 17th career All-Star Game nonetheless, which is the second-most appearances all time, per ESPN Stats & Info:
However, the team announced on Thursday that Bryant tore his rotator cuff. Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times wonders if that injury will end up keeping Bryant out of the All-Star Game:
All in all, the fans did a very good job of giving the game's best stars their just rewards. NBA.com's John Schuhmann felt that Bryant was the only black mark:
Bryant's inclusion came at the expense of James Harden, who would almost assuredly be Bryant's injury replacement if he can't in fact play in the game. Everything will likely work out in the end.
In the grand scheme of things, arguing over All-Star starters is a relatively fruitless affair.
Hardly anybody remembers how many All-Star starts has on his resume; it's never a Hall of Fame qualifier. In addition, those who may have been snubbed by the fans will almost certainly be named as a reserve.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1t3Ni52
via IFTTT January 22, 2015 at 04:34PM
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