There's been some huge performances as of late and that's amazing to see. It's gonna make this eastern side of all-star selection a LOT harder. Before we start i'll remind you all for those who forgot or don't know how the all-star format goes. The format for starters is 3 frontcourt players (Center, Small forwards and Power forward) and 2 backcourt players (Point guard or Shooting guard). The format for reserves is the same as the starters format but with 2 wildcards added on top of that. Wildcards can be any position. With that all out of the way let's get into this
Donovan Mitchell
Donovan has been amazing for the Cavaliers this season. Once seen as the 2nd best shooting guard or even lower. He's proven to be the best in the business at that position. He just had a 71 point game for crying out loud. It might be annoying and overstated just hearing that. But the gravity of it is so large that it must be said. He's improved on defense and pretty much gotten better at everything as well on offense and is having his best season yet. He's currently averaging 29.3 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 4.8 Assists and shoots 49.2% from the field. I've doubted Mitchell in the past when he was in Utah. But he's really starting to prove me wrong and I love to see it. The Cavaliers are currently 24-14 and hold the 4th spot in the eastern conference
Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown has been doing what he always does. A couple other guards could've gotten this spot here. But taking into account how good Brown has been on top of the fact the Celtics have the best record in the NBA. It just made sense putting him on here alongside another player which you will see very soon. Brown has always been a good defender and shooter, but in his earlier years he struggled with his handles. But he has gotten so much better in that department and since then he has become a true force on offense. He's averaging 27.1 Points, 7.3 Rebounds, 3.4 Assists and shoots 49.5% from the field. The Celtics hold the best record in the NBA sitting at 26-11.
Jayson Tatum
Tatum has played amazing all season. And although he hasn't had the craziest games of the year like the one's we've seen from Mitchell or Luka. He's been extremely consistent and that's why his team has been so good. He's a beast defensively and can score any way he wants to on the floor. I kind of doubted if he could be the number 1 option on a championship team. Even last season when they made the huge turnaround and made the finals. But this season all those notions have been shut down for me. That's on me for not seeing how good Tatum truly is. He's averaging 30.9 Points, 8.1 Rebounds, 4.1 Assists and shoots 47.3% from the field. The Celtics are the best team in the NBA at 26-11
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis is the best player in the world. He might not be the current MVP even though he's definitely top 3 or top 5 at worst for the award this season. But his consistency and continual dominance that he's presented since his first all-star selection years ago is what makes him the best. It feels like he's getting better every single season and that's hard to do when he's already a back to back MVP and a finals MVP. He's a beast and defense and on offense can drive and dunk better than anybody. He's currently averaging 32.1 Points, 11.8 Rebounds, 5.2 Assists and he's shooting 53.3% from the field. The Bucks are 23-13 and currently hold the 3rd seed in the East
Joel Embiid
Embiid is an absolutely amazing player who unfortunately I have taken for granted in the past. His biggest issue use to be health but he's been a lot more healthy the last couple seasons and he's really shown how good he is. His ability to do everything on the floor is insane. He's a physical monster and is the best dribbling big man in the NBA. He can shoot, he can post up, he can do step backs and all. There's nothing Embiid can't do. He's averaging 33.5 Points, 9.8 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists and is shooting 53.2% from the field. The 76ers are currently 22-14 and hold the 5th spot in the east.
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie has become underrated the last couple of seasons. His off the court issues have prevented him from playing and have tainted his legacy in a way. But he's been doing a lot better as of late and has been able to play this season with minimal issues compared to seasons past. He's still one of the most gifted ball handlers the NBA has ever seen. His ball handling ability allows him to do whatever he wants on the court and his finishing ability is top tier. Irving is averaging 26.2 Points, 5.1 Rebounds, 4.5 Assists while shooting 49,9% from the field. The Nets are currently the 2nd seed in the east with a record of 25-12.
Tyrese Haliburton
The Pacers were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. Wembanyama was a real possibility for this team. But not anymore. Tyrese Haliburton has brought this farther than they thought they could've gotten. His playmaking ability is elite and leads the league this season statistically and he raises this team's ceiling massively. He's currently averaging 20.7 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 10.1 Assists and is shooting 48.5% from the field. The Pacers are surprisingly 21-17 and hold the 6th spot in the east.
Kevin Durant
I wish I could've put Durant as a starter on my all-star team. I mean c'mon this Nets team started off so bad this season. But they've been on a huge tear since the awful start and now hold a top record in the NBA. A lot of that is thanks to Kevin Durant being a monster of a scorer. In any other season Durant would be the MVP, but unfortunately there are 6 other players averaging 30 points per game on the season so unfortunately for him he isn't even in the top 3 which says more about how crazy this season is rather than lack of production from Durant. He's currently averaging 29.6 Points, 6.8 Rebounds, 5.5 Assists while shooting 56.4% from the field. The Nets are 2nd in the east with a 25-12 record.
Julius Randle
Julius Randle needs more credit. I've been a huge fan of Randle ever since he took the Knicks to the 4th seed back in 2020. He wasn't the same player in 2020 last season but he's worked back to that this season. The addition of Jalen Brunson also helps with that but regardless Randle has bounced back from last season and is doing very good on this Knicks team. He's averaging 24.2 Points, 9.9 Rebounds, 3.8 Assists and is shooting 46.7% from the field. The Knicks are 20-18 and hold the 8th spot in the east.
Bam Adebayo
The Heat have been disappointing to say the least this season. Mainly cause they didn't do much to improve the team, while the rest of the conference made changes to get better., But Bam has been quietly good this season and been pretty underrated. He's playing like a top 5 center in the league which isn't surprising considering he's been in that conversation for a couple seasons now. He's averaging 21.5 Points, 9.9 Rebounds, 3.2 Assists and is shooting 53.9% from the field. The Heat 20-18 and hold the 7th seed in the conference.
Pascal Siakam
I've always been a huge fan of Pascal Siakam ever since the finals in 2019. He's been good every season since and yes I'm including the season he was known as the spin cycle. This season he's been playing really good, holding a 50 point game and playing his best basketball. The Raptors themselves have been pretty disappointed this year and haven't been doing what most people have expected. But that's not at the cost of Siakam who's been good this season. He's averaging 26.5 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 6.7 Assists while shooting 48.5% from the field. The Raptors are 16-21 and hold the 12th spot in the east.
Darius Garland
The other side of the Cavaliers back court has been really good as well. Garland is one of the league's top playmakers. And when you pair him with a lob threat dominant scorer like Donovan Mitchell it gives a huge boost to Garland's game. He hasn't progressed or really gotten that much better from last season. But that's completely irrelevant. The fact he's doing just as good as last year with an added star player to the lineup proves dividends in his production. Garland is averaging 21.4 Points, 7.8 Assists, 2.6 Rebounds and is shooting 45% from the field. The Cavs are 4th in the west at 24-14
Comments