All-Star Snubs

Every year around this time the NBA all-star game rosters are finalized. And like every year before there is controversy about who will not be participating in the game. This year there are some surprising cuts and guys who are deserving of an appearance, but just couldn't beat out other players who made the team. Without further ado, here are a few players who did not make the all-star team.

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Chris Paul

17.5 points, 9.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds per game, 47% FG, 40% 3pt FG

Chris Paul is more than deserving of making the all-star game. His numbers aside he has been the best player for the Clippers every season and is essential to the team's success. Without Paul, the Clippers would not be at the top of the Western Conference. Since Paul went down with his Thumb injury the Clippers have gone 1-3. It hasn't been recently either. This season the Clippers are 3-8 without Paul as opposed to 27-9 with him.

His injury may have swayed the coaches to not vote for him. The coaches knew that he could not participate so they may have decided to give that vote to someone else. From that perspective it is understandable, but Paul has been an all-star every year since 2008. It isn't right that the fifth best team in the league did not have their best player voted in. With that said DeAndre Jordan will represent the Clippers in the game so they have at least one player making the trip to New Orleans.

ESPN

Joel Embiid

19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 46% FG, 35% 3pt FG, 25 minutes per game

Although the 76ers are the 12th seed in the eastern conference they have been playing well as of late. The team is 8-2 over there last 10 games and seem to be moving in the right direction. A lot of their success is due to rookie center Joel Embiid. His numbers are impressive, but what makes them incredible is that he is averaging 25 minutes per game. Embiid is on a minutes restriction yet he is still putting up about 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in each contest. Basically, in half a game he is doing what most rookies can't do in a full game. 

To have a better reference of how productive he truly is, just take a look at his per 36-minute numbers. This stat skews numbers so we can see how productive a player would be if their minutes were the same as a typical starters minutes, which is about 36 minutes. For Embiid he averages 28.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per 36 minutes. Those are easily all-star level numbers. In comparison to other players, Embiid is fifth in points and first in blocks per 36 minutes. It is beyond impressive and that is why Embiid is a snub.

Jabari Parker

20.5 points, 5.9 rebounds per game, 49% FG, 39% 3pt FG

Parker is in an odd position. He is deserving of an all-star spot, but there is no one to remove from the roster in favor of Parker. If his team was higher in the standings it would help his case for making the team over say Paul George or Paul Millsap. But that is not the case and ultimately the coaches went with the players on winning teams. However, not making the all-star game does not deny how well Parker is playing.

This is his first season where he is fully healthy. After tearing his ACL early in his rookie season and a down year returning from his knee injury, Parker is finally showing off why he was worthy of the number two pick. He is also shooting very well for someone who was never regarded as a knockdown shooter, especially from three. Parker is shooting 39% from three and he is taking 3.6 threes per game. That is way up from 25% his first two seasons. He has also tripled the number of threes he has taken so far this year from the number of threes he took during his first two seasons. 

Verdict

Chris Paul and Joel Embiid were the obvious snubs from the all-star game, but Parker needs some recognition for what he has done. A few names not mentioned here are Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Eric Bledsoe, Andre Drummond, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade. Overall the all-star rosters this year were solid. No one that made the team is questionable like Kobe Bryant was last year.

The all-star weekend starts February 17th and will continue through the 19th. The all-star game will take place on the 19th. It should be fun to watch the best talent the league has to offer all share the same stage. 

James Harden Vs. Russell Westbrook Debate

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James Harden had another mind-blowing performance last night posting 40 points, 10 assists, and 15 rebounds. James Harden became just the 4th player in NBA history to have back-to-back 40 point triple doubles. The other three are Pete Marovich, Michael Jordan, and Russell Westbrook. The last guy of those three is currently competing with Harden for this year's NBA MVP award. The case could be made for both players to win the award, but here is a quick comparison of what they are doing this year.

James Harden

28.5 Points, 11.8 Assists, 8.4 Rebounds, 44% FG, 35% 3pt FG

James Harden has been somewhat of a surprise this season after Mike D'Antoni made the decision to have James Harden become the point guard for this team. There was a lot of speculation about how well Harden would make the transition. Clearly, Harden has adjusted fine to playing point guard. He has more than doubling his career assist average of 5.4 to 11.8 this season. Harden has also had a huge jump in his assist percentage. This year Harden has assisted on 52.2% of his team's field goals when he is on the floor. Looking at the team Harden has around him it is a little surprising that the Rockets are 31-9 and only 2.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors. The team's success is not all thanks to Harden, though. Much of their success should be credited to Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni's offense is a perfect fit for the group of guys he has. That's not to take away from Harden's performances, but he may not have the high-level success he is having without the offense he is in.

Russell Westbrook

31.2 Points, 10.4 Assists, 10.6 Rebounds, 43% FG, 34% 3pt FG

Westbrook currently is the MVP favorite. Westbrook is averaging a triple double, something that has been done this far into the season since Oscar Robertson. Aside from Westbrook's numbers he has a lot more carrying to do with his team. Unlike Harden, Westbrook is in an offensive system that relies solely on his ability to create for others. Westbrook also has a higher usage percentage than James Harden. While Harden is at 34%, Westbrook is at 42.2% which proves that Westbrook has to do a lot more for his team when he is on the floor. Westbrook also has a higher assist percentage than Harden assisting on 57.6% of his team's baskets when he is on the floor. Westbrook is statistically beating out Harden in every category except win shares. Harden currently has more win shares than Westbrook. This makes sense considering the Thunder have a record 23-16 and are seventh in the Western Conference.

Harden is performing very well this season and if continues to string together games like he has had lately he may be able to pass Westbrook as the MVP favorite. Another thing in Harden's favor is his team's performance. The Rockets have 8 more wins than the Thunder right now and are currently on a 9 game winning streak going into tonight's game against the Timberwolves. The Thunder, on the other hand, are 5-4 in their last nine games going into tonight's game against the Grizzlies. With half a season to go Harden still has a shot at catching Westbrook.

NBA All-Star Voting Surprises

NBA All-Star voting is slowly coming to an end. With 9 days to go there is still time for people to go and submit their votes. There are a few surprises in the current polls. The first and biggest surprise is that Zaza Pachulia is second in votes for the Western frontcourt. That's right Pachulia is second to only Kevin Durant in All-Star votes for the frontcourt ahead of players like Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Blake Griffin. It goes to show how powerful fans votes are. Pachulia has a lot of support from people in his home country and that is one of the main reasons for him being a top vote-getter.

Another surprise vote-getter is Jeremy Lin. Lin has only played 12 games so far this season and his team is dead last in the NBA standings. And in the few games Lin played his numbers do not scream All-Star. In fact, the best player on the Nets is Brook Lopez and he does not crack the top 10. This is just the matter of a popularity contest. Lin is 8th in backcourt votes just because of his name and the fact that he plays in the big apple again.

Mark Ehrmann/Getty Images

The final surprise is Joel Embiid. Embiid has played very well for a rookie on a minutes restriction, but his team has not performed well. With the 76ers owning the second-worst record in the NBA it is hard to justify Embiid making the All-Star roster. One of the things really helping Embiid make his case for the All-Star team is his tweets. Embiid is one of the funniest people on social media and he has been that way since day one. He tweeted the day he was drafted that his celebrity crush told him to come back to her when he is an All-Star. Two years later and Embiid sent out a tweet to make his dream of dating her come true by voting him into the All-Star game. Personally, I am curious what will happen if he makes the team and clearly I am not alone. Embiid is fourth in frontcourt voting for the East. He is only trailing Kevin Love by about 30,000 votes. So there is a chance Embiid could pick up the last front court spot. But that will also depend on the new All-Star voting format this year.

Luckily this year the NBA has changed the format for All-Star voting. For the first time ever, NBA players and select media members will vote for All-Stars. When calculated the fans own 50% of the votes while players and media members will own the other 50%. Hopefully, this will help with more deserving players making the game.

Why All the LeBron James Hate?

Recently I watched a video of analysts debating if LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. This has been a popular debate ever since James won the championship this past June. Whether James is better than Jordan is still up in the air, but that is not the focus of this article. I want to prove how awful some of the counter arguments are for Jordan being better than James.

The first counter argument is that LeBron has never had to face future Hall of Famers throughout the playoffs, unlike Jordan. Well, that argument is invalid. James had to face Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Carmelo Anthony. Even Paul George and Dwight Howard could also have an argument made for themselves. So the idea that James has never had to face Hall of Fame players in the playoffs is false.

Another knock people are putting on James is that he allows Kyrie Irving to close out a game. The one shot that is on everyone's mind is the three Kyrie hit in the NBA finals that basically clinched Cleveland their first championship in franchise history. But for those that always point that out, check out game 6 of the 1993 NBA finals. It wasn't Jordan who hit the game-winning three to win the Chicago Bulls a third straight championship. Nope, it was John Paxson. And how about 1997 NBA finals game 6 when Steve Kerr hit the game-winning shot. Once again it was not Jordan taking the big shot it was his teammate. Seems like these situations are lost in these debates, but clearly not taking the last shot does not make someone any less of a basketball player.

Whether people like it or not LeBron is a great player. Trying to find every reason to make him seem like the inferior player is just ridiculous. If you are still not convinced LeBron is in the same room as Jordan read my article Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I compare James career so far to Jordan's whole body of work. LeBron is on track to pass him in a lot of categories if he stays healthy. The truth is James and Jordan are two different players and both play in different eras. That is why the only comparisons that can be made are their career accolades.

Richard Jefferson Stepping into the Time Machine

Richard Jefferson used to be a high flyer with the New Jersey Nets back in the early 2000's. As his career went on Jefferson slowly faded and started to become a rotation player. Jefferson has now become the veteran that can mentor but also still be productive when he is subbed into the game. Much like Vince Carter, Jefferson still has some dunks left that he can pull out from time to time. A few years ago in Dallas Jefferson pulled out a crazy posterizing dunk on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but he was called for an offensive foul. Yesterday though Jefferson delivered two gifts on Christmas day.

Jefferson first had a dunk over Kevin Durant early in the fourth quarter. After the dunk, he looked at KD and winked at him. He would receive a technical for taunting, but that did not stop Jefferson from creating another poster. Around the four minute mark, Jefferson took it hard to the basket and dunked on Klay Thompson. Jefferson who is now 36 had two dunks that would make everyone question if that is his true age.

The Cavaliers would go on to win the game 109 to 108. Kyrie Irving would hit a go-ahead jumper in the final seconds of the game. It was truly a Deja Vu moment for the Warriors as Irving hit a go-ahead three with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter of game 7 the past June. Yesterday's game was probably one of the best games so far this season and it only makes fans wish they could watch these two teams go at it every night. For now, we will just have to wait until they meet again on January 16. The good news is we do not have to wait long.

DeMarcus Cousins' Dominating Performance

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Last night DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings went up against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers. Damian Lillard would finish the game with 24 points and 15 assists for the game. His teammate, C.J. McCollum however, had a much better shooting night than Lillard putting up 36 points on 59 percent shooting. But their performances were overshadowed by DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins helped the Kings to a 126-121 victory behind his 55 points and 13 rebounds.

This was only Cousins second 50 point game of his career. What really grabbed fans attention was the moment Cousins received his second technical of the game. What made the technical unusual was that it was rescinded after Cousins had already made his way back to the locker room. Cousins had to be fetched from the locker room to get back out on the court.

Cousins is a target for referees and they always keep a close eye on everything he does. In this case, the ref called a technical on him for spitting his mouthpiece out at the Blazers bench. The refs got together after the call and quickly talked it over. They came to the conclusion that his mouthpiece fell out of his mouth and rescinded the technical. In the post game interview, Cousins said, "It's ridiculous. It's obvious what's being done out here. It's on a nightly basis. I hope the world can see now what's really going on out here."

Maybe this will be the start of change amongst referees looking for any excuse to remove Cousins from the game. Cousins is at fault sometimes, but he has really come a long way with controlling himself since entering the league. His reputation with his emotion still warrants refs to take any precautions so that nothing escalates to the next level. Hopefully, refs will take it easier on Cousins when it comes to technicals because he is by far the heart and soul of the Kings, without him, the Kings have no shot at winning games. In any matter, it was nice to see the refs come together and fix the mistake they had made.

Tim Duncan's Jersey Retirement

Tim Duncan is arguably the greatest power forward of all time. He has a number of records and accolades to back up the argument. So it is easy to understand why not even 6 months after retirement the San Antonio Spurs decided to retire Duncan's number 21 after spending his entire 19-year career in San Antonio. Duncan is a 15-time all-star, a back to back MVP, 3 time Finals MVP, and a 5 time NBA champion. Here is a chart of all of Tim Duncan's accomplishments.

Stat	Number	All-Time
Points	26,496	14th
Rebounds	15,091	6th
Blocks	3,020	5th
Minutes	47,368	12th
Games	1,392	8th

Tim Duncan is truly an all time great. He was one of four legends to retire this summer. The other three being Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Kobe Bryant. These four walking away from the game shows the end of an era is near. The only 90's Hall of Fame bound players still active are Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, and Dirk Nowitzki. It won't be much longer until the 90's draft classes finally disappear from the NBA.

Darren Abate/AP Photo

Either way, all the names mentioned are great company for Duncan to be with. If anything Duncan may be the best player out of all the names above. Kobe Bryant may be the only exception, but it constitutes an argument to be had. Both players are very different and had very different careers. Not to mention both players also have completely different personalities.

Like with any players retirement, it is sad to see them go, but on nights like this the player is remembered and celebrated for everything they have done for the organization and the city. Duncan may not be a member of the San Antonio Spurs roster, but he will always be a part of the Spurs family going forward. He left the team in good hands and should be happy that he helped create the winning culture that is in place there today.