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. 

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.

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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.

Joel Embiid: 2017 Rookie of the Year

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2014. This was the year that Joel Embiid was taken third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. When Embiid was drafted he had a foot injury that the Sixers were well aware of. The Sixers still took him seeing that his potential out weighed his injury. Embiid was set to make his debut last year, but he started to have set backs in the preseason. Not long after those set backs Embiid needed surgery on the same foot again. This would cost him another season. This year though Embiid is finally fully healthy and set to make his NBA debut.

Since Embiid has yet to play in an NBA game he is technically a rookie. This puts him in contention for this years rookie of the year award. This years draft class was solid, but the top two draft picks were seen as favorites for rookie of the year. Those two players are Brandon Ingram and Embiid's teammate Ben Simmons. Unfortunately for Philadelphia Simmons suffered a broken foot in practice and will be out 3 months. There are rumors that Simmons could sit out the whole 2016-17 season. For now that leaves it a two man race between Ingram and Embiid.

Looking at both players preseason performances Embiid is the favorite for rookie of the year. Embiid is averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1 block per game. The craziest part about these numbers is that he is only averaging 14.2 minutes per game. Once he starts to see a bump in minutes his numbers are going to be through the roof. Not only should his numbers improve, but he may be mentally prepared for the season. Embiid has been around the NBA for two seasons now. He might not have played a game, but he knows how things work in the organization. It may or may not help him throughout the season, but it can't hurt to have been around professional basketball players for two seasons.

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

For Brandon Ingram he is coming into the league with high expectations. In college he was a great scorer and the Lakers are hoping that will translate to the NBA. So far in the preseason Ingram is averaging 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. For Ingram his numbers will also increase when he starts seeing the floor more each night. Right now he is averaging 24.1 minutes per game. On Wednesday Ingram had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 28 minutes of action. This was easily his best game of the preseason. Expect Ingram to play more and more as the season continues. In fact by December he could be inserted into the starting lineup for the Lakers.

AP Photo/Jessica Hill

The difference between Embiid and Ingram will be their immediate impact to their respected teams. Embiid is going to be inserted into the starting lineup right away due to Jahlil Okafor rehabbing a right knee injury he suffered at the end of last season. With Okafor and Simmons both out it will allow Embiid to shine. The Sixers goal is to build chemistry between their young core, but they need to figure out what two of the three big men will be staying long term. Okafor's injury is actually perfect timing for Philadelphia. This will allow them to give as many minutes as they would like to Embiid. This will give them a sense of what Embiid has to offer. Until the whole team is healthy it will be Embiid's show.

For Ingram he will be coming off the bench to start the season. The Lakers want their young core to come together and succeed. For Ingram this means he will not be the focus of what Los Angles is doing. The Lakers will be trying to build a chemistry between D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and Ingram.

The way Embiid is playing right now it is hard not to pick him for rookie of the year. Fans have been waiting to see what Embiid can do in the NBA. That time has finally arrived and Philadelphia fans will not be disappointed.