Each week sports reporters Matthew Lambert and Eric Schroeder will face off on a hot topic in sports. The world of sports is changing quickly and constantly, but we want to slow it down and take a better look at the juiciest gossip, scandal, rumor or issue that is making headlines this week. Lambert and Schroeder will take different sides and battle it out, telling you why you they are right.
This week’s topic: All-Star snubs
The NBA season is almost at the halfway point, and that means the best all-star festivities will once again be underway. Hosted by New York, the league has just recently announced the starting line up for both the East and West Conference. Of course, there is going to be a lot of controversy over who is chosen in each lineup, but did some players really deserve snubbing? Let’s talk about it… (Preview by Eric Schroeder and Allison Mueller)
FROM ERIC SCHROEDER
Looking at the Western Conference, Stephen Curry, Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and Kobe Bryant are the five starters.
This lineup is by no means shabby, but you may notice one big name is missing from that starting five. Kevin Durant is, in my opinion, the biggest All-Star snub in the west. Sure, he may have started off the season injured and not on the active roster, but his greatness is undeniable.
In twenty-one games Durant is averaging over 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Those numbers are all on par with his career averages and only his points per game is lacking compared to his MVP numbers from last season. It also goes without saying that Durant is one of the elite and arguably the best player in the league right now.
That being said there is no reason that he should not be an All-Star Starter. As fans, all we can hope for now is that he still makes the roster. Otherwise, we will miss out on another special opportunity to see Durant and Lebron James go back and forth as they fight for supremacy as the league’s best.
FROM MATTHEW LAMBERT
The NBA All-Star game is the local joke of the year for sports, where fans turn blindly from statistics and how much impact they’ve had on their team and just focus on name recognition. Fans get the starters wrong, with one in the East in particular: Paul Millsap.
Millsap belongs to the Atlanta Hawks, a team that is among the league’s best and is on top of the Eastern Conference. With Coach Mike Budenholzer being a Coach of the Year candidate and Al Horford and Jeff Teague healthy, watch for the Hawks to make a splash this year in playoffs. But why should Millsap start in the All-Star game for the Eastern Conference?
As far as lineups go, I have one big change involving Millsap and Carmelo Anthony. While the All-Star game will be played in New York this year, and they want someone from the Knicks or Nets to represent them in the All-Star game, I don’t think Anthony should be starting. Anthony has missed 10 games this year, plays on one of the league’s worst teams, and only beats Millsap in one category where Anthony averages 24 points per game. Millsap has played in 44 of 45 games this season for the Hawks and has averaged 17 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game, and 1.8 steals per game.
Starting Millsap would be great for the NBA because it would show it isn’t the same players each season. While the starting lineups are final, I think they got this wrong.
