On Thursday night, the NBA announced the 10 players chosen by the fans to start next month’s All-Star Game in New Orleans.
But, in addition to Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James in the Eastern Conference and Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Kevin Love in the West, there will be 14 more players selected to join them in the Big Easy for All-Star festivities.
It’s almost too bad you can’t simply select the best 24 players in the league – regardless of conference – to be in the game, because there are about 25 players with a legitimate case for in the West. The East – where there were season-ending injuries for Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez, Al Horford, plus Rajon Rondo being sidelined until his recent return – is two or three players short in terms of legitimate candidates.
The coaches will vote on for two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards to join each conference’s team. Here are The Post’s selections for the All-Star reserves:
Eastern Conference
Guards
John Wall, Washington
After spending the first half of last season on the shelf with a knee injury, Wall returned and posted some impressive numbers down the stretch for Washington, pairing with rookie Bradley Beal to give the Wizards an imposing young backcourt.
But Wall has stepped his game up another level this season, averaging 20.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.9 steals. He has improved to shooting better than 31 percent from 3-point range – making his devastating speed even more hard to handle for opposing defenses – and has Washington in line to make its first playoff appearance since 2008.
Lance Stephenson, Indiana
The Brooklyn native has burst onto the scene in a big way, going from an afterthought known best for giving LeBron James a choke sign after missing a free throw in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals to becoming a key cog for the best team in the NBA.
Stephenson is averaging 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds – tops among guards in the NBA – and 5.2 assists, and has recorded three triple-doubles. He’s also the fact that he’s the most fun player to watch in the league on a fast break, which should come in handy during an All-Star Game that’s always devoid of defense.
Frontcourt
Paul Millsap, Atlanta
One of the league’s most underrated players during his time in Utah, Millsap has been excellent in his first year in Atlanta, and has become the focal point of the Hawks offense in the wake of Al Horford’s season-ending pectoral injury. Averaging 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting over 38 percent from 3-point range, he’s turned himself into one of the best stretch fours in the league.
Joakim Noah, Chicago
Rose is lost for the regular season and Luol Deng has been shipped off to Cleveland, but Noah and coach Tom Thibodeau just keep churning out wins, amazingly, in the Windy City. While Noah is averaging 11.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, you can’t quantify his impact in stats.
Chicago would be better off sitting Noah down for the final few weeks of the season to finish as high in the lottery as they can, but knowing how competitive both he and Thibodeau are, they’ll probably do everything they can to make another improbable trip to the playoffs.
Al Jefferson, Charlotte
Someone was going to benefit from both Horford and Lopez going down, and Jefferson might be that guy. With very little around him and Kemba Walker (who is now out with an ankle injury), Jefferson is averaging a double-double (18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds) while shooting over 47 percent from the field.
Wild cards
Kyle Lowry, Toronto
When Rudy Gay was shipped out to Sacramento, it was expected Lowry would soon follow him out the door. But instead of getting shipped to the Knicks – as many expected – the mercurial floor general instead has powered Toronto’s surge to the top of the Atlantic Division. He has been especially good (17.3 points, 7.8 assists while shooting just under 43 percent from 3-point range) since Gay left town.
It still remains to be seen whether he’ll be with the Raptors when the All-Star Game arrives – or after the trade deadline a few days later – but if he is, he should be in New Orleans representing the NBA’s lone Canadian team.
Arron Afflalo, Orlando
You could go a few ways with this spot. Joe Johnson has been brilliant for the Nets lately, helping Brooklyn surge back into the conversation in the East after a brutal first couple months. You could also go with a second Raptor, as DeMar DeRozan has been terrific since the Gay trade, as well.
But the final spot in the East goes to Afflalo, who has been excellent in an otherwise dreary season for the Magic. Averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting over 46 percent from the field and over 42 percent from 3-point range – plus playing good defense – Afflalo has been excellent. Like Lowry, he could be a trade piece, but he’s on an affordable contract and likely will stick in Orlando.
Western Conference
Guards
Chris Paul, Clippers
Paul was originally going to be left off because of his separated right shoulder that’s kept him out since early January, but he said this week he hopes to be back for the All-Star Game. That’s about all of the explanation this choice should need, given Paul is averaging 19.6 points and 11.2 assists per game and is the unquestioned top point guard in the NBA.
James Harden, Houston
Yes, it would be nice if Harden played better defense – or, you know, any defense. But when you’re averaging 24.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a league-high 8.9 free-throw attempts per game (hitting 7.5), that’s something that can be overlooked.
Frontcourt
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland
Aldridge has been the driving force behind the NBA’s most surprising team, powering the Trail Blazers to the top of the Western Conference and producing big numbers for them (24.7 points and 11.6 rebounds) on a nightly basis.
A year ago, it seemed as if Aldridge might try and force his way out of town when Portland appeared to be undertaking a lengthy rebuild after the promising Aldridge-Brandon Roy-Greg Oden trio collapsed because of injuries. Now, it looks as if he’s going to be the focal point of one of the league’s most fun teams to watch for years to come.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans
This isn’t just a pick for the home city. In his second season, Davis has turned into a spectacular player. Just look at these stats he’s putting up: 20.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 3.0 blocks while shooting 52 percent from the field and 75 percent from the foul line in 35 minutes per game.
You could make a pretty good case that, combined with his age, price tag and ceiling, the former No. 1 pick has the third-highest trade value in the NBA, behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant. And it might not be long before he’s considered the third-best player in the league, period.
Dwight Howard, Houston
What, you think we forgot about him? Sure, Howard has annoyed basically everyone who has followed the NBA over the past three seasons with his constant flip-flopping and public posturing about his future. But Howard – now more than a year removed from back surgery – is beginning to resemble the player he was before, averaging 18.3 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 59 percent from the field.
He was edged out by Kevin Love and Blake Griffin in the final round of voting, but he’ll be in New Orleans.
Wild cards
Damian Lillard, Portland
In his second season, Lillard has become known for his ability in clutch situations for the Trail Blazers, particularly for knocking down long-distance bombs.
Along with Aldridge, Lillard (21.0 points, 5.7 assists, 42.4 percent from 3-point range) has powered Portland’s dramatic surge up the standings. Along with Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews, he’s given the Trail Blazers an impressive foundation to build upon.
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento
It’s really awful trying to fill out a Western Conference ballot. You can go with any number of guards here, including Tony Parker, Mike Conley and Goran Dragic. You could also go with several big men, including a pair of future first-ballot Hall of Famers in Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.
But the choice here is Cousins, who has really dialed it up this season after signing his max extension with the Kings last summer. There is still more room for Cousins to grow if he wants to become the centerpiece of a legit playoff contender, as the Kings envision him to be, but he’s averaging 22.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and shooting almost 49 percent from the field while improving defensively.
It should be noted that both Bryant – who has said he doesn’t want to play – and Paul could miss the game. In that case, the final two picks here would be Nowitzki and Parker.
The other big news in the NBA this week was the announcement of the 28-player pool for the U.S. National Team, which was announced by Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski Thursday morning.
While many of the names – James, Durant, Anthony, Love, Paul, Griffin, etc. – weren’t surprising, more than a few of the names that were on the list, as well as some that weren’t, did raise some eyebrows.
The most glaring omission seems to have been John Wall, who is coming into his own in his fourth NBA season, beginning to live up to the hype bestowed upon him as the No. 1 pick in the draft back in 2010. It’s more than a little surprising Wall was left off the list in favor of Deron Williams, who has endured ankle injuries each of the past two years.
The other notable thing about the list was the amount of shooters that were included. Because of the true zone defenses teams are able to play in international basketball, having “zone busters” can be a huge advantage. With Curry, Durant and Love all locks to play on the World Championship team this summer, the U.S. team is guaranteed to have some excellent shooters. But it was interesting to see players such as Klay Thompson and Kyle Korver make the pool. Both would be perfect options to come off the bench and stretch a defense.
There has been some speculation the Celtics will look to move Rondo now that he’s recovered from his ACL tear that he suffered a year ago. But Rondo was just named the ninth captain in Celtics history when he returned from his injury earlier this month.
Boston is a team that, more than any other in basketball, values its history and traditions. They wouldn’t name Rondo the team captain if they were then going to turn around and move him a month later.
It looked like a clear signal to their point guard that the Celtics want him to be the face of their franchise and the focal point of their rebuilding effort – one which, between the cap space and draft picks they have in the years ahead, general manager Danny Ainge could complete quicker than anticipated.