2021 Eastern All-Stars

 2021 East All-Stars

     This has been a very competitive year of basketball in the eastern conference. This year we have seen Kevin Durant come back from injury and play at an MVP level, we saw a former MVP in James Harden coming from, and you have breakout stars such as Jaylen Brown and Collin Sexton. With all of these great players being in the east, there are definitely going to be some tough cuts to this roster. The All-Star roster is composed of four guards, six frontcourt players, and two wild cards. I will go into detail my reasoning for each of my selections as well as mention the names of the five players who were the toughest cuts, as well as guys who would possibly injury replacements. 

Honorable Mentions:

Trae Young

Ben Simmons

Gordon Hayward

Julius Randle

Collin Sexton

    So next we have who I think are going to be the reserves. The reserves will consist of two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards. Starting with the forwards I have Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis was an All-Star last season and he has gotten even better. He is averaging 21 points, grabbing almost twelve rebounds a game, and averaging almost 6 assists. He is one of the best offensive big men in the NBA today and is more than deserving of another All-Star selection. Next up we have another guy who is coming off his first All-Star selection in Jayson Tatum. Tatum even this season has been regarded as 2-way wing with a lot of potential. He has made leaps every single season he has been in the league, and this season he is scoring 27 points per game and has made a significant improvement in his passing. He is only 22 years old, and I expect to see him racking up selections for the next decade. Bam Adebayo was a major factor for Heat in their run to the finals, although they are currently struggling this season it is in no way Bam's fault. Adebayo is truly one of the most elite two-way big men that is in the NBA today, he often has to guard superstars like Embiid and Giannis, and usually does stifles them. With Butler being out for large part of this season, Bam has stepped up and provided a lot of scoring. 20/9/5 with elite defense is certainly deserving a 2nd consecutive selection. Next, we have Khris Middleton. Middleton is a very reliable scorer who pairs very well with the Giannis. He is a guy who is incredibly efficient, can create his own shot, and create for others.  He is on pace for a 50/40/90 season while scoring 20 points per game, in addition to his scoring he is averaging six rebounds and assists per game. Another All-Star selection would be the third of his career. Lastly for the forwards, we have Tobias Harris. This was by far the toughest selection I had to make was this last forward spot, but Tobias is having a really good season. The 76ers currently sit atop the eastern conference by 1.5 games, and Harris is on pace to set career highs in points, field goal percentage, and three point percentage. He is shooting well from practically everywhere on the court and is finally living up to that max contract. 

    

    A lot can change between now and the time rosters are selected, but the battle for the guard spots on this team are tough. Trae, Simmons, and Sexton have all had very good seasons, but not good enough to warrant a spot on this team. The first reserve guard I have is Jaylen Brown. Brown was a 20 point per game scorer last year and has taken another leap so large that he is in consideration for most improved player. He has gotten better at just about everything this season. If you were looking to critique him, the only part of his game that needs to improve is his free throw shooting. He is averaging about 26.5/6.5/3.5 on very efficient shooting. The Celtics haven't been exactly setting the world on fire this year, but Kemba has just rejoined the team and Tatum missed a few games earlier in the year due to health and safety protocol. Secondly, we have James Harden. With the numbers he is putting up this season he most certainly would be an All-Star starter in most years, but he has a few things going against him. It would be very rare to see a team with three All-Star starters, and you could probably assume because I haven't mentioned them yet. Kyrie and KD are in my starting lineup. The second thing holding him back is the fact he was traded midseason and wasn't the typical James Harden we know when he was playing for the Rockets. I have no doubt he makes this team, and there even is a high chance he is a starter. 

    Now we have made it to the starting lineup. I honestly don't think there is much debate on the frontcourt for this team, so I will start with them. The back-to-back MVP and reigning DPOY of course is going to be starter on this team. He is continuing to play at an extremely high level. Giannis Antetokounmpo will continue to be an All-Star starter until he has a significant drop in his play. Next we have the current frontrunner for MVP in Joel Embiid. Embiid is playing the best basketball of his career and there is a very good chance he comes away with both MVP and DPOY this season. Lastly for our starting forwards we have Kevin Durant, there was serious concern on whether or not KD would be the same player he was pre-achilles injury. Durant within probably the first eight minutes of the season that he once again probably the most deadly, versatile, and efficient scorers in NBA history. The NBA is more fun when KD is getting buckets. 

    If you have gotten this far you probably already know who my starting guards are, but many of you may disagree. I think that Bradley Beal and Kyrie Irving are the most deserving guards in the East. I think most people will agree with Kyrie, seeing how he is averaging 27.5/4.8/5.7 on 53/43/93 shooting splits on the third best team in the conference. The real debate comes with Bradley Beal. Many may think that guys like Trae, Harden, or Jaylen are more deserving, but I think a lot of that is based around how much we value team success. I mentioned earlier why I don't think Harden will be a starter and I simply think Trae just hasn't been good enough to earn a starting spot this year. Last year Beal averaged 30 and got left off the All-Star team, so this year he came out and decided to league the league in scoring at 33 a game. The Wizards are extremely bad, last year John Wall didn't even play and it might have been better for team success than what Westbrook has done. Outside of that monster Nets game, he has been horrible. You can't put all the blame on Beal here, and it's time we start separating a player's ability from a team's success. Beal should make the team no matter what, the only way he shouldn't start is if you value team success or defense more than what Beal is currently doing.