Feb 23, 2021
The All-Star Game seemingly nobody wants to play in got its official rosters Tuesday night. The NBA announced the seven reserves in each conference who will be joining the 10 starters in Atlanta on March 7. In the West, Chris Paul, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis were named All-Stars. (Davis will likely be replaced due to injury.) Joining them in the East will be James Harden, Julius Randle, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine, Ben Simmons and Nikola Vucevic. Here are some thoughts on the final selections…
Who got snubbed?
The first thing people want to talk about when the rosters are named is who was left off the list. LeBron James fired the first salvo, tweeting his support for Devin Booker. I don’t know that there are any egregious snubs. Somebody is always going to get left off the list. In the West, De’Aaron Fox and Mike Conley (in addition to Booker) had good cases...but who would they be replacing? The conference remains loaded despite the recent exodus of talent. Davis’s Achilles injury will create room for at least one more person. A Conley pick would give the Jazz three All-Stars, a handsome reward for their surprising first-place surge through the first half of the season.