Even though it was uncertain if the All-Star game would even take place this season due to health and safety concerns, the NBA has finalized the decision to hold a traditional East vs West All-Star game on March 7th, in Atlanta. Although, the league was heavily criticized by the players, including LeBron, the financial consequences are way too severe. Despite the negative attitude surrounding this year's All-Star festivities, the All-Star game is an NBA tradition which is meant to celebrate the seasons of the very best players in the NBA. With that being said, here is my ballot for the 2021 Eastern NBA All-Star starting lineup.
Backcourt player : Jaylen Brown
Many laughed at the Celtics for drafting Jaylen Brown with third overall pick back in 2016, because they thought the Celtics "reached". They believed that Brown was destined to be a glorified role player, and that players like Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray offered more upside. Those people are no longer laughing.
Jaylen Brown's progression chart resembles that of the price of Bitcoin. Brown came into the league as a part of a very good Boston Celtics team, and his role was primarily that of a defender. Brown never had to be the primary load bearer on offense because he was surrounded by offensive talent like Isaiah Thomas, Jayson Tatum, and Kyrie Irving.
But Brown kept adding to his offensive arsenal bit by bit, he went from a primary slasher, to a guy who could reliably knock down perimeter shots, to last year where he began to show signs of being a shot creator. This year, Brown took another astronomical leap, jumping from 20 ppg to 27 ppg on elite efficiency. All that improvement finally cultivated and resulted in Jaylen Brown blossoming into one of the league's best two-way players and perhaps even the best player on the Boston Celtics.
Backcourt player : Bradley Beal
This was one of the hardest decisions for me to make because it goes against everything I have previously said. I have always warded winning over statistics when it comes to voting for All-Stars, especially All-Star starters, because I believe that winning players should be rewarded rather than players who put up empty calorie stats on a bottom feeder team.
Well, I am throwing that criteria out of the window for this pick because I simply cannot overlook the season Bradley Beal is having. Beal is averaging 33 ppg on above average efficiency and is the sole reason why the Washington Wizards even have their lousy 5 wins on the season. The Wizards front office has surrounded Beal with G-league players and his so called All-Star backcourt mate Russell Westbrook has been more harm than help.
I understand that the Wizards suck, but that is not Bradley Beal's fault. So for this one time, I will make an exception to my own criteria and vote Bradley Beal as the second eastern conference backcourt starter.
Frontcourt player : Kevin Durant
One of the biggest storylines heading into this season was what version of Kevin Durant will we get. No one doubted the offensive greatness of Kevin Durant, but he was coming back from the worst injury in basketball and was over 500 days removed from the last time he played professional basketball. The late great Kobe Bryant suffered the exact same injury and was a shell of his prior self upon returning. There was serious concern regarding what caliber of player Durant would be in a Nets uniform. When I listed my top 8 players heading into the season, I ranked Durant eight, making an educated guess on the previous data we have from players who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.
But now, with approximately a third of the season in the rearview and a large enough sample size, we can safely declare that Kevin Durant is back, and he might be even better. Kevin Durant has been lights-out all season long and has shown no signs of rust whatsoever. Durant is averaging 29.5 ppg, the most he has averaged since 2013-2014, on the best shooting splits of his career. More importantly, he passes the eye-test, Durant's game still has that fluidity, the explosion and the effortless scoring ability.
With his play so far this season, Durant has reclaimed his title as one of the best handful of players in the world.
Frontcourt player : Giannis Antetokounmpo
While Giannis is not playing at the same level he did last year, who can blame him? Giannis had arguably the best statistical season in the history of basketball last year and while he has not been at that level so far this season, he has still been a monster on both ends of the floor.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists per contest, all while leading the new-look Milwaukee Bucks to the second best record in the conference.
It seems as though Giannis has finally adopted the mindset of coasting through the regular season because his play will truly be under the microscope come playoff time. Nonetheless, a coasting Giannis Antetokounmpo is almost as good as anybody over the course of the regular season.
Frontcourt player : Joel Embiid
After being embarrassed by the Celtics in the first-round of last year's playoffs, Joel Embiid was heavily criticized for under performing in the playoffs. Being swept caused the Sixers to reevaluate their roster and make some drastic changes, including replacing head coach Brett Brown with Doc Rivers and surrounding Embiid with more perimeter weapons.
The product of these moves has been fruitful. Joel Embiid surrounded by spacing has been an unstoppable force on offence. Embiid is averaging 29 ppg and 11rpg on laser-sharp efficiency, whilst leading the Sixers to the best record in the eastern conference.
Embiid has arguably been better on defense. The Sixers currently have the fourth best defense in the league and with Joel Embiid on the floor they are outscoring their opponents by 10 pints per 100 possessions.
Over the course of his career Embiid, has been repeatedly criticized for being to passive on offense and not realizing that no one can guard him on the low block. That mindset shift has finally clicked for Embiid, and his dominance has been so overwhelming that he is my early season pick for league MVP.
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