Ty Lawson Not An All-Star… Yet

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The rest of the All-Star rosters were filled with the announcement of the reserves on Thursday. The starting five of the Western Conference is the backcourt of Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant and the front court of Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Kevin Love. The backcourt reserves are Chris Paul, James Harden, Tony Parker and Damian Lillard. The reserve frontcourt consists of LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwight Howard.

There are a few snubs out West, but the biggest for Nuggets fans is PG Ty Lawson. But there is hope for the mile high speedster to make the team. Of the Western roster, both Kobe and CP3 are injured and might not play in the game. If both can’t suit up, Lawson would be hard to pass up. If only Paul can go (Kobe’s a long-shot to play in my opinion), my money to take the open roster spot is on big man Anthony Davis. A rising star in the same city as the All-Star game is a great play for the NBA.

But let’s assume now that both Kobe and Chris Paul don’t play. The first open slot still goes to Anthony Davis, but who gets the second? DeMarcus Cousins  should get it, but if a backcourt-frontcourt balance is wanted, he’s out. The most deserving backcourt players are Mike Conley, Goran Dragic and of course Ty Lawson.

Conley is averaging 18 points and 6 assists per game for the ninth-place Memphis Grizzlies. Dragic is averaging almost 20 points and 6 assists per for the sixth-place Phoenix Suns. Ty Lawson is averaging 18 and 9 for the eleventh-place Nuggets.

I included the playoff positions of each team because I think winning should matter when it comes to All-Stars. On the numbers alone, Mike Conley should be eliminated when compared to the other two. The Dragic – Lawson split comes down to what you think is more impressive, averaging 20 points or 9 assists. I lean towards the assists, but it isn’t my decision to make.

Ty Lawson would be an Eastern Conference All-Star easy, but it’s tougher out West. Does he belong? Yes. Does he deserve it? Yes. Will he be in New Orleans as an All-Star? Probably not. A lot of stars need to align for it to happen, but hey, Jamaal Magloire was once an All-Star, too. With that in mind, we know anything can happen.