During tonight’s TNT double-header they announced the reserves in the 2014 All-Star Game, and one name was noticeably absent out West. Tim Duncan missed out on his 15th All-Star selection despite helping the Spurs to the second-best record in the Western Conference, but his teammate, Tony Parker, made it as a reserve. There are also four first-time All-Stars among the reserves, all but one coming from the Eastern Conference. Lets get to them…
EASTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES
The East reserves had four frontcourt players and just three backcourt players, which means both wildcard slots were filled by frontcourt guys, and two of them are more traditional centers. Here are the reserves with the notable exceptions following:
Backcourt
DeMar DeRozan
Joe Johnson
John Wall
Frontcourt
Chris Bosh
Paul Millsap
Roy Hibbert
Joakim Noah
Notable snubs:
Kyle Lowry — arguably the best point guard in the Eastern Conference through the season’s first half, and you just have to see that he’s still on the Raptors roster to know that (Masai Ujiri would’ve dealt him, otherwise)
Lance Stephenson — Oh no, Sir Lancealot is gonna be pissed, and so are we, actually. Born Ready was born ready for an All-Star Game where he can show off his dunking prowess, but also the passing skills of a warlock.
Arron Afflalo — Shooting spectacularly for the Magic even if the Magic are pretty bad.
WESTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES
The West was more balanced when it came to their two wildcards. On top of three backcourt spots they selected another guard and another forward, including two separate pairs of teammates for the Blazers and Rockets.
Backcourt
James Harden
Damian Lillard
Tony Parker
Chris Paul
Frontcourt
LaMarcus Aldridge
Dwight Howard
Dirk Nowitzki
Notable snubs:
Goran Dragic — it’s a smack in the face of justice that the surprising Suns didn’t have a single All-Star nod despite having the No. 6 team in the West. They handed the Pacers their second loss of the season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night..
Anthony Davis — This is awful, doubly so because the All-Star Game is in New Orleans, and Davis has been playing out of his mind for the Pellies in his second year. This was a surprise, to be honest.
DeMarcus Cousins — Deserves the nod this year for the first time, has gotten a little better on defense while cutting down on holding the ball for too long on the offensive end.
Mike Conley — Like everyone on this snubs list, Conley has often been spectacular in order to keep the Grizzlies above water in the extended absence of Marc Gasol. But since it’s the Grizzlies, he was overlooked yet again.
[videos vÃa Frank Den]
