Top candidates for the Western Conference All-Star team

Russ looks like he might repeat last year’s performance With the voting for the All-Star game just opening up, it’s time to start thinking about who will represent the Western Conference in the annual mid-season showcase. Even though the conference has seen a dip in play compared to the past four or five years, there are still many candidates who are worthy of being named to this team.Voting is now broken down so you can vote for two starting backcourt players and three starting frontcourt players, meaning that there doesn’t have to be a traditional starting lineup of point and shooting guards, small and power forwards, and a center. However, with the voting just having started, I will take a look at each position and see who the top three candidates are:

#1 Point guards

The glory days of the Western Conference point guard might be over, but this is still a field that contains possibly three of the top 10 players in the league period. Guys like Mike Conley, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, and even the resurgent Deron Williams have had strong years, and yet even they will be irreverently “put under consideration” for spots this year unless they go on an unforeseen hot streak.

Eric Bledsoe and Damian Lillard are having really good years, but they are trying to carry struggling squads and proving to be not quite up to the task, putting up big stats that are translating into an under .500 record.

As it stands right now, there are three guys who are frontrunners for the spots and it isn’t particulalry close. Stephen Curry, the MVP leader and current best player in the league, is a shoo in, as are Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, who is having a career year right now, and the ever-steady Chris Paul, who makes up for his slightly above average scoring numbers by having impeccable control of the game. Another player might break into this list as well, but these three are all but assured a trip to Toronto in February.

1. Stephen Curry

2. Russell Westbrook

3. Chris Paul

#2 Shooting guards

The shooting guards in the West have two leading candidates that stand above the rest, and then a bunch of guys who are having good seasons but don’t quite seem up to All-Star level. After a very slow start to the season, James Harden has started to pick up his play, supplementing his still struggling outside shot with loads and loads of trips to the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Klay Thompson is continued to play a two way game, and has picked up his scoring after a slow first couple games, now shooting 44% on seven threes a game. After that, it’s anyone’s guess who could potentially take another spot from the shooting guard field.

J.J. Redick is Kyle Korver-like, flying off screens and knocking down threes while playing above average defense, but those guys don’t ever get to the All Star game. C.J. McCollum and Eric Gordon are putting up nice scoring numbers but they are playing for bad teams and aren’t big names.

The really interesting name to watch will be Andrew Wiggins, who has the pedigree of a former number one pick, is pouring in 21 points a game but is doing it somewhat inconsistently and playing for a losing team. My guess is if there is a 6th guard picked from the West, it will come from the point guard position.

1. James Harden

2. Klay Thompson

3. Andrew Wiggins

#3 Small forwards

Leonard is the best two-way forward in the leagu

Much like the shooting guard position, there are two players that rise above the rest. These players, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant, also happen to be on the short list for MVP runner up candidates and occupy the position loaded with the most top end talent in the league.

They are each having phenomenal years with Leonard assuming more and more of a scoring role for the San Antonio Spurs, while also upping his efficiency and turning into a viable three point threat. His defense is other wordly on the perimeter and he could be fulfilling the vision that Greg Popovich had when he drafted him.

Durant, fresh off missing most of last season with a broken foot, is playing about as well as he did in his MVP season of 2014, scoring a little less but still affecting the game in the same ways. He provides the Thunder with the ability to go small and absolutely blitz oppenents like they did the other night in their 37 point road thrashing of the Grizzlies.

After these two, you have Gordon Hayward, who is quietly putting up a near All-Star campaign for the Utah Jazz. He’s helped lead the chic pick to break into the playoffs and now current seven seed in the West. He serves as the offensive linchpin for a team that can struggle to score at times, and contributes to a defense that is showing signs of regaining the form that terrorized the league last year.

1. Kawhi Leonard

2. Kevin Durant

3. Gordon Hayward

#4 Power forwards

This position is absolutely stacked in the West, with as many as seven players having legitimate arguments to make it to the All Star Game and another two who are playing exceptionally in their roles, putting them on the fringes of All Star status.

As it stands, Blake Griffin, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, Derrick Favors, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki and Zach Randolph can make cases as to why they deserve an All Star nod and they would have legitamate arguments.

I could see only three of these guys making the squad, due to the 12 man limit on the team, but I really hope the league finds a way to get four guys here because they will deserve it. Right now, I’d give Draymond Green the nod as the number one, as he makes up for his average scoring numbers by doing literally everything else on the court at a super high level.

Anthony Davis and Blake Griffin are both still having superb season for teams that are underachieving to varying degrees, and will definitely have a say in who ends up being the All Star game starter.

It most likely will come down to the final four on this list for a potential wild card frontcourt slot, and I think it will be Favors and Aldridge for that spot. Favors doesn’t have the name or team recognition like LaMarcus does, but he is arguably having a better two way season.

1. Draymond Green

2. Anthony Davis

3. Blake Griffin

#5 Centers

Another position with very good depth, if not the high end play like the power forward postion. You have young guns like DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan and Karl-Anthony Towns trying to make their mark on the league, while mainstays such as Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan and Marc Gasol are looking to fend them off one more year.

The frustrating thing about this group is injuries (Cousins and Howard) have derailed some from playing in all the games this season, while others (Duncan and Towns) have been averaging fewer minutes for various reasons.

It has led to a somewhat muddled field and lower level play from previous All Stars, namely Cousins, Howard, and Gasol. If I had to choose at this moment, I’d go with the old three of Howard, Duncan and Gasol, with Cousins having the best chance to overtake them.

Cousins’ biggest problem this year has been a nagging back injury and a subsequent dip in scoring efficiency that has prolonged through the season. If he starts getting healthier and spikes his shooting percentage back to his normal 49%, he will no doubt represent the West.

1. Dwight Howard

2. Tim Duncan

3. Marc Gasol