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The All-Star weekend is still roughly under a month away but it's in the news as the complete rosters were announced with the reserves being made official this past Tuesday. Prior to this season, the Players' Union and the NBA had come to an agreement on the All-Star format needing change.
Instead, a player pool of 10 called the Starters was voted upon by the fans, players and media and the All-Stars were chosen from these players based on the weight. The player with the most votes in each conference becomes the captain of the two All-Star teams. The Reserves will be selected by the league's coaches.
LeBron James and Stephen Curry are the 2 opposing captains since they finished with the highest votes. They now get to choose players from the Starters and then the Reserves and make their own All-Star team. There are no restrictions on East or West anymore. Just the 24 best players going against each other.
Since James has the most votes, he gets to choose the first player from the starters pool and Curry gets to choose the first player in the reserves pool.
Here is a mock draft of how it might all go down:
No. 1 Picks - Kevin Durant and James Harden
LeBron James: Durant (Warriors)
Steph Curry: Harden (Rockets)
LeBron being LeBron will pick the team that gives him the best chance of competing against Curry and will thus separate the two Golden State Warriors' players from each other by picking the last season finale MVP, Kevin Durant.
Curry has to pick an out and out scorer to match up against the firepower of LeBron and KD and nobody does that better than the Beard, James Harden. The front-runner for this year's MVP has been on fire for the Houston Rockets and should help Curry against his former team-mate Durant and James.
No. 2 Picks - Kyrie Irving & Giannis Antetokounmpo
Lebron James: Kyrie Irving (Celtics)
Steph Curry: Giannis Antentokoumpo (Bucks)
Adding some much-needed backcourt assistance, LeBron puts his old differences aside and buries the hatchet with Kyrie Irving. He gets his unreal handles, his sharpshooting and his ability to rise up in crunch time. He also gets back his old teammate so the chemistry between them isn't much of a problem.
Curry then adds Giannis to compete against the frontcourt of LeBron and Durant. His athletic ability alongside his sheer size and will to get to the rim is unmatched this season. He also seems to step it up against LeBron and Curry will count on it this time.
No. 3 Picks - DeMarcus Cousins & Anthony Davis
LeBron James: DeMarcus Cousins (Pelicans)
Stephen Curry: Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
LeBron gets some physicality in the frontcourt with the addition of Cousins. He has been on a tear this season, getting a Wilt-type of statline against the Bulls just last week. James is also a public admirer of Boogie and he would love to have him on his team.
Steph would in retaliation go for Davis in the frontcourt to negate the threat from Durant and Boogie. Davis has been linked with the Warriors and Curry might use to woo the big man, apart from bolstering his team with sheer brute force and talent which the big man brings with him
No. 4 Picks - DeMar DeRozan & Joel Embiid
LeBron James: DeMar DeRozan (Raptors)
Stephen Curry: Joel Embiid (76ers)
LeBron goes for efficiency over showmanship, having his own set of bigs on the court already. DeRozan is known as the Mid-range game for a reason and LeBron needs him to exploit the Curry defense, the same way he is doing it for the Toronto Raptors this season.
Curry picks up the final starter left in the pool, Joel Embiid. The lack of depth in the backcourt makes this an ideal situation for his team and the new All-Star. Embiid brings a different sort of feel to the team, one of being competitive yet fun. He is perfect for this All-Star game and has to show he belongs here by putting on a show.
Reserves: No. 1 pick
Stephen Curry: Russell Westbrook (Thunder)
Lebron James: Klay Thompson ( Warriors)
Steph needs someone to anchor the team and be the guy when he's not on the court and who better than the reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook. Considering the feud between Westbrook and Durant and just all the negativity around the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, he must be raring to go.
LeBron then picks up Klay Thompson, breaking up the Splash brothers in his cruelest move yet. Klay is an elite level shooter and can rack up buckets in absolutely no time. With Durant by his side and with no Curry taking 3's on his team, he going to be fed the ball a lot and needs to show what he is capable of.
Reserves: No. 2 picks
Steph Curry: Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves)
LeBron James: Karl Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Curry needs someone on the defensive end of the floor as well as someone who can show up on the attacking end and who better than the best two-way player this season, Jimmy Butler.
LeBron needs some bigs on his team and Towns is probably one of the best bigs who are explosive and can space out the floor. He has gotten better on the defensive end too and has to show why he is considered a future franchise star.
Reserves: No. 3 pick
Steph Curry: Damian Lillard (Blazers)
LeBron James: John Wall (Wizards)
Curry goes for the best reserve left out in Lillard, who brings his amazing all round shooting passing ability to the team, which apart from Curry and Harden were lacking in pure scorers.
LeBron picks up the best defensive point guard in the league in John Wall. His assists along with his never give up defensive attitude is a big boost to the James' team. He also always seems to step it up against the opposition in the All-Star Game, to show he belongs and James will be counting on that.
Reserves: No. 4 pick
Steph Curry: Draymond Green (Warriors)
LeBron James: Victor Oladipo ( Pacers)
Curry decides to pick his underrated teammate Draymond Green to join his team against Durant and Klay. It's two Warriors on each side and it will make a very interesting watch for the fans as to how this will turn out to be. Green is an ultra-competitive player who will not dial it down for anyone, not even his teammates.
LeBron will go for a first time All-Star in Victor Oladipo, who has had an amazing season so far, leading the Pacers into Playoff contention when they were considered to be a below par team and this combination of youth and experience seems to be just right for James' team.
Reserves: No. 5 & 6 picks
Steph Curry: Bradley Beal (Wizards)
LeBron James: Kevin Love (Cavaliers), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
Curry picks up some more shooting prowess on his team for the first time All-Star Bradley Beal, who has been amazing for the Washington Wizards this season. Curry also gets to separate the Wizards duo, doing some additional mental damage to Wall and James' squad.
LeBron gets 2 picks next and he decides to go big, choosing his teammate Kevin Love and the Knicks big man, Porzingis. Love has of late been under immense scrutiny and this could probably be some sort of assurance from James and bringing others off his back. Porzingis has been somewhat vocal about missing the Starters pool and this is the stage for him to show why he was in the reckoning and deserves to be the Starter.
Reserves: No. 7 picks
Steph Curry: LaMarcus Aldridge(Spurs) and Al Horford (Celtics)
LeBron James: Kyle Lowry(Raptors)
Curry now has 2 picks and goes with the duo of Aldridge and Horford. Aldridge has been having an amazing season with the San Antonio Spurs without Kawhi Leonard and deserves to be an All-Star this season. Horford has been an integral cog in the Celtics system with his floor spacing and defense. He probably isn't the most exciting player but he could prove vital to Curry's team.
LeBron with the final pick gets Kyle Lowry who has been in great form with the Raptors and his defense along with his new found offense could prove valuable to LeBron's team when it is needed.
So the final list looks as follows:
Lebron James(C), Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, Karl Anthony Towns, John Wall, Victor Oladipo, Kevin Love, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Lowry.
Stephen Curry(C), James Harden, Giannis Antentokoumpo, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Russell Westbrook, Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, Bradley Beal, LaMarcus Aldridge and Al Horford.
This is my mock draft for how the process will turn out on Thursday (ET). Sadly, it will not be televised and thus, we fans lose out on a lot. But the storylines make this really fun and hopefully this time the All Star game is more fun than most.
Guess the Lakers players!
