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We are nearly at the halfway point of the ongoing NBA season. Most teams have played over 40 games and the contest for the playoff seeds is on. With that, we're less than a month removed from the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend.
The voting for this season's All-Star Game began on Christmas Day and will come to a close tomorrow, 20th December. While we lie in excitement as we wait for the announcement of the starters, the voting returns so far have given us a clue of which players will line-up for the event from the Western Conference. Before we go ahead and make our predictions, here's a look at the third West returns which was announced 3 days ago.
While fan votes do not have the entire say in deciding the starters, they do account for 50% weightage in selection. Given the evidence we have so far, this is the set of players we can project making the cut as starters for the 69th All-Star Game from the Western Conference:
Backcourt
Luka Doncic - Dallas Mavericks
While many fans believed that he should have made it to the festivities last year itself, in his rookie year, as one of the injury replacements, Luka Doncic is all but set to receive his first All-Star Game call-up.
The Slovenian currently leads the West guards in terms of votes and trails LeBron James by less than 150,000 votes to become the second-most voted player in the conference. He was even leading the West when the first returns were announced.
Having led the Dallas Mavericks to a respectable 6th seed in the Western Conference, the 20-year-old has had the best statistical season for a sophomore since Oscar Robertson in the early 1960s.
James Harden - Houston Rockets
You may not like his playing style, you may raise questions about his efficiency, but there's no second-guessing the fact that James Harden is the best volume scorer in the league.
When Russell Westbrook joined the Houston Rockets earlier this season, there were doubts regarding how the duo of Harden and Westbrook would fare given the fact that both are ball-dominant guards. While Westbrook's numbers have declined, Harden has only gone on to improve his production.
A top-two finalist in each of the last three years in the NBA MVP race, having won the award in 2017-18, Harden is currently having his best scoring year with him averaging over 37 points per game as of this writing. If the Rockets finish in the top 3 seeds in the Western Conference – they are 5th at the moment – Harden could be in for another MVP contention.
Also read: How much do the 2020 NBA All-Star Game tickets cost?
Frontcourt
LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers (captain)
Still going strong at 35, LeBron James leads the NBA in fan votes so far and barring a considerable upturn in the volume raked in by Luka Doncic, the 3-time NBA champion is likely to achieve a three-peat of becoming an NBA All-Star captain. The kid from Akron, who has always made it to the All-Star Game since his sophomore year, is on course to receiving his 16th consecutive selection.
Playing the proverbial point forward's role for the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron currently leads the league in assists with 10.9 dimes per game and has meshed well this Anthony Davis to form the most deadly duo in the league. The Lakers are runaway leaders in the Western Conference for the time being and if they do hold on to that position, King James will surely be in the reckoning for another MVP honor, four of which he already owns.
Kawhi Leonard - Los Angeles Clippers
We've all seen the load management jokes, but truth be told, Kawhi Leonard change the dynamics of the league when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. One can easily argue how his efforts in the downfall of the Golden State dynasty and the recruitment of Paul George changed the narrative of the modern NBA.
Despite the knee concerns, and being paired with a more recognizable superstar in Paul George, Kawhi has managed to retain his production from last season, averaging almost 27 points per game. For what it's worth, his mid-range game seems better than ever, and his ball distribution has also improved.
Anthony Davis - Los Angeles Lakers
After years of dejection and disappointment while plying his trade for the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis is finally playing for a contending team and has found a suitable partner to complement his efforts in LeBron James.
While he has still suffered a few niggles here and there, AD has been at the top of his game, averaging 27.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game at the time of writing. So far, he's met the expectations of the Lakers' front office who had to pay a handsome fee to acquire his services.
Davis is behind only LeBron in fan voting for forwards in the Western Conference. Given his scoring prowess and the ability to protect the rim, he looks all set to receive his 7th All-Star selection.
Also read: Predicting the East starters for the NBA All-Star Game 2020 based on latest fan vote returns
Guess the Lakers players!
