The NBA has officially announced the starters for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game for both the Eastern and Western Conference. However, there were some major snubs which include Russell Westbrook, who is averaging a triple-double season.
The Eastern Conference is headlined by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is joined by teammate Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, per NBA.
On the other hand, the Western Conference is led by two Golden State Warriors superstars: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans completes the West starters.
The new voting process imposed this season only counts 50 percent of the fan votes while the other half comes from players and the media. If the old voting process was still in effect, Zaza Pachulia would have started over Davis and Joel Embiid makes it rather than Butler.
According to John Chick of The Score, three deserving players were snubbed by voters. They are Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Westbrook is currently averaging a triple-double halfway through the season. He is also more deserving than Curry, who has regressed with the addition of Durant in Golden State. Nevertheless, he will surely make the All-Star roster as a reserve.
Lowry, on the other hand, is the best point guard in the Eastern Conference at the moment. He lost on to teammate DeMar DeRozan because he scores in bunches. Irving is more popular to fans because he plays for the Cavaliers.
Finally, Thomas is tearing it up and improved his play this season. The Celtics are third in the East because of him. He is also leading the NBA in fourth quarter scoring which shows how clutch the diminutive point guard is.
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