Breaking down our official starters ballot for Indianapolis, plus bench picks for the East and West rostersItof eye test evaluation and statistical analysis, finished with a dash of intuition and personal taste. (To a certain extent, every team is subjective.) Winning is important, but it’s not everything. Since we’re evaluating individual performance, there are instances in which it doesn’t make sense to penalize a standout player for trying his hardest to improve a subpar team. However, in a competitive environment, commendable achievements that are intangible deserve acknowledgment. When it comes to overall minutes, a player’s missing games serve mostly as a tiebreaker between two resumes that are too similar to separate.
Now that those requirements are met, and with the NBA scheduled to announce the players for the All-Star Game on Thursday, these are the players, including the ten starters who were on my official ballot, that I believe should travel to Indianapolis the next month.
It’s difficult to compare Haliburton’s thrilling season to any previous one. The 23-year-old is in charge of leading an offensive style that uses hydraulic force that has never been seen in the NBA. When Haliburton is in the game, Indiana’s offensive rating is 125.3 thanks to his 23.6 points and a league-high 12.6 assists per contest. No other player with at least 20 appearances is ranked higher than that
It should come as no surprise that Haliburton leads the league in offensive projected plus-minus. If Nikola Jokic were nonexistent, he would be the clear choice for the question, “Who most allows his teammates to be the best version of themselves?”Anyone who wasn’t following the Pacers was won over by Haliburton’s in-season tournament run. After leading Indiana to the championship, he most likely solidified his place in the starting lineup for the All-Star Game. A few weeks later, he turned up a couple of 20-point, 20-assist outings, and the term “probably” vanished from the previous phrase. The playwriting is lively. He may not have led the NBA in assists per game by a wide margin, but his shooting is good enough to guarantee All-Star candidacy. To put that in perspective, Haliburton attempts and makes more off-the-dribble three-pointers per game than Steph Curry, accounting for 39.1 percent of his total. If you attempt to remove such setbacks, he will blow you off and cash in on a floater. An almost flawless
It’s quite tough to choose the other starting backcourt position. There are valid arguments to be made for Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, and Damian Lillard. In somewhat diverse circumstances, all are enjoying seasons that are comparatively fruitful. I chose Brunson because he has been further solidifying his role as an effective, nimble, and reliable first option on a team that plays at a top-five level when he is on the court over the first few months of this season.
It’s quite tough to choose the other starting backcourt position. There are valid arguments to be made for Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, and Damian Lillard. In somewhat diverse circumstances, all are enjoying seasons that are comparatively fruitful. I chose Brunson because he has been further solidifying his role as an effective, nimble, and reliable first option on a team that plays at a top-five level when he is on the court over the first few months of this season.
Brunson has a great deal of responsibility. With an on-ball percentage of 43.2 percent, he ranks only behind Luka Doncic, Young, and Haliburton in terms of the amount of time he spends with the ball in his hands when playing on the court.
In addition to running a lot of pick-and-roll plays and making a career-high 42.7 percent of his 3-pointers, he also engages in off-ball play and attempts a career-high 6.7 three-pointers per game. Although Brunson’s strength is not defense, he deliberately puts himself in danger more than anyone, earning a league-high 23 charges.
Although Brunson was doing a lot of this last season, this year’s highs seem even more intense. Compared to just 17 points in all of last season, he has already scored at least 30 points in 15 games. It also appears to be more difficult when playing against teams who are solely focused on slowing Brunson down. He knows the answers to all of your questions with the ideal balance of acceleration and patience. Examine the following play versus Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, a disruptive defensive pair who thrives on vacuum sealing every pick-and-roll:
Brunson brilliantly balances the two defenders. The first dribble handoff is cut off by McDaniels, at which point the Wolves attempt to force Brunson to the sideline and direct him toward Gobert. Using Isaiah Hartenstein’s pick and, very slightly, pushing McDaniels back, Brunson refuses to participate, allowing enough space for a rescreen to remove the All-Defensive team contender from the play. From there, Minnesota “forces” a shot that it is happy with 99 times out of 100 when Gobert is almost knocked down by a deft in-and-out dribble executed with his dominant hand as he moves downhill. But Brunson is the anomaly.
What makes New York’s finest player unique are these subtle skirmishes that take place within the game. All of that effort is simply intended to take—and make—a very challenging floater against the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year. It’s very beautiful. When taken as a whole, Brunson’s career year justifies New York’s two-year deal offer to him. He is now the best value in the NBA as a result.
Let’s just group these three together as there isn’t much to say about them. These superstars, who have all been named All-NBA several times, have all done an outstanding job of adjusting to significant changes inside their respective organizations. Despite not having James Harden anymore, Embiid is still better than he was when the leader in assists from the previous campaign gave him easy baskets. Giannis is attempting to replace Jrue Holiday’s defense by forging an offensive connection with Lillard. Tatum was forced to reduce his usage and shots on a redesigned roster that requires giving up things. They’re all deserving of MVP awards. Everyone is radiant from both ends. They’re all on the short list of players who can lead a championship squad.
The court is scorched beneath Maxey’s boots whether he’s curling off a wide pindown, driving a closeout, floating in transition, or refusing a screen. Almost every person in this article may be best described as “unguardable.” In a lot of respects, it’s more than appropriate with Maxey. One of the league’s fastest players, he constantly moves and uses Philly’s spacing to put pressure on all five defenders. For this reason, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse plays him 37.6 minutes a game, which is a league-high.
Maxey’s 3-point shooting has decreased from the previous season, but teams are still rattled by his outside shooting. Regardless of whether Embiid is on the court, it is too chaotic to neutralize. Bigs stepping out to squeeze Maxey on the edge makes it look like someone using chopsticks to pursue a butterfly. Additionally, drop coverage isn’t a practical remedy. Prior to the start of this season, Maxey was excellent. He’s a true star now, on his way to winning Most Improved Player, practically without a doubt.
Mitchell is also an obvious pick; he produces exactly the same results as he did the previous season, without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley for half of it. There are just seven players who either have better usage rates or higher average points. He ranks 11th in PER and second in steals. In many respects, James has also saved the Cavaliers from what could have been a disastrous season, as trade whispers abound.
An offensive leap is undeniable. After averaging 15 points in his first two seasons, Barnes is up to 20 this season, with a refined and confident 3-point shot, in a system that takes advantage of his unteachable intuition. His true usage percentage is up nearly 5 percentage points, which is one of the biggest increases in the league. If Barnes ever becomes a top-10 player, he’ll be one of the selfless variety, content with touch passing his teammates into advantages that benefit the whole:
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