Picking the 2013 NBA All-Star reserves

The 2013 All-Star starters have already been drafted by the fans. Now the coaches get to choose 7 reserves from each conference. The reserves consist of 2 backcourt players, 3 frontcourt players, and 2 wild cards (from any position). The reserves will be announced Thursday (January 24th, 2013). These are my picks for the reserves:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Backcourt: Kyrie Irving and Deron Williams

The Eastern Conference backcourt is not gaining much interest because of the loss of Derrick Rose, but hopefully that isn’t the case next year. Kyrie Irving is having a fantastic sophomore season and has blossomed into a premiere player in this year and an elite point guard. Jrue Holiday is definitely deserving of an All-Star look but Deron Williams is still a top 10 point guard in the league and despite an average year, I will still take Deron Williams over the majority of the point guards in the NBA any day.

Frontcourt: Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler, and Paul Pierce

There will be a lot of defense in the Eastern Conference All-Star team this season with the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Tyson Chandler and the defensive minded Joakim Noah, who honestly should have been an All-Star last year over Roy Hibbert. Joakim Noah has been the heart of the Chicago Bulls for some time now and with the injury of their MVP, Derrick Rose, he has often been their best player. Joakim is the best passing big man in the NBA, averaging just under 5 assists a game. Tyson Chandler is the defensive anchor of the New York Knicks because whatever his teammates lack in defense he hides by not allowing much opposition scoring in the paint and as he teammates live behind the 3-point line he grabs whatever shots they miss and gives them a new position all on his own.

Paul Pierce has not had his best season this year by far but every off-season every analysts in the world of sports says the Celtics window is closing and that father time is knocking at Paul Pierce’s door but Paul Pierce has yet to  answer as the savvy veteran continues to average about 19 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds. Despite the Celtics’ roller-coaster 2013 season no team in the Eastern Conference wants to face them 7 times in April and Paul Pierce is a big reason why.

Wildcards: Luol Deng and Paul George

Two of the best defensive small forwards in the NBA after LeBron James are Paul George and Luol Deng. Luol Deng is a 9 year veteran and the anchor of his team. This would be Deng’s 2nd All-Star appearance and it would be well deserved . With Derrick Rose out Luol Deng as stepped up as the Bulls’ go to player to give them a offensive push especially in the 4th quarter, Deng has took on that new role while still managing his own role as the 40+ minutes a night player who has to guard the opposition’s best player.

Like Deng, Paul George has had to step up due to the injury of his teams “star”, Danny Granger. Paul George really made a name for himself last year in the dunk contest and his explosive plays throughout the 2011-2012 season. Paul George is a big reason why his Indiana Pacers are statistically the best defensive team in the NBA.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Backcourt: Russell Westbrook and James Harden

I must admit I have never been a Russell Westbrook fan and I doubt I ever will because every time I watch him play I find myself screaming at the television “PASS THE BALL!” but I digress. Since the departure of James Harden, Russell has been much more productive and less erratic. It seems at times in the past that he was trying to do to much on the court to prevent Scottie Brooks having to bring James Harden from off of the bench to be the ball handler. Russell Westbrook is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body and James Harden is a point guard in a swingman’s body, so together it seemed to be a perfect fit but nevertheless apart the Thunder haven’t seemed to have lost a step and James Harden has uplifted the Rockets from just missing the playoffs to being somewhat of a contender.

Westbrook has definitely matured with his bigger role in Oklahoma City and as played like a superstar all season long. James Harden has proven that he is much more than a 6th man and can be the leader of a team. I b et these guys will be ecstatic to be teammates again.

Frontcourt: Tim Duncan, Zach Randolph, and Serge Ibaka

Tim Duncan, Tim Duncan, Tim Duncan, this man should be the entire frontcourt for the Western Conference but that is not allowed, so I will give credit to others also but Timmy has been balling! This man has aged really at all but I guess you don’t need to age when you have had an old man’s game forever. He is average 18 points and 10 rebounds even though his coach is persistent on sitting him every once and awhile.

Zach Randolph has been consistent his entire career and it is a disgrace that he has averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in 5 seasons but only being an All-Star once. It is only right that Zach is named an All-Star, he has been one of the most feared bigs to face in the Western Conference for the last couple years.

Serge Ibaka does not stuff the stat sheet whatsoever but his offense has improved since his previous years and opponents are scared to go into the paint solely because of the risk of their shot being block by Ibaka. Defense is not rewarded enough in this league and players like Serge Ibaka should not be put to the side because of lack of flashy numbers. What Serge does on the court speaks for itself, people need to watch him play instead of just reading his statistics.

Wildcards: Stephen Curry and Kenneth Faried

Stephen Curry is finally here people! Let’s reward him just for finally living up to his potential for a lengthy period of time. No but seriously this guy is having a damn good season, I’m not sure if it’s because he doesn’t have to split the ball in half with Monta Ellis anymore or if it’s just because he has matured and has been healthy but Stephen Curry is in beast mode right now. He has posted career highs in almost every statistical category but even better than that he is leading his team into contention in the Western Conference.

Kenneth Faried is very overlooked, this guy is a beast! He is the only small forward in the top 15 in rebounding (he’s 11th by averaging 9.9 rebounds). He is a Ben Wallace/Dennis Rodman type of player, meaning he’ll almost give a limb for a rebound. He gives his all on every play, every night, and he deserves praise for that and an All-Star game appearance would be just. The Denver Nuggets roster is filled with grind-it-out players, nothing flashy about them but for them to be 25-18 and contenders in the Western Conference they deserve to be represented in the All-Star game and who better to represent them than Faried?

My NBA Finals prediction

This finals series might have the best one-on-one match-up since Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson in the 80’s. LeBron James versus Kevin Durant is definitely the main attraction heading into these finals with them being the two best players in the NBA. One 23 year old 3-time scoring champ against a 28 year old 3-time MVP both fighting to win their first NBA championship. Match-up wise this should be a great series with Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, Serge Ibaka, Chis Bosh, & James Harden filling the bill.

When Chris Bosh got injured in the first game of the second round against the Indiana Pacers the Miami Heat began to look average and beatable but ever since then LeBron James has proven why he’s a 3-time MVP and a future Hall-Of-Famer by averaging 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Down 3-2 to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James finally got some assistance from the other 2 members of the Miami Heat’s Big Three with the return of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade finally make contributions. In game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals the Big Three of the Heat combined for 73 points and ended the game scoring the Heat’s last 29 points, if they can take that execution and precision to the NBA Finals I would not be surprised to see them win the franchises second NBA title.

After sweeping the Dallas Mavericks and dominating the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games the Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves in danger of losing in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs by being down 2-0 but the 3-time scoring champion; Kevin Durant, decided to takeover the series with a few Jordan-like performances and he carried his team to 4 straight wins en-route to the franchise first NBA Finals series since moving from Seattle to OKC. With the Thunder losing game 2 to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals after their Big Three (Durant, Westbrook, & Harden) scored 88 points the role players knew it was time for them to step up & contribute and they did so with Thabo Sefolosha having a 19 point game, Serge Ibaka have a 26 point game, and Kendrick Perkins having  a 15 point game.

I think this will be a 7 game series in favor of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Although I believe the Thunder has better role players and is a deeper team the true reason why I chose them is because of their home court advantage and that they are still undefeated at home in the playoffs. The  Miami Heat’s only chance of winning this series is to beat the Thunder on their home court and I don’t believe they can.

What team has the best trio in the NBA?

Trios have dominated the league for a long time from the Los Angeles Lakers with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy to the Boston Celtics with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, to the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Between those three trios there are 11 championships. After Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman won their third championship together in 1998 we did not see another trio until 2003 when the San Antonio Spurs won their first championship with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker together; with the assistance of David Robinson. The San Antonio Spurs have the winningest trio in the NBA with 3 championships, Tim Duncan as 4 altogether.

In 2007 the Boston Celtics brought aboard Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce to form their “Big Three”. Immediately after coming together Boston’s “Big Three” won a championship and dominated the Eastern Conference for three years. In 2010 the Miami Heat formed a “Big Three” with easily the most star power of any trio in NBA history but what this Miami Heat organization forgot was to surround their trio with role players. The reasons why the Miami Heat go through so many lows is because they rely on their stars too much. If the Boston trio is having an off day they have Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass, and Mickael Pietrus to help. When LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh have an off day they cannot rely on Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, or Shane Battier because they are not involved in the offense as much as the Celtics’ role players.

There are a couple of other dominate trios in the NBA who are championship contenders including the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Lakers. After years of being a struggling franchise as the Seattle SuperSonics and moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder struck gold by in 3 consecutive years drafting Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. Even though James Harden comes off the bench this trio is capable of combining for 90+ points on any given night. After the departure of Shaquille O’Neal the Los Angeles Lakers went 4 years with a very sub-par roster besides Kobe Bryant. In the midst of the Los Angeles Lakers championship drought they drafted then 17 year old Andrew Bynum as the 10th overall pick. In 2008 the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for a draft pick. After 4 years together together this trio won 2 championships in three NBA finals appearances.

The Boston Celtic trio has father time knocking at their door with Kevin Garnett being 35 years old, Ray Allen being 36 years old, and Paul Pierce being 34 years old. Also, the Boston Celtics bench has thinned a great deal since 2008. The San Antonio Spurs trio has also aged but the organization has done a great job managing their minutes and surrounding them with young, athletic role players. If I had to choose which trio would win a championship this year I would choose the Los Angeles Lakers, they have two dominating bigs, their depth is decent enough to allow the starters a breather, and on top of that they have the best player in the NBA. If the Los Angeles Lakers do not win it all they will make it hard for whoever beats them.