By George Efkarpides / info@eurohoops.net
First things first. The NBA has decided to shake things up this year and instead of a typical East vs West matchup, the two vote-leaders from each conference will get to pick their players and go against each other.
The popularity of the All-Star game has been decreasing year by year and the NBA is looking for ways to improve a product that can increase revenues significantly.
The main issue was that players weren’t competing against each other and the high-scoring games weren’t necessarily “fun” for the fans.
The Eastern Conference All-Star reserves were announced last night, and Goran Dragic was not included.
Usually, coaches and players use a team’s record as well as the player’s individual stats to determine whether or not someone should be an All-Star.
Goran Dragic’s Miami Heat currently sit at the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 27-20.
After leading Slovenia to its first ever EuroBasket championship, “The Dragon” is averaging 17.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists. His goal is obvious, to take the Heat deep into the playoffs again.
While it was widely assumed throughout the league that the Miami Heat should at least have one representation at the All-Star game (Whiteside or Dragic) the NBA proved what is known to everyone.
The All-Star game is not about the players who deserve to be there. It is also a popularity contest.
Even though John Wall’s numbers look better on paper, the Wizards are having a “down year”so far and didn’t deserve two All-Stars.
The same could be argued about Kyle Lowry.
Even though both of the aforementioned point-guards have certainly earned their respect as All-Stars throughout their years in the NBA, they have not displayed that on the court this year.
Goran Dragic’s “biggest flaw” was that he is not playing for a big market. Even though Kristaps Porzingis’ New York Knicks have a losing record, he gets the respect he deserves because he’s playing in the Big Apple.
Had Dragic been playing in New York, Chicago or Philadelphia he would have most likely made it this year.
And he is not the only example.
Andre Drummond is averaging 14.3 points, 15 rebounds and 3.9 assists. The only other players to put up such numbers in a full season are Jerry Lucas, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He should have been an All-Star but he paid the price of playing for a small market team, the Detroit Pistons.
While it’s unknown if the “Team LeBron” vs “Team Curry” experiment will succeed the NBA might also reconsider the way All-Stars are chosen next year.