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With every All-Star game, there are the players who didn’t make it in but probably deserved it more than some who did. This season, it seems that Anthony Davis, Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka have the most to gripe about when it comes to being left out.
They are not the only ones, with Lance Stephenson, Arron Afflalo and DeMarcus Cousins having a very strong very first half to the season but bot getting the votes or the faith of the head coaches on either conference team to make it in. Things might change for Davis however because of Kobe Bryant’s injury.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors – A big reason for why the Toronto Raptors have been so successful (surprisingly at 25-22) this season has been the play of their point guard, Kyle Lowry. Maybe it’s because his contract season, or simply the crew assembled in Toronto, but Lowry’s 16.8 points with 7.6 assists per game seem like a good enough reason to put him inside the Eastern team instead of someone like Joe Johnson.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – Davis is only in his second season but his numbers scream superstar, even if it is while playing for a team that won’t be in the playoffs. Davis averaged 20.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game through his first 38 games of the season and is looking like a proper number one pick, compared to last season especially.
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings – Cousins keeps improving his number even though the Kings continue to disappoint with their lack of consistency and what seems to be a lack of on-court discipline as well. He’s averaging 22.6 points and 11.8 rebounds, which might mean it’s even more deserving than Dwight Howard.
Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers – The triple double king of the NBA has become a much more consistent and productive member of the Pacers lineup, averaging 14.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season. His numbers might have been impressive, but they weren’t enough to get past Johnson and DeRozan for a spot on the bench.
Arron Afflalo, Orlando Magic – Another player having something of a career-year on a rotten team that’s going nowhere. Afflalo is averaging 20 points per game despite not having too much talent to play with and the constant trading rumors, but it wasn’t enough to get him an All-Star spot.
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder – Ibaka isn’t scoring with the numbers other Western power forwards are, but he’s averaging 14.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.8% from the field, looking even better during the impressive winning stretch by the Oklahoma City Thunder that lasted until this weekend.