Cue the crying Jordan memes. The Swarm Squad is silenced. Queen City has lost its crown. The roster reserves were announced Thursday for the NBA All-Star Game taking place in Cleveland on February 20, 2022, and the Charlotte Hornets were swatted from the NBA’s marquee weekend event.
Trust me. I get it. There are plenty of excuses to go around. The Hornets are a young team. Their record just before the All-Star selections was 28-24 and seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. There were many candidates to choose from at the guard and forward positions. Teammates split each other’s votes. COVID-19. Supply chain issues. I know. I’ve heard all of the reasoning. All of the excuses. But look at the list of who is going to Cleveland!
First Time All-Stars
Four first-time selections in Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors, Ja Morant (voted as a starter) of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors. Congrats to them. Truly. What this tells me though is that the voting was wide open and I sense that there might have been some bias with regards to some of the selections. So we are going to make a case for why LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges should have made the team.
The old adage in NBA circles is if you argue a player onto the All-Star team, take a selected player off of the team. Sure, we can do that. But let’s take it the extra step and make a case against ALL of the NBA Eastern Conference reserves.
The All-Star Case For
LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Ball is having a monster third season in the league. The twenty-year-old is averaging 19.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game. He is one of only two players in the league averaging those numbers and doing it on better than 35 percent three-point shooting. The other player is none other than current NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Ball has come into his own as a point guard this season as the Hornets are on pace to shatter the 33 win ceiling of last year’s team. He has demonstrated poise beyond his years as he leads the team in points, assists, steals, and free throw percentage. His offense is developing layers as well. Ball posted a career-high 38 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics just one day before All-Star reserves were announced.
The All-Star Case For
Miles Bridges
Miles Bridges has been a terror against his NBA opponents this season. The fourth-year forward out of Michigan State is averaging a stellar 19.8 points per game, a 7.2 point increase from last season. Bridges also leads the team in defensive rebounds and minutes played. He is a workhorse in the mold of a P.J. Tucker but with more length and offensive range. As his game gets more versatile, Bridges wears the emotional crown for Charlotte. His body language, effort, and tenacity set the tone for head coach James Borrego’s squad.
Furthermore, he has only missed two of the Hornet’s 53 games this season and leads the team in games played. He is here for you Charlotte and he doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
If there could only be one member of the Charlotte Hornets representing them in the NBA All-Star game, LaMelo Ball would be the favorite. But who should be left off the reserves?
The All-Star Case Against
Jimmy Butler
The number of games played should matter. LaMelo Ball has played 46 games this season. Jimmy Butler has played twelve games less with averages of 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists.
Darius Garland
The numbers say that third-year Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland has a strong case but look at where the All-Star game is being played! Perhaps this is a biased lean towards Cleveland having a team representative during the main event of the All-Star festivities. You would think that having media darling and Akron’s own LeBron James in Cleveland as the Los Angeles Lakers and Western Conference All-Star team captain would be sufficient. Garland is currently injured due to ongoing back issues.
James Harden
Recent reports indicate that James Harden is not interested in playing for Brooklyn any longer. His four-point “effort” in a loss to Sacramento Kings attributed to the Nets losing six straight and dropping to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. You can infer that Harden was no longer enjoying New York as far back as when the season started and he failed to sign an extension with Brooklyn. Should a person with one foot out the door be an NBA All-Star?
Zach Lavine
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Zach Lavine is having a tremendous season for the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls. The grind may be starting to take a toll on him, however, as he has missed multiple games due to knee and back pain and is currently sitting out the second game of back-to-backs. Should Lavine even be considering playing in an exhibition game?
Khris Middleton
Take a look at this comparison.
LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/iT7daDCOjX
— Lonzo Bull Stan ? (32-18) (@skinnysn1per) February 4, 2022
I realized the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship last season, but c’mon. LaMelo Ball compares favorably to Khris Middleton here.
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum is without a doubt a monster player but his numbers across the board are lower than they were last season. With the Nets floundering and the Philadelphia 76ers without All-Star guard Ben Simmons this season, the Celtics should have seized the Atlantic Division but if the season ended today, they would be forced into the NBA’s play-in tournament vying for a spot into the playoffs. Should the Celtic’s mediocrity be rewarded with an All-Star selection or should the Hornet’s exceeding expectations be rewarded?
Fred VanVleet
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/raptors/2021/12/13/raptors-guard-fred-vanvleet-launches-u-of-t-scholarship-for-black-and-indigenous-students/fvv.jpg)
As an all-around player and floor leader, former NBA champion Fred VanVleet is one of my favorite players in the league. There are few holes in his game and even fewer holes in an argument against his All-Star status. With that being said, NBA All-Star is a game of highlight-reel plays, cool shoes, and theatrics. Who wouldn’t want to see this?
Check out who else got snubbed from this year’s NBA All-Star game. Follow me on Twitter for more NBA news and articles. Please also follow Belly Up Sports on Twitter for the latest sports content.
