My 2022 NBA All-Star Picks

 Hello readers!

I scoured through Basketball-Reference, through stats amongst league leaders, various teams, and the NBA standings to determine who I would pick as the starters and reserves for this year's 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

Here is who I picked as the starters for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

My 2022 All-Star Ballot in terms of who I voted for today.
(Photo: NBA.com)

In the East, I decided to pick DeMar DeRozan and James Harden as guards in the backcourt.  I went with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant easily as two of my frontcourt starters in the East, and then I decided who I was going to pick for the third.  Both Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler have very good cases to be starters in the East, and in a traditional lineup sense, Embiid would normally be the pick, and most likely, he'll probably be named an All-Star starter by the consensus of fans, players, and media.  I decided to reward Jimmy Butler for his efforts in leading Miami to a strong record this year, and his scoring, defense, playmaking skills, and athleticism would be a good and fun fit to see him play in this lineup, especially with Giannis operating as the point center in the open court.

In the West, I decided to pick Stephen Curry and Ja Morant as the guards in the backcourt.  I went back and forth in terms if I should pick Ja Morant or Luka Doncic for the second guard spot, but I feel that Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies are playing really well, and because Doncic only counted as a backcourt player, it was either Morant or Doncic for the second guard spot for me, and I decided to vote for Ja Morant to reward his and his team's strong play this season.  

I voted for LeBron James and Nikola Jokic, and because Doncic wasn't available as a frontcourt player option, that left a spot open for me to vote for.  There weren't many options, because both Kawhi and Paul George are injured, and so is Anthony Davis, though I'm not sure if I would put Davis on the team if he weren't this season, as his offensive production has been lagging a bit this year.  I then chose to vote for Karl-Anthony Towns, because he's been having a very good season, and Minnesota Timberwolves have far outpaced everyone's expectations, well...with the exception of the diehard Timberwolves' fans, of course.  But definitely, Towns has been playing very well, and his team has won far more games than expected, so I decided to vote for him to get the last frontcourt spot in the West.

For the Eastern Conference Reserves, my picks would be:

G Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

G Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

F Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks

F Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

G Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
G Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers

There were others I considered to be my reserve picks for the East, and I heavily considered both Charlotte Hornets' guard, LaMelo Ball and Milwaukee Bucks' guard, Jrue Holiday, and there were others that I considered such as Boston Celtics' forward, Jayson Tatum and New York Knicks' forward Julius Randle.  I also contemplated if Cleveland Cavaliers' centers, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen or Miami Heat's guard, Kyle Lowry would be the most deserving to get a spot in this year's All-Star game.

After looking at all the information for the last two spots, I feel that Fred VanVleet and Darius Garland have been having very good seasons, and that they both should be rewarded for their efforts by getting a trip to the All-Star game.  We'll see what happens when they announce the reserve picks, so that should be interesting.

For the Western Conference Reserves, my picks would be:
G Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
G Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
G Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
G Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
C Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
G Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
F Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

I also contemplated the idea of finding a way to put Phoenix Suns' center, DeAndre Ayton on who I'd pick to make my Western Conference All-Star team, but Rudy Gobert has also played well, rates very well in the advanced metrics, and his team is also playing very good basketball, too.  I also decided to reward Draymond Green for his sterling defensive play, and for being a team leader on the Warriors, and his ability to guard opponents 1 through 5 on the court along with his superb ability to run the point are tremendous assets.  Also, I decided to pick Anthony Edwards to make my All-Star team, because he's playing very well, and he's helped lead Minnesota to far more wins than expected this year.

That's all for now.  Hope you had fun reading this.  Also, feel free to make your picks!  There's still time to vote on NBA.com and to sign up for that if that is what you want to do.  Thanks for reading.