NBA All-Star reserves: Who's the biggest snub?
This week, the All-Star reserves list was officially announced with some stellar names. Headlining the West reserves is 4-time champion Stephen Curry who is still playing at a superstar level in his 15th NBA season. In the East, we have a couple young stars making their first All-Star appearances in Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, and Paolo Banchero. Though their is tremendous talent on both sides their were various players who were surprisingly snubbed.
Starting in the East, Trae Young is a player who can be considered an All-Star snub almost every year of his six year career. Young has averaged at least 25 points and 9 assists in five of his six NBA Seasons and is currently averaging 27.3 points and 10.9 assists. Other snubs include Jarrett Allen, Scottie Barnes, and Derrick White. Still, among all the snubbed players there is arguably no greater snub than Kings Superstar De'Aaron Fox who is having another career season. Fox is averaging a career high in scoring with 27.5 points per game while leading the Kings to the fifth best record in the west. This goes to show how incredible the guard play is in the West with a player of Fox's caliber getting snubbed after making the team last year.
After another Embiid injury, where do the Sixers go from here?
Joel Embiid's incredible season as the reigning MVP has hit a rough patch as he is now sidelined indefinitely with a meniscus injury. With Embiid out for what is expected to be an extended period of time he will soon officially be out of the MVP race due to the NBA 65 games rule for players to receive awards and All-NBA honors. The impact of the Embiid injury will have a tremendous impact on the MVP award race but an even greater impact on the Sixers championship aspirations.
The Sixers are a far different team without Embiid in the lineup as they have won just 4 games out of the 14 games he has missed this season. Fortunately, they still have Tyrese Maxey who has emerged as a first time All-Star and centerpiece of the franchise alongside Embiid. Still, Embiid's absences has affected the Eastern Conference standings have recently dropped from 3rd to 5th in the standings. The longer Embiid is out the Sixers are likely to continue to slide but could be a dangerous lower seeded team when he makes a return later in the season. This latest injury may also force the Sixers to make a move at the deadline to improve the roster while Embiid is out.
Should Jalen Brunson be considered an MVP candidate?
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has been a force this season leading New York to the third best record in the East while also arguably playing the best basketball of any guard in the East. Brunson is averaging career highs in points and assists with 27.3 points and 6.5 assists per game and has scored 25 or more in 5 straight games. The superstar caliber play of Brunson is not only leading the Knicks to a lot of wins and has them looking like a contender but is also pushing his name into the MVP conversation. Especially with Embiid likely to miss the required 65 games to be considered for the award Brunson is a player who at least deserves consideration. Brunson can easily add to his MVP case if he continues to play at a high level and keeps the Knicks winning while his All-Star teammate Julius Randle is out for the next couple weeks with a shoulder injury.
Game of the week- On the road against a young talented team in the Jazz and without their superstar the Sixers were led by their first time All-Star in Tyrese Maxey. Maxey returned from a three game absence and dropped a career-high 51 points to lead the Sixers to the 127-124 win.
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