All the coaches in the conference vote on the reserves. You're thinking perhaps of MLB, where the previous pennant winner solely picks the reserves.
LaMarcus Aldridge is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 27 points and 10 rebounds in January.
Hey those numbers are great (like All-NBA great) but the fact is LMA had a pretty nondescript start to the season.
So? When asked to step up after the team lost a 3-time All-Star, he's done so in an amazing manner. Meanwhile, two rookies who don't defend, don't demand double-teams, and don't win games are all the rage. I call this the Fantasization of the NBA, with some EA sports thrown in on the side.
I disagree with the idea that Griffin does not defend. He is a raw rook - and good veterans (like LMA) can take advantage of it - but when Griffin was trying to guard LMA - he did a pretty decent job of trying to hold his position and trying to contest shots. It is not a surprise that LMA had only one alley-oop dunk last night - because both Griffin and Jordan did a good job of establishing position and trying to hold him there - and both are pretty agile to move when he tries to spin on them. Where Griffin has problems with LMA is biting on fakes, help defense and just holding LMA in place when he is backing him up. Griffin is not a good big man defender, but for a rookie - he is not bad at all - and he will get better. Love, on the other hand, is Z-Bo like in his defensive prowess.
So, Good for LMA I guess? But you don't get into the all-star game very often just because of one hot month. If LMA keeps this up for the rest of the year and carries it over into the following season, he's a lock and we'll be talking about possible All-NBA honors and not just an appointment to a silly exhibition game, but his body of work in the first 25 games or so was not all-star caliber and that's part of his resume' that coaches will evaluate.
IMO, I think one of the better statistical arguments in LA's favor can be found at 82games.com, if you look at each player's ON/OFF court figures. The Wolves are 4 points-per-100 better when Love is on the court. Griffin's impact is only 3.6 points-per-100 possessions. Aldridge however--on the season, the Blazers are 15.2 points-per-100 possessions better when he plays than when he sits. For comparison, Lebron James' ON/OFF court figure on the Cavs last year was 15.8. In all reality, LA is having an MVP-level impact on this team's performance.
When Griffin wasn't allowed to hold LMA on an entry pass, LMA abused him in the post. I'm not sure what you were watching, but I was feeling sorry for Griffin in the 3rd quarter last night while he was struggling to defend LMA.
r LMA defends better than any replacement player who enters the game for him. Arguably, the Clips and Wolves are better defensively without Griffin/Love, but the point differential can't offset the plus that those two bring in scoring. Basically, this confirms my opinion that LMA is a complete player, while the younger PFs are primarily offensive players who happen to rebound very well. That said, Griffin, IMO, will be able to improve his defense over time because of his pure athleticism. Love's body type means to me that he'll always struggle with a strong, long player like LMA. At this point, though, both players have had to be moved off of LMA due to LMA destroying them in the paint on offense.
Struggling to contain LMA is absolutely fine as long as he was in place, trying to hold his place and moving his feet on defense. He is a rookie. It is expected that he will be abused by the better post players on single coverage. You look at Love trying to contain LMA in comparison and you see that if he actually is there in place to body him - his footwork is basically non-existent. Nobody claims Griffin is an elite man defender - but for where he is in his development - he is not bad at all.
Isn't that one of those stats that is an indication of how good your teammates are? Obviously those players are playing a big chunk of there teams minutes.
He has a PER of 21 and he plays defense. That's All-Star caliber. LMA doesn't get any PER credit for making Griffin go 6-17 and turning the ball over 5 times, just as Griffin isn't penalized for being part of a defensive effort that allowed LMA to shoot 13-20 and only turn the ball over one time. Blocks and steals only go so far in terms of assessing defense in PER.
Ah. Gotcha. My subsequent post to your initial post in response to Perry the Platypus's post is in agreement.
Where did I ever say LMA doesn't deserve to get in? My only point is that he's the underdog in this three man race for 2 likely spots and part of that is because he's only been playing at an all-star level for about a month. The numbers that Love and Griffin have put up from the start of the season are on a nearly historic level, they are both a feel good story for the league, they both have a ton of buzz and despite their respective team's woeful records there appears to be a certain sentiment around the league that it won't be held against them ... if the various media "experts" are to be believed. Beyond that, does it really matter? Deron Williams missed out on the all-star game several times because the West was stacked with guards and he's clearly one of the top 3 or 4 point guards in the league. I don't think it's completely unreasonable to think that LMA might miss the all-star game, but if he sustains this level of play he might even get an All-NBA nod which would be far more meaningful IMO.
Where did I ever say that your ever said that LMA didn't deserve to get in? I understand your point, and you're more likely correct in reality of making the AS game than me, but my own eyes tell me that LMA is playing at a dominant level and is leading his team to wins, while the other two guys are defensive liabilities (at least against LMA) who mainly get their stats via exceptional rebounding. Seeing Blake Griffin frantically go after the rebound on Randy Foye's meaningless (and stupid, considering Wesley took a turnover to run out the 24-second clock) 3 pointer at the buzzer last night left a bad taste in my mouth. Everybody is standing around, yet Griffin crashes the board looking for a garbage time stat. Luckily, Batum was standing right where the ball went and got the board. Stuff like that makes me wonder about his priorities.
I honestly do not think Blake even cares about the stat - it's probably ingrained in his brain to go after a rebound the way a puppy chases a leaf blowing in the wind. That's just how he is wired, imho. It will probably take him a year or two to get in tune with paying attention to the fact it's the end of the game etc... Honestly - Foye shooting the damn ball left a much bigger bad taste in my mouth than Blake going for the rebound.
