No Kevin Durant. No Draymond Green.
Next up for the NBA All-Star game: LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray.
NBA release:
By rule, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum – as the Eastern Conference All-Star frontcourt reserve who finished highest in starter voting – will replace Durant in the starting lineup. Ball and Murray will join the pool of reserves to get drafted by LeBron James and Durant.
Several Eastern Conference players could’ve made fairly equal claim to Durant’s spot. Any of Ball, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen or Celtics wing Jaylen Brown would have been a perfectly reasonable choice. Though Ball shouldn’t been have picked because of this reason, his flashy style is a perfect fit for an exhibition like this.
Murray is having the best season so far of anyone in the Western Conference who wasn’t already named an All-Star. But a 40-something-game sample isn’t the best criteria for selecting All-Stars. Anthony Davis is better than Murray. Though Davis…