NBA247365.COM’s All-Star Reserves (Eastern Conference)

Old news, but the All-Star starters were made official last Thursday.  For the East, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard round out the lineup.  This Thursday, seven reserves from each conference will be given the nod based on a poll of the NBA’s head coaches.  I doubt that the NBA will ever change the rules to make it so it’s up to me, but if they’d done it this year these would be the Eastern Conference players making the trip to Orlando.

Guard–Deron Williams: I wanted to give this spot to another Williams… a Williams from my adopted ’11/12 Philadelphia 76ers… Lou Williams… but if I were to do that I’d be going against my own belief that team success is weighted a little bit too heavily in All-Star consideration.  Besides, I sat in my computer chair and watched as D-Will single-handedly dismantled Lou and the 76ers to the tune of 34 points, so…………………… yeah.  Deron is by far the superior player, and just because his third-best teammate is Shelden Williams doesn’t mean he’s no longer an All-Star.

Guard–Joe Johnson: No one (including myself) ever mentions Joe Johnson anymore, but he’s still much more than just a walking dollar sign.  He’s averaging his usual 19 or so PPG for the 5th-place Hawks, and I watched him score 18 points in a dominant fourth-quarter against the Bucks.  Something like 20 points a game and one spectacular quarter… that’s about all it takes to become an Eastern Conference All-Star this season.

Forward–Chris Bosh: Bosh deserved one of the starting forward spots, and he just might get one after all.  Carmelo Anthony is out for a couple weeks, and I assume Bosh would replace him as the starter if he’s unable to go.  If Carmelo sits this one out I think his injury replacement should come from the Western Conference.  As I construct this list I can’t help but notice how thin the talent pool is in the East.

Forward–Paul Pierce: Pierce and the Celtics got off to a really bad start, but as soon as he returned to form the whole team turned it right around.  They’ve gone from 5-9 to 14-10 despite losing Rajon Rondo for an eight-game stretch, and none other than Paul Pierce has been the man behind the recent success.  He’s got his season averages up to 18 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, and the Celtics are yet to win a game without him (0-3).

Center–Roy Hibbert: Hibbert’s got the backup center spot on lockdown.  Al Horford is out for the season, Joakim Noah isn’t doing jack sh!t, and Tyson Chandler plays for the Knicks.  Big Hibbs is doing 14 PPG and 10 RPG, he’s 9th in blocks, he’s on a winning team, etc.  My second choice here would actually be Greg Monroe, who’s doing 16/9 for the six-win Pistons, but I’ve still got Hibbert penciled in as the East’s second-best center for the time being.

Wild Card–Luol Deng: Why do the Chicago Bulls boast the best record in the East?  Well, yes, because they have Derrick Rose… but also because they play defense.  Not only is Deng the best defender on (arguably) the league’s top defensive team, but he’s also become their second-leading scorer in lieu of the disappointing Carlos Boozer.

Wild Card–Kyrie Irving: It was Kyrie Irving or Brandon Jennings getting this spot.  I guess I chose Kyrie ’cause he’s a rookie, he’s got less to work with, and he hit that awesome game-winning bucket to lift the Cavs over the Celtics.  If the Bucks were a .500+ team I probably would’ve rolled with Jennings, but they aren’t.  I suppose you can take your pick here… Irving, Jennings, maybe even the aforementioned Lou Williams… just put your favorite borderline Eastern All-Star here.

Apologies to–No one.