Russell Westbrook Tops List of 14 All-Star Reserves Chosen by Coaches
Russell Westbrook Tops List of 14 All-Star Reserves Chosen by Coaches:- Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are teammates again. Gordon Hayward, DeAndre Jordan and Kemba Walker are about to make their first appearances on the All-Star stage.
Conversely, Dwyane Wade’s run of 12 straight selections in the N.B.A.’s midseason showcase is on the cusp of ending.
Oklahoma City’s Westbrook — the N.B.A.’s scoring leader and a triple-double machine — was among 14 reserves selected by the league’s coaches for the All-Star Game, to be played in New Orleans on Feb. 19. Westbrook, the two-time reigning All-Star most valuable player, entered Thursday averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
“There’s no question in my mind that he should be starting,” Thunder Coach Billy Donovan said Thursday night. “However, I understand that there’s certain things that have to do with who does start.”
The selection will reunite Westbrook on the Western Conference squad with his former teammate Durant, now with Golden State. Westbrook said this month that the two were no longer speaking.
The Warriors tied the league mark with four selections, with the reserves Draymond Green and Klay Thompson joining Durant and Stephen Curry, already announced as starters. Other West reserves include Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol of Memphis and the first-timers Hayward of Utah and Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Bout time!!! Congrats big fella!!” Clippers guard Chris Paul tweeted about Jordan, who entered Thursday as the N.B.A.’s rebounding leader.
The Eastern Conference reserves are Indiana’s Paul George, Cleveland’s Kevin Love, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Washington’s John Wall and Charlotte’s Walker.
George said the selection “means everything” to him.
“Hopefully I’m doing things the right way,” George said. “Hopefully I’m playing this game the right way.”
Wade, the former Miami star in his first year with Chicago, would have been a starter under the old formula that took only fan voting into account for the opening five, but he did not qualify under a revised system that also took into account votes from players and a news media panel.
Some, including Coach Steve Kerr of Golden State, who will lead the West squad, said players had made a “mockery” of the process by wasting votes.
On TNT, which announced the selections, Wall said, “I just tried to keep it honest.”
He added, “Some players didn’t pick for the right people.”
Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid would also have started in the former system but, like Wade, were shut out of the selections. “Once again the popular vote didn’t matter,” Embiid wrote on Twitter.
The East starters, announced last week, are Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Cleveland’s LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The West starters are Curry, Durant, Houston’s James Harden, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis of host New Orleans.
Source:- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/sports/basketball/nba-all-star-game-russell-westbrook-kevin-durant.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
