Carmelo Anthony doesn’t appear to be a favorite of George Karl’s anymore.
Not to say he ever was. He could have been. If he was, forcing his way off the Denver Nuggets and onto the New York Knicks is a good way to ensure he never would be again.
Anyhow, Karl, a veteran NBA coach inexplicably out of work at the moment, named his NBA All-Star starting five Sunday night. Among the changes he would have made were starting Joakim Noah in the Eastern Conference’s frontcourt over ‘Melo, and starting LaMarcus Aldridge in the Western Conference’s frontcourt over Kevin Love. There were other alterations he would have made, too.
Here are Karl’s thoughts on the East’s starting five, which was posted by A. Lopez on the official George Karl Foundation’s website:
East Frontcourt
Fan selections: LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony.
My choices: James, George, Joakim Noah.
Without question, LeBron and Paul George are two of the top 10 players in basketball. Just because of that, I think they deserve to be on the court. I’d start Noah at center. He’s a non-stat guy who brings winning to it because of his energy and his defense.
East Backcourt
Fan selections: Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving
My choices: Wade, John Wall.
I think Wade’s body’s coming around a little bit. I was watching him one night and he took some good falls without wincing. He still has courage to take the big shot. Miami’s whole game plan is to keep him healthy.
At point guard, I like Kyle Lowry because of his toughness, but I’d probably go with Wall because it’s an All-Star game. He still takes too many jump shots for me because I think he can get by his guy every time.
Turns out Coach Karl would have Irving with Wall, which seems slightly curious now, after the former won All-Star MVP, than it did before tip-off. That was in addition to having Noah start over Anthony, which I’m not sure I agree with.
Looking beyond Anthony’s record-breaking eight three-pointers Sunday night, and Noah’s brilliant campaign, I’m not sure how you go with the latter in this new format. If Karl was an old-school guy who advocated the inclusion of a center in every frontcourt, then I understand. But clearly he doesn’t.
Look at his picks for the Western Conference’s starting five:
West Frontcourt
Fan selections: Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love
My choices: Durant, Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge
I’m okay with Griffin and Durant. I think Durant’s the MVP. LeBron’s the better player but Durant might be more valuable to his team at this moment. I’d also take Aldridge over Love, partly because Portland deserves a starter based on what they’ve done this season.
As for Griffin, he’s becoming that next-tier player. Before, he was an All-Star player you weren’t afraid of. Now the guy can go out and kick your ass, and he’s playing a style of game that’s hard to defend. He’s running the court, He’s playing the high-low game and the pick-and-roll game. He still gets his lobs and he’s making the jump shot. He’s doing three or four things he wasn’t doing last year.
West Backcourt
Fan selections: Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry
My choices: James Harden, Chris Paul.
West coach Scotty Brooks got this one right by naming Harden as Kobe’s replacement. I don’t particularly like Harden’s game, but he can score. He’s a machine. He just doesn’t play hard enough for me. He has a coolness about him that bothers me. I’m also not a big Chris Paul guy, but I think he can control Harden and the ego of the game. He’ll try to orchestrate.
Notice how Aldridge, Durant and Griffin would all be starting next to one another, something that’s noteworthy only because of Noah’s inclusion above. Love’s exclusion is a doozy too, but in Karl’s defense, the Western Conference is laden with talented wings and Aldridge is having a career season.
The backcourt is something you cannot really gripe about, either. Kobe is injured, so removing him from the equation like the NBA inevitably did makes sense. Despite being injured for over a month, Paul has also been sensational, so rolling with him over Curry isn’t egregious.
For some, this isn’t really news. For me, it’s always interesting to see how coaches—especially those as distinguished as Karl—would approach the All-Star game.
Among fans, it’s become a popularity contest. There’s no defense to the contrary anymore, otherwise Bryant and to a lesser extent, Wade wouldn’t have been selected this year. For coaches and people on the business side of things, you typically look at who is most deserving.
Karl is no different, and it’s transparent and refreshing and awesome that he releases his picks every year. They’re especially fun to analyze in hindsight, like we are now.
Do you disagree with his starting five? Did you disagree with Sunday’s starters? Which 10 players would you have started in the All-Star game?
Let us know. We’re genuinely interested. Plus, we don’t bite if you disagree with us. That’s always a good thing, right?
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
