NBA All-Star reserves

The 2019 National Basketball Association All-Star Game happens in a couple of weeks in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it took further form last week with the naming of the starters for the Midseason Classic.
Named as starters from fan, player and media votes were Giannis Antetoukounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics, Kemba Walker of hosts Charlotte Hornets, Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors, and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
In the Western Conference, voted to start were LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the NBA champions Golden State Warriors, Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and reigning league most valuable player James Harden of the Houston Rockets.
Being the top vote-getters in their respective conferences, Antetoukounmpo and James were named captains of the teams and would get to decide the composition of the rest of their squads in a draft that in the end will result in a mix of players from the two NBA conferences.
With the starters already named, focus now shifts to the All-Star reserves to be voted in by the NBA coaches who cannot vote for their own players. The reserves must be composed of two guards, three frontcourt players and two wildcards.
The names of the All-Star reserves are set to be released on Friday (Manila time).
As has been customary for this space, I would like to share who I think should make it to the reserves list.
In the East, I am picking Ben Simmons (Sixers) and Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) as guards, Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic) in frontcourt, and D’Angelo Russell (Brooklyn Nets) and Pascal Siakam (Raptors) as wildcards.
Simmons, last season’s rookie of the year, makes it as he has been steady for the currently fourth-running Sixers (32-18) with all-around numbers of 16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.2 assist, while Beal, despite the Wizards (21-28) struggling early in the season, has stepped up his game in the absence of backcourt mate John Wall with numbers of 24.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, five assists and 1.4 steals in giving Washington some wind in winning of late.
Griffin, meanwhile, has been a true bright spot for the once-again underwhelming Pistons (21-27) with a career-high 26.5 points to go along with 8.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
Vucevic is having a career year with 20.6 ppg, 12 rpg and 3.8 apg while helping make the Magic (20-30) not to be taken lightly game in and game out.
Leading the East in wins to date, the Bucks (35-13) deserve another All-Star spot which should well go to Middleton (17.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 4.1 apg) who has been a key component in Milwaukee’s solid play. Teammate Eric Bledsoe is also deserving of a spot but I have Middleton eventually getting it.
Russell might not get in had Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo did not get hurt but the Nets guard is nonetheless deserving with norms of 19.2 points and 6.4 assists. He has surely turned things around for Brooklyn (27-23) after a tumultuous time with the Lakers to start his career.
Toronto (37-15) as the second-best team in the East also deserves another All-Star this year, and I am giving it to the highly improved Siakam (15.2 ppg, 7 rpg), who is shaping up to be a solid two-way player.
In the West, my reserves are Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers (guards), Klay Thompson of Golden State, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (frontcourt), and wildcards LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
On solid numbers and team success, Westbrook (21.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 10.7 apg) of the Thunder (31-18), Lillard (26.2 ppg, 6.2 apg) of the Blazers (31-20) and Thompson (21.8 ppg) for West-leading Golden State (35-14) make it.
Davis, meanwhile, has been Davis-like with numbers of 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.7 steals per game for the Pelicans (22-28) and could easily be a starter. Interestingly, this might be his last with New Orleans as he has expressed his desire to be traded and move on.
Jokic, for his part, has made the Nuggets (33-15) a surprise West power this season and is making a strong claim for an All-NBA Team spot with averages of 20.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game.
While their respective teams struggled early on in the season, Aldridge (20.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 1.2 bpg) and Gobert (15 ppg, 12 rpg and 2.2 bpg) have stayed consistent with their game and it has proven to be a boost for the Spurs (29-22) and Jazz (29-22), respectively, who are now making their move up in the conference.
There you have it, my reserves for the 2019 All-Star Game. Excited to see how pinpoint, or way off, my choices are. So who do you got?
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com