National Basketball Association

Why Russell Westbrook deserves to start in 2017 NBA All-Star Game

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:51 a.m. ET

Fansided, Tamberlyn Richardson/FanSided via Thunderous Intentions

Nov 2, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (right) attempts to foul Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (left) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 85-83. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

First returns of NBA All-Star fan votes have Russell Westbrook pitted in a battle to make the cut as a starter. A statistical comparison of the top 6 vote recipients from each conference offers equally compelling arguments, but logic narrows the choice.

Russell Westbrook will discover Thursday (January 12th) where he ranks in the second round of returns for NBA All-Star fan voting. Following up from my earlier article, the Association has presumably fixed the issue with incorrectly spelled player names. But, will the fixes to include misspelled ballots combined with daily voting be enough to move Westbrook into a starting position?

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Last week when the NBA released the first round of votes, many fans and pundits were shocked, specifically by Westbrook not ranking as a starter. Historically the backcourt has been the most competitive position to win entry to the All-Star Game. The Western Conference in particular has copious guards deserving of an appearance.

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That said, it’s hard to fathom Westbrook not starting given his performance to date. Firstly, it’s been over 50 years since a player averaged a triple-double. Moreover, of all the point guards in a playoff position, Westbrook is the only player without another All-Star caliber player on his team. As much as Thunder fans can appreciate Steven Adams or Victor Oladipo they aren’t close to being in the running for an All-Star selection.

It’s no secret this generation of the NBA could well be deemed “the Point Guard era.” In fact, across both Conferences the four starting backcourt spots offer the greatest intrigue.

Based on the top 6 vote recipients in each conference let’s examine the stats and who is most deserving to claim the starting spots at guard.

First Vote, Backcourt Leaders:

Eastern Conference:

While Kyrie Irving can make a case for himself, he is playing alongside LeBron James, Kevin Love and a loaded Cleveland team. Of Irving’s competition there are players having equal or better seasons and arguably ones who should start ahead of Irving. Isaiah Thomas, John Wall and Kemba Walker all have relevant arguments.

Yet, Toronto Raptors guards DeMar DeRozan and especially Kyle Lowry have the strongest case to don the starting shirt. Lowry specifically, has been hit hard via fans misspelling his name and finds himself ranked 6th.

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Looking at the top 6 Eastern Conference guard vote recipients it seems Kyrie Irving is likely a lock for one of the two starting spots. Presumably the media and players (who make up 50% of the weighted voting will maintain Irving in his current position). Of the other top 5 vote recipient guards

Next: Stats and schedule pinpoint most deserving in East

Oct 30, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (7) drives the ball against Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas (4) defending during the 2nd quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Examining the stats:

I decided to dig into key stats for each of the top 6 vote recipients to determine who has the best argument.

I applied a ranking to the top six guards to determine who has been the best from the key statistical data. For each first place I awarded 1-point, second place received 2 points, and so on through to 6 points for sixth. With that, here’s what the stats tell us:

While the game between the Celtics and Raptors (this evening) won’t determine the best point guard, it may serve to fuel some votes. Then again, the Raptors are road weary.

To that end, I realized yesterday the extent of just how brutal the Raptors road schedule has been. While the other 3 teams who made it to the Conference Finals last season played on Christmas Day, the Raptors were the lone team left off that prestigious list. Worse, their 6 game Western Conference road trip began in Utah and ended with them returning home to play Utah.

This was followed by another road game versus the Bulls. In all, those 7 road games occurred over 16 days and was a mere 12 miles short of 10,000 miles. To put that in perspective the Thunder’s January schedule (which every pundit is saying is the most difficult) will find them traveling 12,000 miles, over 30 days. So, when you factor in the Raptors were missing arguably their top defender (Patrick Patterson) that was a lot of extra weight placed on Kyle Lowry’s shoulders who keyed all 3 road victories.

In the same time frame as Lowry’s Raptors were tasked with that heinous schedule, Thomas’ Celtics played 6 home games and 2 road games versus East teams. Irving meanwhile played his first (yes you read that correctly) game on the west coast this past Sunday in Phoenix. That was the Cavaliers second WC road game. The first was in Memphis, in a game LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie remained in Cleveland.

Now, I know I’m a Toronto native, but for my money the combination of performance, leadership and schedule difficulty has me leaning toward Lowry being the most deserving of the start.

May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the fourth quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors won 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Western Conference:

Looking at the top 6 Western Conference backcourt vote recipients, though Curry and Harden lead, unlike the East there is a 3-way race for the top 2 spots. With Russell Westbrook close in votes this one is far from a lock. When you factor in Westbrook’s name being misspelled, it might be the difference in the votes between himself Harden and Curry.

Though there are arguments for Thompson, Paul and Lillard, there are equal arguments for Conley and George Hill (when healthy). Suffice to say this does feel like a 3-way race for two spots.

Of the other top 6 vote recipient guards

As you can see in the next segment, Steph Curry’s numbers aren’t on par with his previous 2 regular season MVP numbers. Nor are his non-shooting stats as impressive as Russell Westbrook or James Harden.

And while the statistics show an evenly paced race, logic and history punctuate who is the undeniable choice.

Jan 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) hugs Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) after the Rockets defeated the City Thunder at Toyota Center. Rockets won 118 to 116. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Like the Eastern Conference, I pulled key stats, but did not include the team record since the Warriors and Clippers have super teams. And although the Rockets don’t have what is considered typical All-Star talent they definitely are loaded with specialists, especially the three added in free agency. Even Lillard has an All-Star talent worthy teammate in C.J. McCollum.

Examining the stats:

As per the above, here’s what we learn from the numbers:

Adding turnovers to the mix showcases another interesting wrinkle 4 players then become closely grouped: Harden, Westbrook, Thompson and Lillard:

Ultimately, it’s hard to deny the three players at the top don’t warrant the start. However, I’ll be more shocked if the media and players don’t reward what Westbrook is doing .

I’ll leave you with two compelling stats:

Westbrook’s starting lineup features 4 teammates whose average age is 23.4 years. In contrast, Harden (with Nene) has a starting lineup with 4 teammates with an average age of 30.75. Replacing Nene with Capela Harden’s starting 4 have an average age of 27.83.

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Westbrook is averaging his triple double in 34.7 minutes (9.6 minutes less per game) at a pace of 100 (25 possessions less)

However, the most jaw dropping stat comes courtesy of the last player to average a triple-double: Oscar Robertson. When the Big O accomplished the feat in 1962-63, he did so averaging 44.3 minutes per game with a team who played at a pace of 125. Westbrook is averaging his triple double in 34.7 minutes (9.6 minutes less per game) at a pace of 100 (25 possessions less).

Thunder fans have until Monday, January 16th at 11:59 p.m. and remember to add the two l’s in his first name. Or simply visit the Thunder site or our twitter @ThunderousInt and just retweet one of the many tweets with #NBAVOTE in them

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