My 2023-24 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Reserves

My 2023-24 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Reserves

The 2024 NBA All-Star game is creeping ever closer, which means we’re at a fabled point in the NBA calendar: All-Star snub season. In a league where there are probably 40 and perhaps close to 50 players who deserve genuine All-Star consideration, it’s an impossibility to hold a game with just 24 of those players and get it 100% right. Yet, because I’m clearly a masochist, that’s what I’m going to try to do.

Last week, I named my All-Star starters and revealed my full Western Conference roster Sunday. So, now, we head east.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard was voted onto the East roster as a starter, whereas I had Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell. Otherwise, my selections turned out to be chalk. So let’s turn our attention to the reserves.

When selecting these reserves, I have no hard and fast rules. That said, there are some loose tiebreakers. As much as it might be unfair to punish someone for doing their damnedest to lift a flawed roster. Availability is important too. If Player A has performed slightly better than Player B, but in around half the appearances, Player B might just get the nod.

But let’s not sit around talking about rules any longer. Here are my selections for who most deserves to play in the All-Star game in Indianapolis in February.

My Eastern Conference Starters:

B: Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana Pacers (2^nd appearance)

B: Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers (5^th appearance, if selected)

F: Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics (5^th appearance)

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks (8^th appearance)

F: Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers (7^th appearance)

Backcourt Reserves:

Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks (1^st appearance, if selected)

Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers (1^st appearance, if selected)

The toughest choice I faced when selecting my starters in the East was picking one of the Brunson/Maxey/Mitchell trio. Trust me, it was a paper-thin margin. That it went Mitchell’s way is no slight on the seasons that Brunson and Maxey are enjoying.

Simply put, Brunson is the driving force behind what feels like the mot sustainably successful Knicks team in three decades. His possession rate of 43.6 percent trails only Haliburton, Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Whilst his 6.5 assists per game doesn’t bowl you over, the fact that he only turns the ball over 2.5 times a game is remarkable considering the load he carries.

When you can finish like Brunson, though, why not have the ball in his hands? Generously listed at 6-foot-2, Brunson has developed into one of the very best off the dribble 3-point bombers in the NBA. Even more impressive is his ability to finish on the drive. Among players who have played a minimum 1000 minutes on the season, he sports the 8^th worst shot quality, per PBP Stats, yet still boasts a true shooting percentage of an even 60 percent.

The Knicks, in short, are an elite offense with Brunson at the wheel. We haven’t even touched on his kamikaze defense yet. He’s not a stopper, by any means, but is scrappy and hardworking. Many, including me, were skeptical as to whether Brunson would live up to his contract when coming to New York. He’s made a mockery of that. It’s now arguably the best value deal in the entire league.

Meep, Meep! There goes Tyrese Maxey making his defender look like a woebegone coyote, again. The 23-year-old was already on his way to being a star but in his first season as the undisputed lead guard on the Sixers, he’s been even better than advertised. His 25.7 points on 45/37/86 splits, 6.6 assists and a steal only begin to tell the story, though.

The pressure Maxey puts on the hoop has opened up Joel Embiid in a whole new manner, to the point where the big fella is having a historic campaign. Maxey’s scoring and usage are at career highs, yet his turnover rate has gone to a career-low 6.6 percent – an absurd number for someone who handles the rock as much as this guy does. He’s currently on pace to have the lowest recorded turnover rate in NBA history of any player to average 25 points and five assists and it’s not particularly close.

How do you defend Maxey on the pick and roll? You can’t drop: he’ll either drain the three or you’re giving him a runway. Come up to the level and he blows right by you. Trap him? His passing is sharp enough to dissect the double team. Oh, he still might just run straight past your trap, too.

Frontcourt Reserves:

Scottie Barnes – Toronto Raptors (1^st appearance, if selected)

Jarrett Allen – Cleveland Cavaliers (2^nd appearance, if selected)

Jaylen Brown – Boston Celtics (3^rd appearance, if selected)

The Scottie Barnes leap is undeniable. No, he’s not quite the face of the league, but he is starting to fulfill the promise shown as a rookie. The most obvious uptick for Barnes has been his outside shooting. After knocking down a sorry 29 percent of his 2.7 attempts from beyond the arc per game over his first two campaigns, Barnes is now both launching more (5.4 attempts) and connecting more frequently (36.3%). The threat of a Barnes triple, especially off the bounce, has opened up the Raptors’ otherwise moribund offense (some personnel changes may have helped, as well).

His usage has rocketed up by over four percentage points from last season as new coach Darko Rajakovic puts the Raptors’ fate in Barnes’ hands. Defense, though, remains his calling card. Barnes is the only player in the NBA with more than 60 steals and blocks on the season. He might also be the most versatile defender in the entire NBA. Yes, even more so than former teammate OG Anunoby.

I’ve talked about Mitchell stepping up amid the Cavaliers injury crisis, but he’s not alone. Jarrett Allen has been immense, as well. His points, rebounds and steal numbers are comparable to his 2022 All-Star year. But I want to focus on his assist numbers, which have jumped to an even three per game, almost double his previous career high. The Cavs are using Allen as a secondary offensive hub, rather than the traditional vertical spacer that he has been throughout his career.

Knowing that teams will play a deep drop against him, Cleveland is exploiting Allen in the DHO game, where he is giving Max Strus and Sam Merrill some of the easiest looks they’ll have in their NBA lives. Allen’s also improved out of sight as a passer when operating from the elbows where he uses the space afforded him to pick off cutters. Allen’s other major improvement has been in his face-up game. He’s always had a nice baby hook on either hand, a shot that he’s now making off the bounce and on step-throughs, but the big man is making drop coverage hurt by making 56 percent of his shots in the 10-16 ft range, against a career average of 45 percent. Mitchell is reason 1A as to why the snake-bit Cavs haven’t been in freefall. Allen is reason 1B.

The league-leading Celtics clearly deserve a 2^nd All-Star berth and they have a raft of players who could fit the bill. I’ve gone with Jaylen Brown. He looked to be a little lost at the start of the season as he adjusted to a pair of high-profile new teammates and to that end, his usage rate has dropped – not by too much, admittedly – for the first time in his career. The 8^th year forward (where does the time go?) is still putting up solid counting stats, though: 22.6 points on 49/36/72 shooting, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals. He has maintained a true shooting and effective field goal percentage that is right around last season’s level, demonstrating that he has found a way to thrive in this altered environment. A large part of that is Brown leaning into his open-court game and being more active off the ball in the half-court. He’s the C’s 2^nd best player and deserves his spot.

Wildcards

Damian Lillard – Milwaukee Bucks (8^th appearance)

Paolo Banchero – Orlando Magic (1^st appearance, if selected)

So let’s at long last talk about a man who is a confirmed participant in Indianapolis. After a shaky start to his time as a Buck, Dame is still doing Dame stuff, albeit with a usage rate that is at its lowest since 2015. His raw numbers – 25.3 points, 4.3 boards, 6.8 assists and 1.1 steals – are perfectly fine, considering the new ecosystem and the trials and tribulations of his former new head coach. Lillard, though, was acquired to be the Bucks closer and that’s a job he’s carrying out with aplomb. He is 2^nd in the NBA in clutch points to Stephen Curry, leads the league in free throws made in clutch situations (draining them at 95.6 percent, no less), 2^nd in made threes and 6^th in clutch assists. He’s already won a big game at the buzzer, too. Yes, his defense stinks and the Bucks coaching situation is a concern, but overall, the Lillard trade is a positive so far.

With the sincerest of apologies to Miami Heat stalwart Bam Adebayo, we head slightly north to Orlando for my final All-Star. The Magic’s sophomore forward flashed All-Star adjacent form early in his rookie season before fading as the campaign progressed. He has shown across-the-board improvement this time around, upping his scoring, rebounding, assists, steal and block numbers and – importantly – his efficiency. His size, strength and agility make him a tough guard in the restricted area, but Paolo has improved at the other three ranges. Combined with his playmaking, he’s becoming a complete offensive hub, despite the team being almost totally bereft of floor spacers.

At the other end of the floor, Banchero has made strides, too, as he posts a positive Defensive Box Score +/- for the first time. Whilst he’s at his best guarding bigger bodies, Banchero has just enough agility to stay with all but the shiftiest of guards. Orlando has itself a gem, here.

Final cut: Trae Young – Atlanta Hawks, Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat

***

Click Here for more NBA Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop