My 2023-24 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Starters
The 2023-24 NBA All-Star game is under a month away and with the fan voting period closing shortly, we’ve got a reasonable idea as to who might start the game, due to be held in Indianapolis on Feb. 18th.
The fan vote closing off has prompted me to put forward my All-Star (imaginary) ballot, starting with the Eastern Conference starters. I’ll reveal my Western Conference starters tomorrow with the reserves to come next week.
A reminder that the All-Star starters are comprised of a pair of backcourt players and three frontcourt players. Now let’s go build an All-Star team!
Eastern Conference All-Star Starters:
B: Tyrese Haliburton – Indiana Pacers (2nd appearance, if selected)
B: Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers (5th appearance)
F: Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics (5th appearance)
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks (8th appearance)
F: Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers (7th appearance)
Four of these selections were simple, starting with the man in the middle.
If the season ended today Sixers megastar Embiid is the likely back-to-back MVP and is on course to take home his 3rd consecutive scoring crown. Right now, Embiid has more points (1053) than minutes played (1022). He could become the first player in the NBA to do that since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962, the year he averaged a 50-piece.
His newly minted relationship with Tyrese Maxey and imaginative coach Nick Nurse has unlocked a whole new side to Embiid who, despite measuring seven feet tall and 280 pounds, is killing teams with his jump shot. To that end, Embiid is dunking the basketball less than he ever has as he leans on a deadly midrange repertoire. Of course, he remains one of the best defensive players in the entire league, as well.
Antetokounmpo is playing with an edge this season. He’s putting up his customary numbers – 31.2 points, 11.4 boards, 5.9 assists and over a steal and a block per contest – but the joy of Giannis’ game has gone, replaced with a sneering rage. Be it his teammates for not getting back on defense, his coach for not being as good as the man that Antetokounmpo himself wanted gone or the Pacers for not giving him the ball (well, the Pacers in general really. It will be fascinating to see how Giannis reacts to getting booed on All-Star weekend), he’s playing with super serious intensity. The Bucks are not spoken about as a serious contender, despite sitting 2nd in the East. He is, as always, the reason they’re there.
Tatum’s All-Star case is simple: He’s the best player on the best team in basketball. After a less-than-ideal start to the season shooting-wise, Tatum has recovered to be posting 26.9 points on 47/37/81 shooting splits at the time of writing. Still, somehow only 25-years-old, Tatum is arguably yet to hit his true prime.
He can still get fixated on playing one-on-one basketball and launching tough, contested long 2s, but he’s becoming more measured in his decision-making. Whilst Tatum’s defensive responsibilities pale in comparison to his Eastern Conference starting frontcourt mates, he has started to demand the responsibility of guarding the opposition’s best player. His late duel with Thunder guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander in early January was appointment viewing.
Despite the Pacers sitting outside of a guaranteed playoff spot at the time of writing, the entire state of Indiana might come for me, pitchforks in hand, should I not name Tyrese Haliburton a starter in his home All-Star game. Haliburton leads the league in assists at 12.4 a night, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story, here.
The 23-year-old plays with an unselfishness and a joy that permeates throughout the entire Pacers line-up. Despite looking like he’s playing borderline reckless basketball at times, the Iowa State product maintains a yo-yo-like control of the ball. His turnover rate is extraordinarily low for someone who handles the ball as much as he does and his turnover rate leads the NBA. His assist:turnover ratio sits at over five … that’s absurd. The 23-year-old has thrust the Pacers into the national spotlight for the first time in practically a generation.
The final backcourt spot was a tougher decision, with five players coming into consideration. Ultimately, though, Mitchell’s star turn in keeping Cleveland on the heels of the East’s big three, despite a raft of injuries to his fellow Cavaliers, sees him get the nod. His 28.2 points sits just a tenth of a point behind last season’s career-high though is arguably more impressive given the sheer difficulty of shots he’s making without Darius Garland there to take some of the pressure off.
Defensively, though, is where Mitchell is showing out (remember when Utah drafted him as a potential point-of-attack defensive ace?). His two steals per game are by a long way a career-high, as are his 5.4 boards and block rate.
Who are your Eastern Conference All-Stars? Let us know in the comments!
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