Opinion
At the start of the season you could have got long odds on any player from the Utah Jazz making the All-Star game come February when Salt Lake City hosts the showpiece event.
But such has been the remarkable rise of Lauri Markkanen, he is not only a chance to become a first-time All-Star, he’s just about a near-certainty and could start if there is an injury to LeBron James, Zion Williamson or Nikola Jokic.
The Finnish forward was seen as little more than trade fodder in the off-season when he was jettisoned by Cleveland to the Jazz in the deal which sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers.
Utah supremo Danny Ainge was intent on accruing draft picks as he traded away Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and the belief was that the Jazz would be tanking their way into the sweepstakes for blue-chip prospects Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson.
Lauri Markkanen. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
However, it appears nobody told rookie coach Will Hardy, Markkanen and their squad of cast-offs and journeymen as they surged to a top spot in the Western Conference before cooling off recently to be 19-17 after splitting their past 10 matches.
Markkanen is not only averaging career-highs across the board in points (23.2), field goal percentage (52.7), three-pointers (43.8%), rebounds (8.4) and assists (2.0, not necessarily his thing), but he’s being aggressive and an on-court alpha leader for this ragtag Jazz ensemble.
There is still plenty of time for Ainge to trade away veterans like Mike Conley, Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson so the Jazz don’t rack up too many more wins but Markkanen has become an unlikely centrepiece of their future planning despite middling stints previously at Chicago and Cleveland.
Depending on the injury situations of a few certainties like Steph Curry and Anthony Davis, the majority of the West All-Stars squad writes its own ticket to Salt Lake City on February 17-19.
Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron, Zion and MVP Nikola Jokic should be the starting five with Davis, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Markkanen and another first-time All-Star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walk-up starters for the bench.
Zion Williamson dribbles past Ben Simmons. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
That leaves two spots for a bunch of possible candidates. Damian Lillard and Kawhi Leonard would be certainties if they hadn’t been hampered by injuries.
Leonard’s Clippers teammate Paul George is likely to get one of the spots at this early stage while Minnesota high-flyer Anthony Edwards’ recent surge means he is probably marginally ahead of the likes of resurgent Sacramento duo Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, Phoenix centre Deandre Ayton and Pelicans guard CJ McCollum.
Edwards’ Timberwolves teammates Karl-Anthony Towns (too injured) and Rudy Gobert (too inconsistent) are virtually out of the running in a worrying sign for their hopes of becoming finals contenders this season.
West starters: Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Zion Williamson, Nikola Jokic.
Bench: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, Devin Booker, Lauri Markkanen, Anthony Davis.
Possibles: Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Anfernee Simons, CJ McCollum, Aaron Gordon, Damian Lillard, Deandre Ayton, Anthony Edwards, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard.
In the East, the frontcourt is loaded but the guards have not been as impressive.
Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid deserve to start but one of them will be squeezed out. Tatum should have been included as an option at guard in the voting process.
Cleveland’s big off-season acquisition Donovan Mitchell is a backcourt certainty with Tatum’s Celtics comrade Jaylen Brown the best of the rest among guard-eligible candidates.
Trae Young and Jimmy Butler should be bench no-brainers while Tyrese Haliburton’s breakout season at Indiana will surely earn him a first call-up.
That leaves three spots – Cavaliers pair Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen made their first All-Stars appearance last season, Pascal Siakam has been balling out for Toronto while the much-malinged duo of Knicks forward Julius Randle and Washington big man Kristaps Porzingis have been putting up eye-catching numbers.
Bucks veteran Jrue Holiday is likely to miss out yet again despite being an all-important member of their title-contending squad while James Harden and Kyrie Irving certainly have the talent but it’s hard to call them guaranteed selections.
Siakam, Garland and Heat centre Bam Adebayo would be the three most likely at this stage to fill the rest of the bench.
Jayson Tatum (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
East: Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid.
Bench: Kevin Durant, Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, Jimmy Butler.
Possibles: Darius Garland, Jalen Brunson, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Jarrett Allen, Kyrie Irving, Pascal Siakam, James Harden, Dejounte Murray, Bam Adebayo, Jrue Holiday, Julius Randle, Kristaps Porzingis, Tyler Herro.
The fan vote, which makes up for 50% of the overall count, ends on January 21 with current players and selected media members making up the other half of the process.
Unfortunately there will be no Aussies in the All-Star game but New Orleans guard Dyson Daniels and Oklahoma City playmaker Josh Giddey are each a lock to be in the Rising Stars Challenge for rookie and second-year players.
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