Russell Westbrook is Not Starting The All-Star Game

"FANS DON'T KNOW SHIT" according to Charles Barkley. He's right. The NBA All-Star starting roster was released yesterday. Russell Westbrook, the guy who's averaging a triple-double, the guy who's leading the league in scoring, Russell Westbrook, the guy whom leads the league in on/off metrics, is not in the All-Star game. What the fuck.

I don't know if you guys saw it but Charles Barkley said, "fans are stupid". As a fan of basketball I took some offense. But the keyword there is some. People who voted for Curry over Westbrook are stupid for many reasons. 

The first reason we need Westbrook in the game is drama. Will he pass the ball to Kevin Durant? Will he ignore Durant? Will they interact? We need the drama.

Second, look at the numbers. Russell Westbrook leads the league in triple doubles, which means he's scoring, passing, and rebounding more than Curry. Westbrook has a 41.0% usage rate! He's the only offensive creator on the team. Per 100 Possessions Westbrook makes 14.2 shots, takes 33.6 shots, and shoots 42% on those shots. Curry makes 11.6 shots, takes 24.9 shots, and shoots 46% on those shots. While Curry is slightly more efficient we know he will be more efficient because he has more space in which to operate. If you were presenting a group project in school with two of the smartest kids in school, your project would look better. Westbrook has no other smart kids on his team. Yet he's only slightly less efficient than Curry with less space, and more usage.   Westbrook falls short of Curry in steals and turnovers, that's it. Of course Westbrook is going to have more turnovers, he touches the ball 98.4 times per game. Don't you think a taxi driver would be in more automobile accidents? Yeah, because they're driving all the time.

 Third, look at comparative situations. Sure Curry is a better shooter. But how much better of a shooter would he be if Curry was on the Thunder? The Thunder have no spacing. The Thunder don't have Klay Thompson, the guy who takes all of the difficult point guard assignments while The Warriors hide Steph on the least threatening player on the opposing team. Westbrook's back court mate is Victor Oladipo, Steph Curry's is Klay Thompson. 

Steph got the vote because he's more popular than Westbrook. Kids and fans can go out to a playground and launch three point shots, do fancy dribble moves, step back and fade away. Most kids and fans cannot dunk. They can't jump over people to grab rebounds. They can't go play pickup basketball and lead the team in stats. Curry is more relatable. He's more like-able. Steph shares family pics on social media. He's skinny, young looking, plays pranks on teammates during interviews and incredibly entertaining. I know the fans like him. But the fans got this one wrong. 

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Fans account for 50% of the vote in who gets to start for the All-Star Game. LeBron James led the league followed closely by Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. This is bullshit. Irving? Kyle Lowry, Isiah Thomas, and John Wall are all having better seasons than him this year. But, Kyrie is shorter. He hit a game winning fade away last year. He has Uncle Drew Videos. His shoe looks good. He has fancy dribble moves. Rationale like this takes away from deserving guys like Westbrook and others. I'm tired of the fan voting. I get it, it's a way to get fans involved. But All-Star game selections matter. Do away with fan voting.