Welcome to the Brew Hoop Night Shift. Every evening at 9:00pm (central time), this all-purpose thread goes up, and the comments section is where it’s going down. What Bucks news did we not cover? What topics do you want to break down further? Or is there something non-Bucks that you want to bounce off of one another? Even something non-basketball? This is the place.
Tonight’s (on) topic:
With LeBron in the Western Conference, there’s a lack of stardom in the #NBA East. @PaoloUggetti looks at who could end up nabbing Eastern All-Star spots this season.https://t.co/pmpg7OUCPS
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 14, 2018
“Finding 15 worthy players in the LeBron-less East might be tough.”
No it won’t.
[deep breath]
It’s not like it was LeBron James vs. a bunch of scrubs. Six of the top-15 jerseys sold last year (this includes Kawhi Leonard and not James) are in the East. I know I am preaching to the choir on this, but it needs to be said, the East was more than LeBron James.
The article even helps us out and lists nine players that are either shoe-ins or should make the All-Star roster:
Barring injury or a huge drop-off, these four players will be in the game: Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Victor Oladipo. And these five players should (emphasis on should) make it in, too: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Al Horford, Kevin Love, and Kyle Lowry.
Okay, great! We are 60 percent of the way there! I noticed a big time omission from this list, however. There appears to be a massive Ben Simmons-sized hole. Simmons was one of the six Eastern Conference players to finish top-15 in jersey sales, sounds like a star to me, and an international one to boot (along with Giannis and Embiid).
Cool, so now we have 10 legit and certified stars. Who is next?
The article goes on to list off Leonard, Blake Griffin, and Gordon Hayward as guys who missed previous All-Star games and are looking to get back into the fold. Okay, awesome! One current star, one fading star, and one under the radar star. The Eastern Conference has so many different types of stars it needs classifications as to where in their respective star-career arcs their stars are at!
Now we are at 13 players! Wow this has been a total breeze!
Simmons does eventually show up, but he is paired with Jayson Tatum under the “Second Year Prodigy” section. Simmons has an obviously better case than Tatum, especially with Hayward coming back for the Boston Celtics, so this seems to drag down Simmons even more. I don’t know if I will add Tatum to our team, but let’s see if this arduous task takes enough of a toll on me.
Khris Middleton showed up with Jaylen Brown/Marcus Smart on the “Could Get In” section. Like Tatum, I think the Celtic duo does not reach the level of “stardom” that Middleton will reach because of Hayward. Middleton has the added bonus as the bonafide second option in a new, three-happy offense.
Alright, nice. Middleton is roster spot 14 and pairing him with Brown/Smart is just as criminal as pairing Simmons with Tatum.
Alright, so who is up next for consideration for the 15th and final spot?
Somebody on the Heat
Ha! Hilarious! The East will have Bam Adebayo or Pat Riley’s hair product on their list of All-Star representatives! Ha the East is so bad you guys!
Brushing off the low-hanging fruit, we come across ole reliable Kemba Walker. He has been a household basketball name since his college days. Certainly more so than Damian Lillard or even DeMar DeRozan. This is an easy add.
Wow that was no sweat at all and Kristops Prozingis is not even ineligible due to injury! I am sure one or two of the 15 guys I picked will fall off enough to not earn All-Star honors, but their is a lot of young talent that could breakout and become budding stars this season. Even if LeBron stayed in the East, that would not have slowed the rumbling tremors that is the young, basketball stardom volcano in the East.
Tonight’s (off) topic: Standing Desks
Does anybody out there use a standing desk? My work is currently renovating the front office and the idea is to add adjustable standing desks. I like the idea of them being adjustable so whenever my legs inevitably give out from standing, I can rest up. I am very excited to hop on the standing desk trend almost a decade after they’ve been a thing.
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