By Craig Fields
All-Star Weekend will be upon us in a few days and without doubt there are some pretty deserving names that will not be taking place in the festivities. There are arguably players in the NBA every year that deserve to take part in a competition of the league’s best, but somehow manage to miss out. This year was no different.
The 24 players who will be playing in this year’s All-Star game are: LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Paul George, James Harden, Roy Hibbert, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Joe Johnson, Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, Joakim Noah, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and John Wall.
Even though Anthony Davis made it to the game because Kobe Bryant was not able to, I still feel like he was snubbed, even though his numbers speak for themselves: 20.7 points a game, 10.4 rebounds a game, a league leading 3.2 blocks a game and 1.5 steals per game, you should be a shoo-in for an appearance amongst the league’s best. But, I digress. He still made the team so that’s that.
The NBA Western Conference is filled with talented frontcourt members. A team’s frontcourt consists of the small forward, power forward and the center. The Western Conference is very deep and talented at these positions. However, there is one person that, in my opinion, is one of the biggest All-Star snubs in years. Even though his team struggles, his overall production on a night-in night-out basis has been both dependable and ridiculous. I’m talking about DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins.
This man averages 22.9 points per game, 11.7 rebounds per game, 1.7 steals per game, with 1.2 blocks to boot. Now I understand that his team is one of the cellar teams of the Western Conference at 17-34, but that should not really have that much bearing on whether or not this statistical stud gets selected or not.
Cousins attitude issue might also caution some coaches or fans to pick him as well, but that should not cast a shadow on the kind of year that “Boogie” is having. As much as it pains me, a Dallas native, to say this, Dirk Nowitzki should not be there if it meant not involving Demarcus Cousins.
Dirk is averaging an admirable 21.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists, to go along with 41 percent from the 3-point line. Those numbers are great, but not All-Star great. Dirk also has the luxury of being on a better team that is fighting for a playoff spot. He is also a likeable guy who is undoubtedly a first ballot Hall-of-Famer at the end of his career. All of that is great, but “Boogie” should not be missing the All-Star game because of a Hall-of-Fame career from “The Big German”.
Cousins PER (Player Efficiency Rating) is currently fifth in the NBA at 26.72. He is the only person, outside of Brook Lopez, in the top 10 to not make the all-star team. He is currently ranked ninth in the league in scoring as well. He is the only person in the top 15 of scoring in the NBA to not make the all-star game this year. Cousins not getting picked is one of the biggest snubs in the NBA’s recent years.