Russell Westbrook still trails Curry and Harden following the second returns of fan voting for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
A second update of fan votes for 2017 NBA All-Star starters revealed very little change in the initial voting order. For Russell Westbrook that means he still trails backcourt front runners Stephen Curry and James Harden.
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Minor shifts in second vote returns:
Comparing where the players sit now versus the first fan returns offered very few shifts:
West:
- Steph Curry surpasses Warriors teammate Kevin Durant as the top vote recipient in the West
- Only one position shift occurs in the West with Andre Iguodala switching spots with Manu Ginobili (Iggy now 8th, Manu 9th).
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East:
- Kyle Lowry and Derrick Rose swap positions with the Raptors star now in 5th
- After a strong performance week, Jimmy Butler moves ahead of Carmelo Anthony into fifth place of East frontcourt players
- Bucks Jabari Parker moves from tenth to ninth
- Tristan Thompson arrives in the tenth spot knocking Hassan Whiteside off the list
The King’s voice carries weight:
This year fans votes account for just 50% percent of the total. A new twist has players (25%) and media (25%) making up the other 50%.
Top vote receiver through the two returns is LeBron James whose popularity may be showing elsewhere in the returns. To wit, fellow Cavaliers Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are all ranking in the top 10. Thompson arrives in this round shortly after James tweeted out his vote in support of his frontcourt teammate.
James is known to have a strong relationship with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. He tweeted his vote and support of his buddies who each find themselves on the list. Wade continues to be ranked with Irving as the starting backcourt for the East.
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Surprising fan choices for 2017 NBA All-Star Game:
While Dwyane Wade is a great player, his numbers this season don’t warrant starting. With Chicago currently sitting outside the playoff seeds in 9th, I’m not even sure Wade deserves an All-Star berth. I’ve been fairly vocal that the Raptors possess the best backcourt and at a minimum one of them deserves to start. Additionally, Isaiah Thomas, Kemba Walker, and John Wall all have better numbers than Wade.
The other precarious choices in the East are the three Knicks (Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis) being in the mix. Given the turmoil in New York and the Knicks current11th seed none of the three deserve to make the cut. There are countless players on teams who are excelling such as Paul Millsap or Paul George upfront.
Obviously the biggest surprise is Zaza Pachulia who continues to rank second in the West frontcourt vote recipients. Suffice to say support from his native Georgia remains strong. Makes you wonder how voting is affecting the Warriors locker room with Draymond Green trailing him by almost 400,000 votes.
The reality of the situation is Pachulia specifically stands about as much of a shot at playing in All-Star Game as I do. By the time player and media votes are factored in Zaza will plummet to the bottom of the list.
Conversely the media and player votes will help some players. Most likely Dwyane Wade will be unseeded by one of the Raptors backcourt stars. As far as Westbrook’s chances his path is less clear. Though Harden and Westbrook’s numbers place them ahead of Curry this season, the delineation is not as clear. Undoubtedly Westbrook will make the team, but will he be a starter?
We’ll have to wait another week (Thursday, January 19th) when the guys from Inside the NBA reveal who the starters will be. Should Westbrook miss the starters list, fans will have to wait an additional week (Thursday, January 26th) for the reserves to be announced.
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⚡️The Force.
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 9, 2017
One week left to vote for Russ to start in All-Star Game. RETWEET now to #NBAVOTE for Russell Westbrook pic.twitter.com/PHvRvdkdcD
One more round of fan votes:
Fans who still want to influence who will start in New Orleans have until Monday, January 16th at 11:59 to get your votes in.
Let’s assume the Association has adjusted for the improperly spelled fan votes which predominantly affected Antetokounmpo, Lowry and Westbrook. Having said that, it’s probably best to take the easy route and retweet from your favorite player(s) team twitter. The other option is to tweet the player’s twitter handle with the hashtag NBA Vote (without a space between). For example:
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You already know that the brodie will be hyped if he gets to New Orleans!
— Mountain Dew® (@MountainDew) January 9, 2017
Show us how you'll celebrate and use @russwest44 & #NBAVote! pic.twitter.com/4OOpu9twSP
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