Nikola Vucevic was close to making his first All-Star game last season. Has the new year and the Orlando Magic’s winning ways brought him any closer?
It is that time of year again to project the Eastern Conference All-Star team and whether the Orlando Magic’s strongest candidate, center Nikola Vucevic, will find his way onto the roster for the first time.
Last year, I had Vucevic firmly in as an All Star. Then four Atlanta Hawks made the cut and pretty much squashed those hopes.
While his stats are not quite up to the same level they were last year, Vucevic’s case may be as strong as ever. That is in part because the Magic are now a winning basketball team.
Vucevic is currently averaging 17.1 points which is tied for 17th in the East, while his 52.4 field goal percentage ranks an impressive third. He is also 14th in the conference in rebounding and tied for 11th in double-doubles.
Most impressively, Vucevic is sixth in the East in Player Efficiency Rating.
Those numbers look good, but with a more competitive conference in 2016 also comes a deeper pool of All-Star candidates to choose from.
Let us take a look at who the locks are in the East before fan voting closes Monday. As of last update, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, Indiana Pacers’ Paul George, and Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade are firmly in as starters due to sizeable leads over the competition.
Several players that trail the starters in votes will also be in. With the game in Toronto Raptors leading the Atlantic Division, point guard Kyle Lowry is a lock as is his backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan, who currently ranks third in the East in scoring.
Chicago Bulls do-everything swingman Jimmy Butler sits right behind DeRozan on the scoring charts and he is in too.
While Kyrie Irving has only played in 10 games, the Cavaliers fan favorite has held a steady lead over Lowry for the second East backcourt starting spot and currently has that spot by more than 32,000 votes. This is notably a spot that Vucevic could take that the fans are gifting to Irving.
The Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond is probably the best player in the NBA no one is talking about, and he currently places fourth in voting among frontcourt players. Kudos to Detroit Pistons fans and astute league observers for having him within striking distance of New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
Drummond will be in one way or another, and Anthony will not be denied in making his seventh consecutive All-Star appearance.
That accounts for nine players in the East so only three more can get in. As it stands, I have five backcourt and four frontcourt players in.
The league’s leading assist man, the Washington Wizards’ John Wall, has to find a spot in the game, so count him in. I also feel pretty confident All-Star veteran Chris Bosh will be the second Heat representative to head north.
That leaves one final spot with a crowded field of deserving players bound for the cutting-room floor. If this exercise has not proven the All-Star rosters should be set at 15 players, the same size as regular season squads for each team, then I do not know what will.
Vucevic certainly merits strong consideration in this final All-Star pool that includes the Bulls’ Pau Gasol, the Pistons’ Reggie Jackson, the Brooklyn Nets’ Brook Lopez, the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, the Hawks’ Paul Millsap, the Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker, and the Heat’s Hassan Whiteside.
While it will really be splitting hairs for the coaches to pick from this group, I feel like they will likely choose Gasol or Millsap. Both are return All-Stars from a year ago and have teams competing in the top half of the East. In any case, Vucevic is not at the tip of anyone’s tongues for an All-Star selection.
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It all adds up to another near miss for Vucevic and his All-Star dreams.