Last season, Darius Garland was named an All-Star Reserve by the NBA’s coaches. The way that the system for selecting All-Stars is set up, the 10 starters are chosen by a combination of fan, media and player voting, while the 14 reserves are then selected by the NBA’s coaches.
Garland is having an almost identical season to last year, is playing for a team that is just as good, and has name recognition after making the team last season (for every All-Star Team you make it gives you momentum to make more). What’s more, three other guards who made it last year in the East are unlikely to make it this year: LaMelo Ball, Fred VanVleet and Zach LaVine.
That should make Garland a virtual shoo-in, right? Well, maybe not; canvassing the Internet as prominent members of NBA media make their All-Star picks, Garland is almost always left off the final teams. Why is that?
The answer is that the East suddenly has a lot more challengers added into the mix. Last season Garland didn’t have to battle with Donovan Mitchell or Tyrese Haliburton, both All-Star locks (Mitchell has already been named a starter) who were playing in the Western Conference last season. Kyrie Irving was also out of the picture as he didn’t play to start the season due to declining to be vaccinated. He is also a starter this season.
That makes the math very difficult for Garland. He has to beat out players like James Harden, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown to make the team. Could he do it? Absolutely, but the consensus seems to be that he will miss out. All-Star Reserves are named on Thursday evening, so we will know for sure very soon.
If Garland doesn’t make it, Dean Wade has made us aware of the consequences:
Dean Wade’s media session today was essentially a personal campaign to get Darius Garland to the #NBAAllStar Game. #Cavs @basketbllnews pic.twitter.com/LU1caw7lke
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) January 30, 2023
More Cavs news
The league has plenty of teams looking to upgrade at the NBA Trade Deadline, and not all that many planning to sell. If the Detroit Pistons decide to trade any of their veterans, who should the Cavs be interested in? Dan Gilinsky looks at two trade targets here on the site.
Trivia: On Sunday night, Cedi Osman hit all seven of his 3-point attempts. He was the sixth Cavaliers player this season to hit at least seven 3-pointers in a single game; can you name the other 5? Remember any of the opponents?
NBA news
After the Philadelphia 76ers were paraded around the NBA podcasts and shows yesterday as a legitimate contender, they gave up a big lead at home to lose to the Orlando Magic and fall back to third in the Eastern Conference. The Brooklyn Nets notched a win against the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers, which is something like beating the UCLA basketball team. They are fourth in the East, just ahead of the Cavaliers.
In the West, the standings continued to swap places as 4-13 remain just a few games apart. The Golden State Warriors won to move up to fifth, while the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns all won to slide around the standings as well. Luka Doncic returned to blast the Detroit Pistons for 53 points.
Coming up: Tonight the Cavaliers host the Miami Heat, hoping to hold them off in the Eastern Conference playoff race