CSL ALL-STAR ROSTERS ANNOUNCED!
LeBron James and Kevin Durant will lead the East and West as they face off for CSL's 2nd All-Star game, in Chicago.
CHICAGO, IL: Here they come, Windy City. The CSL announced the starting lineups for the 2015 All-Star Game today, with Heat's forward LeBron James and Thunder's forward Kevin Durant leading the way for the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively.
The East's starting lineup features Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers) and Goran Dragic (Celtics) in the backcourt, with James, Carmelo Anthony (Knicks) and Al Horford (Hawks) upfront.
The West's starting group is made up of Russell Westbrook (Timberwolves) and James Harden (Rockets) at guards, and Durant, Blake Griffin (Nuggets) and Anthony Davis (Pelicans) at frontcourt.
James was the vote-leader for the East, getting 23 out of a possible 25 votes as a starter, good enough for 115 points. However, he was not voted for 2 teams, which ultimately made him drop all the way to the 3rd spot overall. Both Harden and Durant also had 23 votes as starters, and provided supporters a great battle for 1st place overall. In the end, Durant won over Harden because of a single reserve vote, which gave him 118 points, while Harden was voted as a Wildcard at one of the ballots, which resulted in 116 points.
For Goran Dragic, this is a lifetime accomplishment, as the Slovenian never participated in an All-Star game before. This time, he'll not only be suiting up for the East, but he'll start the game next to Cavs' Irving, whom has never participated in any CSL festivities (although he was named an All-Star back in 2013 when NBA still existed). 'The Dragon', who's averaging over 22 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds a game on incredible efficient 49% from the field, talked about the opportunity to play alongside so many other great players in this event:
Goran couldn't be more happier when he found out that he was an All-Star. What a beautiful smile!
"To me that's fulfilling a dream I had. We're building something great in Boston, and our record shows it. It's all a matter of teamwork, you know, I'd never made it alone, so I owe it to all my teammates, to all the coaching staff, to Mr. Van Gundy who has helped me elevate my game to a much better level, and mostly for Dennis, who believed in my since the beginning, those guys give me confidence to go out there and do my best, play the game the way I know every day. Starting for the All-Star is huge, but I hope this is only the beginning of much bigger things."
For the West, it was all about Chicago-native Anthony Davis. Only in his third year in the league, he has already been named twice an All-Star, and will start for the first time this year. Davis, who's averaging 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game, and is one of the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year award, received high praises from his General Manager Jace, most known around the league as SS:
This unibrow scares many people already. But what if he can be even better? Sky is the limit? Only OKC GM can answer.
"To be in his third year, still developing his game and his body, and already being named an All-Star starter? That's a lot. We know how much this represents to Anthony, being from Chicago, the opportunity to play in front of his family and friends at this huge event, that means a lot to him. We love Anthony's game, he's a great kid, works hard, we love his character, we couldn't be more happier for him at New Orleans. This just shows how big of a gem we have at our organization and we'll continue to do everything possible to build a championship squad around him." Sun Scorched stated.
As for the East reserves, Bulls' Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were voted in, along two Pistons' in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, another Hawks in Jeff Teague, Wizards' guard John Wall, and defending champs Pacers' star, Paul George.
Noah had the opportunity to talk about being selected to play in his first CSL-ASG with his buddy D-Rose:
Jo should never be eligible for an All-Star spot, as the ASG is for fun, and he doesn't know what this 'fun' word means.
"I couldn't be more happy! I mean, I've made it before, he made it before couple of times, including last year, but to have the opportunity to play with my little brother Derrick at the All-Star game, in front of our crowd, that's just amazing. I think he deserves it for all he had done before going down, and it will be great to see him back playing after so much time out, we'll need him healthy if we want to achieve something big after the break. But as for the All-Star game, I'm looking forward for the competition, and I want to win at any cost. And, frankly, I love the fact that Derrick is there with me, because, man, I hate some of those guys. They are not my friends, I compete with them." he said, demonstrating his usual self as he exposed all he was feeling.
For the West, Damian Lillard (Blazers) and Ty Lawson (Clippers) were the only guards to make it, while 5 big man will feature in the bench: Derrick Favors (Jazz, replacing Warriors' Steph Curry, left out of the game because of an injury), Kevin Love (Thunder), DeMarcus Cousins (Warriors), Dwight Howard (Rockets) and Al Jefferson (Grizzlies). A huge log-jam as most of the can only play in the post. It will be interesting to see how West's coach will find minutes for every big man on his team.
Memphis' GM Andrei commented on Big Al' first selection as an All-Star after being snubbed last season, when he averaged 27/9 a game (currently averages 25/11):
"For him, that's got to be real big. I mean, look at his numbers last year, he was a glaring snub, he deserved to be in last year. But there's always time to correct mistakes, and I feel the league is doing just that. He's done an amazing job both with the Hornets and with our Memphis Grizzlies franchise, putting himself into best offensive big man in the league conversation. To me, he's the best. There's no one better at scoring in the post than Al. And he contributes in so many other ways, we're just so proud for him, we couldn't be happier. On behalf of the Memphis Grizzlies' organization, congratulations."
LeBron and Durant both twitted soon after the rosters were announced. James said "he hoped fans could have as good as a time as he'd have in the floor, and he hopes to go back to Cleveland with a win", while Kevin twitted that "it will be an amazing opportunity to entertain the Chicago's crowd, and may the best, in this case the West, win". Everything set, we're just one and a half week away from one of the biggest shows in the earth! Dare missing this game? I certainly won't!
What? CSL's 2nd All-Star Game
Where? United Center, Chicago, IL
When? February 18th, 7pm ET
OFFICIAL CSL ALL-STAR GAMES ROSTER:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Kyrie Irving** (G, Cleveland Cavaliers) - 107 points
Goran Dragic** (G, Boston Celtics) - 65 points
LeBron James** (F, Miami Heat) - 115 points
Carmelo Anthony** (F, New York Knicks) - 81 points
Al Horford** (F-C, Atlanta Hawks) - 81 points
Jeff Teague (G, Atlanta Hawks) - 51 points
John Wall (G, Washington Wizards) - 47 points
Derrick Rose (G, Chicago Bulls) - 44 points
Paul George (G-F, Indiana Pacers) - 48 points
Greg Monroe (F-C, Detroit Pistons) - 56 points
Andre Drummond (C, Detroit Pistons) - 79 points
Joakim Noah (C, Chicago Bulls) - 39 points
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Russell Westbrook** (G, Minnesota Timberwolves) - 108 points
James Harden** (G, Houston Rockets) - 116 points
Kevin Durant** (F, Oklahoma City Thunder) - 118 points
Blake Griffin** (F, Denver Nuggets) - 91 points
Anthony Davis** (F-C, New Orleans Pelicans) - 94 points
Damian Lillard (G, Portland Trailblazers) - 50 points
Ty Lawson (G, Los Angeles Clippers) - 31 points
Derrick Favors* (F-C, Utah Jazz) - 29 points
Kevin Love (F, Oklahoma City Thunder) - 41 points
Al Jefferson (F-C, Memphis Grizzlies) - 89 points
DeMarcus Cousins (C, Golden State Warriors) - 38 points
Dwight Howard (C, Houston Rockets) - 37 points
*Replaces Stephen Curry due to injury
** Denotes starter
Votes were calculated like this: 5 points for a starter vote, 3 points for a reserve vote, 1 point for a wildcard vote. Scores reflect the number of points made by each player. Maximum possible was 125 points.
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERY TEAM THAT HAD ONE OR MORE PLAYERS NAMED ALL STARS!
2028
