NBA 2018-19: Why the early NBA All-Star voting results seem to be odd

Derrick Rose

Minnesota Timberwolves v Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose of the Minnesota Timberwolves received 698,086 thousand votes placing him second among Western Conference guards. It means he and Stephen Curry would start the All-Star game and players like James Harden and Russell Westbrook would come off of the bench.

Rose is perhaps a more interesting vote recipient than odd. It wasn’t that long ago everyone recognized Rose as an MVP candidate and perhaps the next man, after Michael Jordan, to lead the Chicago Bulls to a championship. Injuries killed that dream. The last three seasons have seen Rose bounce around the league playing for the Knicks, Cavaliers and now the Timberwolves.

A backup point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves Rose, in 29.8 minutes per game, is averaging 18.9 points and 4.8 assists per game. He had that MVP flashback game, on Halloween of 2018, when he shot 61% from the field going 19/31 for 50 points and recorded 6 assists. Rose has scored 30 or more points in 2 games this season and 20 or more 9 times out of 32 games played. He has also scored 20 or more points in each of his last three games.

At the moment, Rose is out of the Timberwolves line up due to an ankle injury. Rose has proven he is still relevant and this all-star voting for him might be nostalgic as much as it is for Vince Carter And Dwyane Wade. However, it must be pointed out that he is not a starter and yet is getting huge all-star support based on early voting results.