NBA All-Star Game 2019: Predicting the Eastern Conference All-Stars

The All-Star Game voting has picked up serious pace, with a double voting day gone and 3 more remaining. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving are, respectively, the frontcourt and backcourt leaders in votes polled for the Game this year thus fa (both of them have tallied over 1 million votes already and look primed to break the 2 million vote barrier with easy-to-access voting systems).

Who are the rock-solid selections certain to start the game? Which up-and-comers are on their way to a first All-Star game selection? Which veterans will make it once again? Will team record matter at the end of the day?

Read on to find out our picks for the Eastern Conference All-Star game:

---

Backcourt starters

Kyrie Irving

The afro look, the deferential approach to offense and the seemingly unconditioned start that Kyrie had for the first 6 games of the season were enough for a lot of basketball fans to bring the pitchforks out for the Celtics guard.

Ever since game 7 of the season, however, Kyrie has been on a real tear, raising his scoring average from 16.4 points per game in October to 25+ in the months of November and December while improving his stats and percentages across the board.

The Celtics are 4-0 in overtime primarily because their crunch-time offense devolves into getting Kyrie the ball and praying for him to make the shot, and Irving is just that good that this tactic works seamlessly against the vast majority of teams.

He's the third best point guard in the game today, at the very least, and he's playing like it this season.

Victor Oladipo

Oladipo and the Pacers are the epitome of a really successful and yet unnoticed franchise in the 2018-19 NBA season.

The Pacers have reduced their reliance on their combo guard significantly through the course of games, but they always entrust the ball to their All-NBA selection during crunch time, and with ample good reason. Outside of Kyrie, Oladipo has the best clutch time scoring stats for any guard in the league this season.

His averages are down since the past 10 games or so as he eases back from a knee injury that he suffered in early November, but there's no doubt in any opponent or teammate's mind about Oladipo's status as the premier two-way shooting guard in the NBA.

Frontcourt starters

Embiid and Giannis battle for rebound positioning

Kawhi Leonard

The Klaw has returned to NBA life after his trade to the Raptors almost like he never left. His defensive acumen is probably even on the rise, as evidenced by this piece of enigmatic defensive genius:

After starting the season on a comparatively quieter note, Leonard has wound up into MVP form since mid-November at a consistent rate.

His averages of 29.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game on 49.4% shooting from the field and 39.1% from downtown during the month of December speak for themselves, and he was only ineligible for Conference Player of the Month awards because of the freak we'll talk about right here.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

If a loaded gun was pointed at my head right now and I were asked who my pick for MVP would be for the first half of the 2018-19 NBA season, I'd have little choice but to nominate Giannis with my vote.

The Greek Freak rose from above-average starter to All-NBA player, and from there to MVP favourite in the span of just 3 seasons. The Bucks have the league's best winning percentage at the moment thanks to his Herculean play on both sides of the court.

Giannis is a legitimate candidate for the MVP-DPOY double this season, as advanced stats and box scores alike love him like no other candidate.

Earlier on in the year, his high turnover numbers were a huge cause for concern, but he's since been able to cut back on those and now is a consistent jump shot short of edging the likes of James and Durant out of the conversation about the very best basketball players on the planet.

Joel Embiid

Jojo, as a number of basketball fans refer to Embiid and his colourful personality, is one of the few players who has been able to maintain his per-36 numbers and two-way impact on the game despite an increased load on both ends of the court this year.

Consequently, he's the third Eastern Conference MVP candidate to start on their frontcourt this All-Star Game.

Averages of 26.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 blocks per game look like video game numbers for a 7'2" center, but what's amazing is the fact that unlike Giannis, Embiid has a much better jump shot, and this opens the floor up for him to attack the paint, post up or even leak out to the 3-point line for the occasional open 3-point look. Embiid is going to be a regular feature in the All-Star Game as long as he stays healthy.

Backcourt reserves

Enter caption

Kemba Walker

I don't think there's a single offensive superstar in the league who's playing with a supporting cast worse than what Kemba has had to make do with for the past couple of seasons.

His team's most reliable scorer other than himself is a washed Tony Parker who runs the bench unit, and there's a dearth of big men with a shooting range on his roster that accentuates this problem.

Without a doubt, however, Walker has elevated his game to a whole other level this season, flashing Kyrie-like handles to squeeze his 6-foot frame past behemoths guarding the paint, and his step-back jumper looks better than ever before. Consequently, he's averaging career highs across the board and looks set to lead the Hornets back to the playoffs.

Ben Simmons

The Benny 1-point memes are no longer going to be valid about Simmons, whose stats this season do not represent the leaps he's taken on both ends of the floor.

A more polished post game, greater tendency to drive and better finishing at the rim have helped him up to his field goal percentage, while he looks ever so comfortable at guarding nearly every player in the league barring the really biggest centers.

Simmons plays with the swagger of an accomplished veteran and his court vision, pure driving ability and feel for the game put him on a whole other tier compared to the rest of the rookies from last year's rookie class.

Frontcourt reserves

Griffin posts up Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler

Butler had a really dramatic start to the season, which he began as a Minnesota Timberwolf despite putting in a trade request at the start of the summer. 13 games in, however, he was traded to the Sixers in exchange for Dario Saric and Robert Covington in one of the most even trade deals in recent memory.

Having already hit 2 game winners with right-wing 3-pointers in his initial days with Philly, Butler has provided the franchise with the established two-way superstar who can work in tandem with either of their young studs or both of them on the court at the same time, and that has made all the difference as the Sixers pull away to cement homecourt in the first round of playoffs.

Blake Griffin

The one good thing that keeps the Detroit Pistons in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference this season has been its frontcourt, and Blake Griffin in particular. While Andre Drummond's weaknesses and strengths are well-documented thus far and you can gameplan against him, Blake is an unstoppable combination of brains and brawns who can only be stopped when he's not shooting well.

Averaging 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season and having one of the most healthy years of his career since 2013-14, Griffin would've made more noise in MVP contention if only he were around a more capable supporting cast.

Nikola Vucevic

NBA head coaches' practice of weighing team records with as much importance as the concerned player's stats has led to a lot of undeserving All-Star snubs over the years, and a prime case for such a tale this time around is Nikola Vucevic. The 28-year-old center is in his contract year with the Orlando Magic and is having by far the best season of his career.

Averages of 20.2 points and 12.0 rebounds on 53% shooting from the field and 37% from the 3-point line mark him out as one of the best offensive centers in the league today, and playoff teams may make a push to trade for him at the deadline in order to strengthen their frontcourt.

Wild cards

Lowry guarding Beal in the 2018 NBA playoffs

Kyle Lowry

The Toronto Raptors are leading the NBA in win percentage this season thus far, and have done so for the better part of the last couple of months.

While they're an excellent system team with lots of capable role players who're elite at specific skills and Nick Nurse has put his players in position to succeed in every single encounter this season save for their blowout in San Antonio, Lowry's pure basketball ability is clear to anyone who's watched him carry the franchise for years on end.

Lowry is second in the NBA in assists per game, dishing out 9.7 dimes a game. This more than makes up for his sub-par shooting through November and December, which he's sure to bounce back from in the months to come.

Bradley Beal

The Washington Wizards' 2018-19 NBA season has been a series of mishaps and misfortunes for the franchise and the players on it.

After a bad start to the season, they seemed to be recovering the steam required for a playoff push and were winding up in 9th place in the Conference standings before they went into a free fall following John Wall's injury troubles.

Bradley Beal, however, continues to make his case as the best pure shooting guard in the Eastern Conference, and it is no exaggeration to say that he's put them on his back in the past month or so given their dearth of offensive options.

Beal doubles up as a playmaker when he's not isoing or knocking down 3-point shots, and does an exemplary job of it, keeping the ball moving and the turnovers down. He deserves a second straight All-Star nod, all things considered.