Ohonsi's NBA Blog

Bradley Beal not making the all-star game and Chris Paul making it over Devin Booker is a complete joke. I absolutely hate that the media and coaches for years have put way too much emphasis on team success narratives, that NBA "experts" create, and incredibly faulty advanced stats that those experts love to rely on. The PLAYERS, not the teams, represent the all-star game. So a player's performance and talent should get top priority, by far, over how good their team is. It's not Beal's or Booker's fault that their supporting cast is much worse than a team like Paul's.

My NBA all-star team picks for 2020 were made on Jan 20, the last day for voting. This article can be found on my website in my facebook bio: ohonsi-nba.blogspot.com. West Starters Backcourt: James Harden (Rockets) Backcourt: Luka Doncic (Mavs) Frontcourt: Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) Frontcourt: LeBron James (Lakers) Frontcourt: Anthony Davis (Lakers) West Reserves Backcourt: Damian Lillard (Blazers) Backcourt: Russell Westbrook (Rockets) Frontcourt: Brandon Ingram (Pelicans) Frontcourt: Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves) Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) Wild card: Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) Wild card: Devin Booker (Suns) East Starters Backcourt: Trae Young (Hawks) Backcourt: Bradley Beal (Wizards) Frontcourt: Jimmy Butler (Heat) Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) Frontcourt: Joel Embiid (Sixers) East Reserves Backcourt: Kemba Walker (Celtics) Backcourt: Zach Lavine (Bulls) Frontcourt: Jaylen Brown (Celtics) Frontcourt:  Pascal Siakam (Raptors) Frontcourt:...

WHAT ARE WE DOING? DID WE NOT LEARN FROM GAME 7 ABOUT WHEN TO FOUL? WE JUST GAVE THAT GAME AWAY  🤦‍♀️ . Luka is great but we guarded him basically every time with players that are way too little/skinny (Murray, White, Mills, Forbes) which is why he scored at will. Gay, Lyles, or even Carroll (who strangely started playing in the 4th but whatever) are much better options. Unfortunately none of them are defensive aces, another of one o ur problems. Not having forwards on the perimeter who can slow down a guy like Doncic is very problematic. I'm surprised I didn't develop a drinking problem in the 1st half after I saw Porzingis launch wide open 3 after wide open 3. Too many turnovers. Too many offensive rebounds given up. Patty took an awful 3 late in the 4th that badly hurt our chances of winning.

I understand wanting to trade DeMar (a lot of spurs fans want this) if we're trying to rebuild (he has the most trade value by far for teams looking to win) but the thought of trying to score in a close game late in the 4th with our only option being to dump the ball into a lumbering, past his prime, 34 year old Aldridge in the post keeps me up at night. DeMar is the only proven go-to scorer and if we're trying to win, trading him makes no sense. He's single-handedly keeping us afloat tonight because of his elite scoring ability.

Don't be fooled by LeBron's stats: 19 points, 8-18 from the field, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. That's one of the worst games I've ever seen him play. His lack of mobility on offense is GLARING. He can barely get by defenders off the bounce (which is why he took a lot of very tough jumpers late in the game, mostly from 3) and can hardly get off the ground (which is why he missed too many layups). And he was very passive in terms of looking for his shot until late in the 4th qu arter which probably is a result of a major decline in his athletic ability. I'm not gonna overreact and say he's washed. He's still putting up insane numbers largely because he's still a great scorer. But these problems are definitely worth monitoring especially come playoff time versus western conference contenders because the Lakers won't win the west unless he plays with a pep in his step on a consistent basis.