On Thursday, the reserves for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game will be revealed.
Whereas the All-Star starters were voted on by fans, NBA players and a media panel, the league's head coaches vote on the reserves. Both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference will have seven reserves each, made up of two guards, three forwards and two players at any position.
Other than maybe one spot, there shouldn't be too many surprises in the Western Conference. (Chris Paul and Devin Booker should both be locks, and three of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green will likely be the forwards. That leaves two wildcard spots, which will probably be filled by two of Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray.) The Eastern Conference is a different story, so to figure out which players are the most deserving, let's play a quick game of Blind Resume.
Here's how it works: I'll present stats from different players who deserve All-Star consideration, only their names will be removed. There's more to being an All-Star than gaudy numbers — more on that in a bit — but comparing players without knowing their identity is still a fun exercise.
With that in mind, let's get to it...
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No. 1: Picking the Eastern Conference guards
If we pencil Zach LaVine in, that leaves one guard spot and two wildcard positions.
One of the following three players will probably make it in as a reserve, two of them could make it, but it's unlikely that three or four will. (In addition to LaVine, James Harden, who is not included below, has a strong chance of being voted in as a reserve. While his scoring is down this season, he's still averaging 23.0 points, 10.1 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game on one of the best teams in the league.)
In which case, who is most deserving?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | TO | FG | 3PT | Team Record | |
| Player A | 19.8 | 3.3 | 8.2 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 7.5-16.0 (46.7%) | 2.5-6.8 (36.9%) | 31-20 |
| Player B | 17.8 | 4.7 | 6.6 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 7.1-14.5 (49.3%) | 1.8-4.6 (38.1%) | 31-21 |
| Player C | 21.5 | 4.7 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 7.3-17.7 (41.5%) | 3.9-10.0 (39.2%) | 25-23 |
| Player D | 19.5 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 7.0-16.6 (42.3%) | 2.5-7.1 (35.7%) | 28-23 |
They're each point guards at different stages of their careers. Player A and Player D are only a few years removed from being drafted, but Player B is a one-time All-Star in his early 30s and Player C is entering his prime. Additionally, Player A and Player B are playing for teams near the top of the standings while Player C and Player D are playing for a team in the Play-In mix.
So... who are they?
Player A is Cleveland's Darius Garland.
Player B is Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday.
Player C is Toronto's Fred VanVleet.
Player D is Charlotte's LaMelo Ball.
For what it's worth, Garland finished ninth in fan vote, fifth in player vote and sixth in media vote; Holiday finished 13th in fan vote, 14th in player vote and sixth in media vote; VanVleet finished seventh in fan vote, seventh in player vote and fifth in media vote; and Ball finished fifth in fan vote, sixth in player vote and eighth in media vote for starters. In addition to those four, Bradley Beal and Jaylen Brown will likely be considered as well.
It's tough to be an All-Star at the guard position in the Eastern Conference this season.
No. 2: Picking the Eastern Conference forwards
When we went through the exercise of picking All-Star reserves as a team, we agreed that both Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler deserve to be in. It was the last frontcourt spot that we weren't united on.
There was one player who showed up on more ballots than the others. Can you guess which one it was?
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | Team Record | |
| Player A | 19.1 | 12.1 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 7.1-12.2 (58.1%) | 19-33 |
| Player B | 17.6 | 9.9 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 6.6-12.8 (51.2%) | 32-19 |
| Player C | 16.1 | 10.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 6.5-9.7 (67.7%) | 31-20 |
As you can probably tell, they're each big men. Player A has the best offensive stats, Player C has the best defensive stats and Player B is somewhere in the middle.
Who are they?
Player A is Indiana's Domantas Sabonis.
Player B is Miami's Bam Adebayo.
Player C is Cleveland's Jarrett Allen.
They each deserve consideration, but this is one of those where context is pretty important.
As good as Sabonis has been, the Pacers currently have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference and face an uphill battle at being in the Play-In Tournament. There's no doubt that Adebayo is one of the league's best big men, but he's played in only 26 games this season due to injury compared to 43 for Allen and 46 for Sabonis. Allen, meanwhile, is averaging career-highs across the board and is anchoring a Cavaliers team that currently has the league's third-best defensive rating and is within shouting distance of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Of the three, Allen is the safest bet to make it.
No. 3: An Eastern Conference wildcard
We're switching things up a little this round.
First, the comparison:
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3PT | |
| Player A | 21.1 | 8.3 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 8.0-16.9 (47.6%) | 1.0-3.1 (33.6%) |
| Player B | 22.9 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 8.3-18.4 (45.3%) | 2.2-6.1 (35.9%) |
| Player C | 22.0 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 7.3-15.0 (48.6%) | 0.4-1.9 (23.0%) |
Close, right? Player B has the edge in points, but Players A and C are more well-rounded. Player B is the best 3-point shooter of the group, but both Players A and C have a higher field goal percentage by a not-insignificant margin.
So who are they?
Player A is Toronto's Pascal Siakam through 35 games this season.
Player B is Toronto's Pascal Siakam in 2019-20 when he was named an All-Star starter and earned an All-NBA Second Team selection.
Player C is Miami's Jimmy Butler through 32 games this season.
The Raptors probably aren't good enough to warrant two All-Stars and if they get one, it'll likely be VanVleet, but Siakam is quietly having the best season of his career and deserves more All-Star consideration than he's getting. (The Raptors and Heat aren't on the same level, but it's rather surprising that Siakam isn't getting as much All-Star buzz considering his numbers are in the same ballpark as Butler's, who is generally considered to be a lock.) Perhaps Siakam will be an injury replacement for Kevin Durant, whose availability for the All-Star Game is still unknown.
Speaking of which...
How many injury replacements will there be for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game?
There could be one in the Eastern Conference for Durant. In the Western Conference, both Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green are currently out with injuries, and Paul George would likely need to be replaced if he's voted in as a reserve by the coaches.
It's still unclear how long George will be sidelined, but there has been some chatter of him needing surgery, which could sideline him for the rest of the season.
All statistics and team records are up to date through games played on Monday, Jan. 31.
