Eastern Conference
Starters – Trae Young (Hawks), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), Kevin Durant (Nets), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Joel Embiid (76ers)
Reserves – Zach LaVine (Bulls), James Harden (Nets), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Jimmy Butler (Heat), Khris Middleton (Bucks), Darius Garland (Cavaliers), Fred VanVleet (Raptors)
Just Missed The Cut – Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Bradley Beal (Wizards), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), Miles Bridges (Hornets), LaMelo Ball (Hornets), Jarrett Allen (Cavaliers)
It is really hard to choose just 12 players from the Easetrn Conference that should be NBA All-Stars this season given all of the talent across the 15 teams in the East, but there really is not much to discuss in regards to the five starters from this conference.
In the backcourt, Trae Young and DeMar DeRozan ranked third and first, respectively, in the last fan voting results released by the NBA and they have been two of the most dominating players in the league through the first-half of the season.
Trae Young and the Hawks have struggled at times and they are currently 21-25 on the season, but Young is amongst the league-leaders in points (28.0) and assists (9.3).
In Chicago, the Bulls are on-track to make the playoffs for the first-time since 2017 and a big reason for their success has been the play of DeMar DeRozan. While it is hard to call him a guard, the NBA is classifying him as a “backcourt talent” for All-Star voting purposes, so it should not be a discussion of if he should be a backcourt starter from the East.
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As for the three frontcourt starters, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are three players in discussion for this year’s MVP award. While Durant will likely miss the NBA All-Star Game and be replaced by someone else due to an MCL sprain in his left knee, he has led the Eastern Conference in fan votes this season and could very well end up being the Eastern Conference’s captain.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are two household names in the NBA and it should not be a surprise to see them starting in the NBA All-Star Game once again. Both big men can go for at least 30 points and 10 rebounds on any given night and are the epitome of what it means to be their team’s “most valuable player”.
Moving onto the reserves in the Eastern Conference, Zach LaVine, James Harden, Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler are all basically locks to make the NBA All-Star Game this season. Harden, Butler and LaVine are huge parts of their team’s first-half success this season and while the Celtics have struggled, Tatum has cemented himself as one of the best pure scorers in the NBA at just 23-years-old.
I currently have Khris Middleton taking the last frontcourt spot in the Eastern Conference and while you could absolutely make an argument for Raptors’ Pascal Siakam or Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen, Middleton has really held things down for the Bucks this season.
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Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday have missed extended periods of time so far this season and while they were out, Middleton helped keep the Bucks afloat and battling for the top-spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Just one game out of first-place, Khris Middleton has been an elite-level scorer once again, scoring both in the paint and on the perimeter.
As for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference, I could not give them to anyone else other than Fred VanVleet and Darius Garland.
The Raptors have struggled this season at just 22-22, but Fred VanVleet has been playing out of his mind. At 6’1”, VanVleet is averaging 21.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and is shooting 39.3% from three-point range on about 9.9 attempts from deep per game. Tied for third in the league with 13 games of making at least 5 three-pointers, Fred VanVleet is an elite-level scorer at the point guard position for Toronto.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the surprise team of the 2021-22 NBA season and while season-ending injuries to Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio have hurt them, Darius Garland has kept the Cavaliers in the playoff mix at 29-19.
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Averaging 19.7 points, 8.2 assists and shooting 46.4% from the floor, the third-year guard has recorded 8 double-doubles since the start of the new year, which ranks him tied for third in the league. The Cavaliers are just 1.5 games back from first-place in the Eastern Conference and without Darius Garland, they may be looking towards picking in the draft lottery once again.
With Kevin Durant likely to miss the NBA All-Star Game this season, Pascal Siakam or Jarrett Allen could very well be replacement players in the frontcourt, but Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Wizards’ Bradley Beal will be the first two replacements in the backcourt for the Eastern Conference this season.
There is so much talent in the Eastern Conference, making it very hard to just choose 12 players, but all 12 of the players mentioned above are well deserving of being All-Stars this season.
