John Wall won't be able to play in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game due to a knee procedure he will undergo on Wednesday. He's reportedly expected to miss six to eight weeks while he recovers from the procedure. This could obviously impact the Wizards in the playoff race, but what does this means for his spot in the All-Star Game?
Wall was a bit of a controversial pick. He hasn't had his best season in comparison to other players or guards in the NBA, but he still got because of his veteran status and the respect he has among coaches in the league. With Wall out of the picture, who's going to take his spot?
Lou Williams has been the biggest snub of the All-Star Game. He's had an incredible season and many people thought he deserved to get in over players like Wall in the first place. He got snubbed again when the league chose to put in Paul George to replace DeMarcus Cousins at the forward spot.
Williams is a deserving All-Star this season playing the best basketball of his career. He has a career-high 23.5 points per game, 5.2 assists and has played a crucial role in keeping the injured Clippers afloat. He had a 50-point game this season. If the NBA passes over Williams again it's going to be for something that should have been abolished along with the new format: Conferences.
Williams is the best guard available, but because Wall represents the Eastern Conference, the NBA will likely choose someone from the East even though the All-Star Game this season has no conference affiliations with the teams. It's a silly reason that will likely keep out a deserving All-Star.
When All-Star Game projections were being made it was common to see the final spot in the East come down to two guys: Kemba Walker and Wall. The Hornets might have a record well below .500, but that isn't due to lack of effort from Walker. The Hornets would be far worse off without him.
When Walker is on the floor, the Hornets have a net rating of 5.2. That's the second-highest mark on the team behind only Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. However, when Walker is off the floor, the Hornets' net rating plummets to -13.2. Charlotte is completely hopeless when Walker is off the floor, and this goes beyond its weak bench depth.
It's common that All-Stars are rewarded for winning games. While Walker hasn't done a lot of that, he's more than made up for it in his individual performances. He's carried the Hornets at every turn and they've done nothing to help him. He could at least have his struggles rewarded with an All-Star appearance.
Andre Drummond could have made the cut had the Pistons not fallen apart right before the reserves were voted on the roster. Drummond, who is in the midst of an incredible season, is someone that has always had potential, but his low points lead to questions about how engaged he can be on a night to night basis. There's been no questions about his engagement this season.
He has been a fantastic rim protector, screen-setter and he's been feasting on defenses with his pick-and-roll. He's averaging an absurd 15.1 rebounds per game (a career high) and his improvement to 62 percent from the free-throw line no longer makes him a liability in close games.
However, because Wall is a guard, Drummond will have a harder time making the All-Star Game. It would be easy for the league to seamlessly replace a guard with a guard and not create any awkward lineup changes. As a result, even with Drummond being a deserving candidate, his chances are lower since he's a big man.
Ben Simmons has been fantastic for the 76ers this season. It's easy to say he's not a true rookie, because he's a redshirt, but that's what he's listed as and it's made him one of the sharpest rookies in a long time. He's played the role of point guard for Philadelphia ever since Markelle Fultz started missing time due to a shoulder injury and he's thrived in the role.
However, the super rookie still has some flaws that could hold him back. One of them being that he simply doesn't carry the Sixers the same way other All-Stars on this list does. He does have a positive net rating, and that's largely a good sign for them, but others on his team such as Robert Covington, Joel Embiid, and even JJ Redick have found ways to leave a stronger impact on the team.
Simmons will also see some doubt just because he's a rookie. Young guys typically don't play in the All-Star Game.
The Heat are doing that mid-season thing where they turn things around again and Goran Dragic has played a big part in that. He hasn't been as good as he was last season, but Miami is finding some chemistry for Dragic. Injuries to ball-dominant players like Dion Waiters and Hassan Whiteside have allowed Dragic the freedom to explore and that's when he's at his best.
Dragic in the pick-and-roll with some of the younger guys like Bam Adebayo is always fun to watch. He always finds ways to get them involved on offense even if it doesn't always lead to an assist. Dragic is the heart of the team, but like Simmons, there are other players on the roster that has made a larger impact than him. Josh Richardson and even Wayne Ellington have both been far more consistent.
Has Dragic been good enough to get a spot over the others on this list? Probably not. He's deserving to be in the conversation, but that's about as far as his candidacy is going to go.