3 Undeserving players who shockingly made the All-Star Game over Kyrie Irving

As February comes to a close the Dallas Mavericks are slowly getting their roster back toward a place of sustainability, as Dallas has dealt with many injuries and illnesses that have derailed the trajectory of their season. The Mavericks have surmised some solid wins in this recent stretch, but they have a lot more ground to cover if they want to get back to a top four seed in the Western Conference like they were before Christmas, and it’s crucial that Dallas builds some momentum heading into the All-Star break.

There’s a variety of trades the Mavericks could explore to upgrade their roster ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, as recent injuries to Maxi Kleber and Dereck Lively II have boosted the need for a backup big man or bigger-bodied wing. Dallas recently signed Kylor Kelley to a two-way deal to mend their lack of big man depth a little bit, and the likes of Kessler Edwards and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are proving they are rotation-caliber NBA wings recently, but the Mavericks could still definitely use some depth in these areas to sure up their roster ahead of the postseason.

While making a trade before the deadline is possibly one of Dallas’ top priorities over the next week, Dallas’ main priority is coming out of All-Star break is likely to get fully healthy, and they are coming closer to that goal as superstar Luka Doncic will make a return to action soon.

Unfortunately for Doncic, he’s missed one too many games this season to have a legitimate case to make the All-Star team, as he wasn’t announced as a reserve or starter for the Western Conference this season. However, co-star Kyrie Irving is having one of his best statistical seasons in years and has only missed 10 games through 48 contests this season, yet Irving wasn’t selected as an All-Star when the reserves were announced yesterday.

3 Players Kyrie Irving deserved an All-Star spot over

It’s obvious that Irving got snubbed because Dallas’ record (26-22) as well as the fact that they are the eighth seed didn’t seem fit enough to coaches who selected the reserves, but Irving is more than deserving of making the All-Star team this season.

Irving has led Dallas valiantly through all the hiccups in their lineup this season, and he’s proved to be as durable as ever in his 14th NBA season. Even on a case-by-case basis, Irving clears a few of the names that were selected as Western Conference All-Stars this season, even though there are clearly some players who are on teams with better records than Irving.

3. James Harden

First off, the most glaring player that Irving shouldn’t have been snubbed for is James Harden, as Harden has played in a few more games than Irving and the Clippers are the sixth seed in the West, but Irving is having a wildly more efficient season. Through 44 games this season, Harden is currently averaging 21.7 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game on 39.9/35.2/88.8 shooting splits.

Harden has stood the test of time well this season for the Clippers and has them at the sixth seed in the West despite Kawhi Leonard missing a ton of time to start the season, but Dallas has encountered far more adversity and Irving has been more crucial to Dallas’ success than Harden has been for the Clippers’. Irving is currently averaging 24.2 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game on 48.2/41.9/89.7 shooting splits, and he’s not turning the ball over 4.6 times per game like Harden is, so it’s clear who the coaches should’ve gone with even though the Clippers have a better record than Dallas.

2. Alperen Sengun

Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets are surging past all initial expectations this season, as the dynamic big man is currently averaging 19.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game for the West’s second seed. Given the Rockets are the second seed, it was to be expected that the coaches would give them some representation for All-Star weekend in San Francisco, but that doesn’t make Sengun more deserving of an All-Star appearance than Irving.

Sengun is a great young big man who has some Jokic-esque offensive qualities, but the Rockets have an extremely talented roster across the board, and he hasn’t been near as vital to their success as Irving has been for Dallas. The Mavericks wouldn’t even be in the playoff picture much less the eighth seed if Irving didn’t carry this team over the past month with Doncic down, and Irving has been nearly as efficient from the field compared to Sengun this season even though Sengun is a center and Irving is a point guard, so Irving clearly should’ve been selected ahead of Sengun.

1. Jalen Williams

Jalen Williams has commanded far more attention on the offensive end this season, as he’s ascended to one of the best pure three-level scorers in the league over the past season and a half or so. Williams is currently averaging 21.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Mavericks have seen just how dynamic Williams can be on multiple occasions recently, including their playoff series versus the Thunder in the second round last season.

With the Thunder being the first seed in the West, Williams was easily the most deserving player to make the All-Star team out of anyone on this list, but he’s still not more deserving than Irving. Williams hasn’t taken the step from star to superstar quite yet, as he’s still not an expert at navigating double teams and more deceptive defensive coverages, but he’s certainly getting there and will be there soon.

Irving has been more dynamic offensively this season for the Mavericks and has been put in a more burdensome position compared to Williams though, and it’s objective to say Williams probably couldn’t do the same thing if he was in Irving’s position with Dallas’ beat up roster over this past month. Williams may be more deserving than Irving for All-Star candidacy for seasons to come, but the coaches should’ve waited one more year to vote for Williams as an All-Star reserve ahead of Irving.