Tonight on TNT, the NBA will announce the reserves for the 2015 All-Star Game, with an eye towards rectifying the embarrassing election by the fans of Los Angeles Lakers aging star Kobe Bryant for the West and the slightly less egregious choice of New York Knicks ball hog Carmelo Anthony for the East.

Using the advanced metrics of PER, a measure of per minute production, WS/48, win shares per forty eight minutes that estimates the number of wins contributed by a player per 48 minutes, and VORP, value over replacement player, we’ll look to see who is most deserving of those final roster spots.

For balance, three frontcourt players and two guards for each conference will be considered, just like the starters, even though there will likely be more selections than that, coming closer to a fifteen man roster.

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

LeBron James, Pau Gasol, and Carmelo Anthony comprise the starting front court for the Eastern Conference.

To gain a sense of perspective with the advanced stats, James has a PER of 26.1 (league average is 15) and leads the East among players with significant minutes. His WS/48 is .191 (league average is .100) and while that is quite good, it does fall below some of the elite players in the West. And finally, his VORP is first in the East at 5.3, where league average is -2.0. LeBron is easily the best player in the Eastern Conference.

Gasol is second in the frontcourt in the East in PER at 22.2. Anthony is third at 21.6, which brings us to our first reserve player.

Al Horford, center for the Atlanta Hawks, has a PER of 21.3, a WS/48 of .129, and a VORP of 2.9. His more conventional numbers are 15.2 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, and 1.4 blocks per game, in 30.4 minutes per game of playing time.

Next of the bench is Chris Bosh, center for the Miami Heat, with a PER of 21, a WS/48 of .174, and a VORP of 2.7. In 35.4 minutes a game, he is averaging 21.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.

The third spot is a toss-up between Greg Monroe, power forward for the Detroit Pistons, and Jonas Valanciuna, center for the Toronto Raptors. As it is highly unlikely three centers will be chosen (two might actually be a stretch, but Bosh can play the 4), Greg Monroe gets the nod.

Monroe has a PER of 20.7, a WS/48 of .121, and a VORP of 2.6. He averages 15.2 points and 10.3 rebounds in just under 30 minutes per game.

Backcourt   

The starters for the Eastern Conference are John Wall of the Washington Wizards and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors. As Lowry and Wall actually rank 3^rd and 4^th in PER, picking two additional guards is relatively simple.

Jeff Teague, point guard for the Atlanta Hawks, and Dwayne Wade, shooting guard for the Miami Heat, are most deserving.

Teague has a PER of 22.5, tied for the lead among backcourt players in the East who have played significant minutes with Wade. His WS/48 is .139 and his VORP is 3.7. Averaging 17.1 points, 7.5 assists, and only 2.6 turnovers per game, Teague is a key reason for the Hawks surprise season.

The 33 year old Wade, who is out right now with a strained hamstring, has been averaging 32.3 minutes a game to record a 22.5 PER, a remarkable .183 WS/48, and a VORP of 3.5. He leads the Heat in scoring with 21.4 points a game and contributes another 11 or so a night with his 5.4 assists.

Other Worthy Candidates

Jonas Valanciuna probably does get in, after all, with a PER of 20.4. Jimmy Butler, shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls, Kyrie Irving, point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mason Plumlee, center for the Brooklyn Nets, and Andre Drummond, center for the Detroit Pistons, all probably make the team as the only remaining players with PER over 20.

Western Conference

Frontcourt

The starting front court for the Western Conference consists of Anthony Davis, power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, Marc Gasol, center for the Memphis Grizzlies, and Blake Griffin, power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers. With PER, WS/48, and VORP slash lines of league leading 31.8/.209/6 for Davis, 22.6/.208/4 for Gasol, and 22.9/.170/4 for Griffin, the voters got it mostly right.

Both last year’s MVP, Kevin Durant, shooting forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Sacramento Kings center, DeMarcus Cousins, have PER higher than either Gasol or Griffin and should easily slot into the bench for the West.

Durant is second in the league in PER, behind Davis, with 28.6, and sports a .187 WS/48 and a 5.4 VORP. While he’s played significantly fewer minutes that almost everyone else on the All-Star team due to starting the season on IR, he is averaging 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. As one of the most recognized names in the league, Durant is a lock to be on the roster.

Cousins is a well-kept secret in Sacramento, but his numbers are impressive. His .213 WS/48 is tops among big men in the league. And, his PER of 25.7 and VORP of 4.2 aren’t too shabby either. With 24.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, Cousins is a force in the middle and deserves to be an All-Star.

Backcourt

Guards in the West dominate the top spots in league PER, and no, Kobe Bryant isn’t one of them. James Harden, shooting guard for the Houston Rockets, Russell Westbrook, point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephen Curry, point guard for the Golden State Warriors, and Chris Paul, point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, are all in the top nine in the league in PER, and only one of them, Curry, is on the team right now.

With Kobe out for the season with rotator cuff surgery, James Harden should replace him in the starting lineup, where he should have been in the first place.

Harden’s PER is third in the league with 27.9. His VORP is tied with Durant for second at 5.4 and his WS/48 is a very impressive .192. Harden contributes 36.2 minutes a night to the Rockets and 19 points a game.

It’s truly mind boggling to consider what the Thunder would have had if they could have kept Harden. Durant, Harden, and Westbrook are 2, 3, and 4 in PER and VORP.

This season, Russell Westbrook, is averaging 24.7 points and 7.6 assists per game on his way to putting up a PER of 27.2, a WS/48 of .191, and a VORP of 5.3. Put him on the team.

Rounding out the West’s backcourt is Chris Paul. He is tops in the league in WS/48 at .232 and he provides a PER of 24.8 and a VORP of 4. Paul accounts for roughly 37 points a night for the Clippers with 17.4 points and 9.8 assists. Name recognition from the State Farm commercials should land Paul on the West’s roster.

Other Worthy Candidates

The West is loaded and someone deserving is going to get left of the roster.

But, Klay Thompson, shooting guard for the Golden State Warriors, LaMarcus Aldridge, power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, Derek Favors, power forward for the Utah Jazz, Damian Lillard, shooting guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, and Tim Duncan, power forward for the San Antonio Spurs should all make the roster, all with PER higher than 22.