One on One – All Star Edition

Was Anthony Davis the right player to replace Kobe in the All-Star game?

Writers Brandon Garland and James McNeill answer this week’s one on one question.

1. Do you think Anthony Davis was the right choice to replace Kobe Bryant in the All Star Game?

BG: As a Kobe fan, I found it comical yet unsurprising that the Mamba made the All Star game. Yet realistically he had no chance, which he understood and encouraged fans to vote for the younger players. A man who should have made it is Anthony Davis, with 20.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 BPG, plus a 5th in the league 26.44 PER. Davis has been an absolute monster from both ends this year, and he certainly can’t be blamed for the Pelicans underperforming this year. Many, including myself, believed that these Pelicans would be playoff bound, but they’ve been a bit mediocre, as can be seen by their team rankings in PPG, RPG, APG and Points Allowed. A big issue has been the injury of Jrue Holiday, but even still this team could be doing better. A late season push isn’t out of the question with a hopeful Holiday return later on plus this sort of stellar play from Davis could end in New Orleans hosting both the All Star Game and a play off game.

Let alone the team’s success or underperformance, Davis himself has been immense. Arguably the best PF in the league behind Kevin Love and Lamarcus Aldridge, Davis has certainly emerged as a budding superstar, and budding superstars certainly deserve to be in the All Star game. Improved in nearly every facet of his game, Davis has certainly proved himself worth the top pick in 2012, as he’s head and shoulders better than all others taken that year, besides Damian Lillard. Games like this against the Lakers exemplify all of his well-refined game, and ads like this show how cool of a guy he seems to be.

One day, and one day not too far down the line, Davis will be known as a superstar, an elite player in the league. Should he make another improvement as large as the one from last season to this, Davis might not simply be a superstar, but he may just find himself enshrined at 1000 Hall Fame Ave, Springfield, MA. But, at the very least, he’s deserving of finding himself in his home arena on February 16th, as the rightful replacement for Kobe Bryant.

JM: 1. I had already picked AD as my Most Improved Player in a previous article, so I have no issues with his inclusion. The Pelicans big man has made the jump from good player to superstar in his second year, averaging 20 & 10 while blocking a league high 3 blocks per game. He also sports a good level of league-wide popularity and recognition that other players eligible for the spot lack.