Fathead Blog

Last week, we looked at the NBA’s Eastern Conference All-Stars and this time, it’s the West’s turn. Balloting has just gotten underway and fans are now casting their votes (by the way, you can cast yours at www.nba.com). Here are my picks for the top 12 players in the West.

LaMarcus Aldridge – Aldridge is coming into his own and turning into one of the best big men in the West. His 23 points and nearly nine rebounds are both career highs and could turn the Blazers into a playoff team this season.

Kobe Bryant – Bryant is turning in another spectacular season in 2011-12 – go figure. Without Lamar Odom, the Lakers haven’t been as dominant as they were last season, but Kobe’s play is the biggest reason the team could again win the Pacific Division. Think Kobe’s past his prime? He’s leading the league with just over 30 points per game, and with offensive talent around him such as Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, that’s flat out amazing.

Andrew Bynum – With Gasol starting to show signs of slowing down, Bynum is taking a lead role in L.A. He’s arguably the best center in the West and while he averages about 16 points per contest, it’s his 13.6 rebounds per game that should land him a spot in the All-star contest.

Kevin Durant – Durant has led Oklahoma City to a Western Conference best 13 wins so far this season. With the emergence of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, he’s taking a few less shots than he has over the past three seasons … but he’s also making more of them and is turning into a perennial Most Valuable Player award candidate.

Monta Ellis – Ellis is averaging 23 points a game, but he’s been jacking up more than 20 shots to do so. Still, it’s hard to not find room for the West’s fifth leading scorer and the fact that he’s also dishing out seven assists a game (good for ninth in the conference) helps him to land a spot.

Blake Griffin – While the addition of Chris Paul to the Clippers was the move that got everyone’s attention, without Griffin, Los Angeles isn’t nearly the threat to win the West that they are now. He took the league by storm last year averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds and he’s posting similar numbers this season.

Blake Griffin has already given us memorable moments like this in past All-Star games.

Al Jefferson – With the stats that he’s accumulated over the past few years, it’s a little hard to figure out why teams haven’t found a way to hold onto Jefferson. He’s one of the top power forwards in the game and with the Jazz, is playing for his third team in only eight seasons. Jefferson’s having another big season bringing in about 19 points and nine rebounds each game.

David Lee – Two Golden State Warriors on an All-Star team? Yeah, I’ll admit it sounds a bit excessive for a team battling to stay out of the conference’s basement. But Ellis’ selection is justified and I think Lee’s is, too. His 18.6 points per game are ninth in the West and his 10.6 rebounds are fourth.

Kevin Love – Simply put, Kevin Love is likely the NBA’s best power forward. He’s in the top five in scoring (24.1 points) and rebounding (14.1) per game in the entire league and gives us a reason to follow the woeful Timberwolves. The downside to Love this season is his paltry 41% shooting percentage, which is far below average for a big man. But with a career average over 45%, look for him to get better as the young season goes along.

Steve Nash – At 37, Nash’s career is clearly winding down. Still it’s hard not to take notice of the incredible job he’s doing on a depleted Phoenix Suns team. Playing on a squad devoid of a real scorer, Nash has led the team in that capacity with 15 points a game shooting an obscene career-high 55% from the field. But it’s also his NBA-leading ten assists a game on such an offensively-challenged team that makes him too impressive to pass up.

Chris Paul – Paul has taken L.A. by storm and has the Clippers on top of the Pacific Division. His 8.4 assists per game are the fewest he’s had since 2006-07, but Paul has been shooting lights out from the field. His 52% shooting percentage and 45% from three-point range are both career highs. Playing alongside Blake Griffin, Chauncey Billups, and Caron Butler have led to better shot opportunities and Paul is taking advantage of them.

Russell Westbrook – Westbrook has taken a lot of criticism for his shoot-first attitude in Oklahoma City particularly because the team has an offensive weapon such as Kevin Durant. But if Westbrook doesn’t score, the Thunder probably aren’t the first-place team in the West as they are right now. I’d like to see him dish out a few more assists (Westbrook is averaging almost three fewer than he did last season), but he’s a surprisingly good rebounder and is making a career-best 45% of his shot attempts.

To view Part I in this series, click here.