The All-Inconsistent Teams Have Arrived

Why the All-Star Game is like grade-school recess. Plus: We're in Snub-Space

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All-Star teams, in any sport, are bound to be weird and controversial. After all, they’re kind of like being picked for a sport at recess in grade school.

Some guys are inevitably picked first because the team leader wants to win. You see the super strong 6-foot-1 12-year-old over there who is probably on growth hormone? Yeah, he’s picked first. It’s a survival of the fittest kind of thing. Others, however, are picked for their popularity — everyone knows them, so picking them means you’re in with the “cool kids,” I suppose. Then, there’s another group, who are probably physically and mentally deserving, but nobody really knows them or talks to them. Hence, they’re picked last — or left by the wayside entirely.

Yet, the NBA makes it difficult to discern which players are which at times. This year’s All-Star team — specifically the reserves — seems to be comprised of players who may or may not be deserving if not for the teams they play on. Others, however, are effectively the outcasts, who, while being equally deserving, are coming to realize that they are, well, unpopular — maybe. Let’s talk about that.