With Anthony Davis succumbing to injury and sitting out the All-Star game, a replacement had to be made. Commissioner Adam Silver decided to award Dirk Nowitzki the coveted spot on the Western squad, a move that isn’t sitting well with Los Angeles Clippers coach, Doc Rivers.
ESPN interviewed Rivers and asked the question if Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan was snubbed.
“Dj should be on it. We all know that, I think it’s a travesty. I really do–a guy who’s getting 20s and 20s is not on the team.”
You can’t blame Rivers for supporting his player, but Jordan doesn’t deserve a spot on the team, at least not over Nowitzki.
DeAndre is the league’s best rebounder, pulling down 13.8 per contest. However, that’s his only real strength. Jordan averages a measly 10.7 points a contest, and while he does maintain the league’s best field goal percentage, he only attempts an average of 6.2 shots per night.
Frankly, if Dwight Howard were healthy there wouldn’t even be a question of Jordan making the team. The three biggest snubs after the initial starters were announced were Demarcus Cousins, Damian Lillard, and Dwight Howard. With Cousins and Lillard both getting in due to injury, Howard, if healthy, would have been the most logical choice to replace Anthony Davis, not Jordan.
Nowitzki is no slouch either, and Jordan’s gaudy rebounding and field goal percentage’s don’t negate Nowitzki’s 18.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Not to mention the Dallas Mavericks, who own the 5th seed in the Western Conference, didn’t have one All-Star before Nowitzki’s selection.
While Rivers is free to debate Nowitzki’s selection, it’s not going to get him anywhere. DeAndre Jordan isn’t an All-Star, that’s something he will have to deal with.