The Eastern Conference All-Star reserves includes a mix of familiar faces and fresh new blood. Mainstays such as John Wall, Kyle Lowrey , and Paul George are on here, but so are newcomers Isahia Thomas and Kemba Walker. It’s a fun new mix, although not a fresh as the four new All-Star starters making up the starting five next to LeBron James.
The big question was whether Embiid had done enough to earn an All-Star bid despite the 76er's record and his own minutes limit. When he plays, Philadelphia has a positive scoring differential. When he doesn’t, they are awful. In spite of a late surge, the coaches left Embiid off the team.
It was also unclear if any of the East’s sparkling point guards would be left off the roster. In the end, the coaches rewarded all of them, adding Wall, Lowry, Thomas, and Walker to the mix.
Here are the reserves for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. They will join starters Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Giannis Antetkounmpo. The game will take place on Feb. 19
Isaiah Thomas
The 5’9 Thomas is leaping to heights the league hasn’t seen since Allen Iverson revolutionized basketball. His 28.7 points per game rank third best in the NBA behind just Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, and he’s doing it from all areas of the floor. IT4’s nailing 38.5 percent of his 7.9 three-point attempts per game and nailing 91 percent of his free throws. And it’s Thomas’ calculated aggression that has propelled his Celtics (26-16) into the East’s upper echelon.
The 5’9 Thomas is leaping to heights the league hasn’t seen since Allen Iverson revolutionized basketball. His 28.7 points per game rank third best in the NBA behind just Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, and he’s doing it from all areas of the floor. IT4’s nailing 38.5 percent of his 7.9 three-point attempts per game and nailing 91 percent of his free throws. And it’s Thomas’ calculated aggression that has propelled his Celtics (26-16) into the East’s upper echelon.
