All-Star team rosters revealed; Lebron picks Kyrie

[Moranis]

Not surprised James picked Kyrie. Easy PR move to initiate a public burying of the hatchet.

I like this idea to make the ASG more interesting, although I don't expect it to impact the effort level of the game at all.

I was really thinking LeBron wouldn't pick kyrie and that's why I assumed this whole thing was kept secretive.

instead now I think LeBron picked kyrie so he doesn't look like the d0uche that he is.

See, I presume that Lebron did not pick Kyrie, but instead Curry stuck him with Kyrie.  Here's how I think it went down:

Lebron must have had the first pick and taken Durant, because Curry would have taken Durant first if he had the chance to.
I assume it was a snake draft so Curry took Harden and Giannis next. 
Then Lebron says "oh yeah, let me get two dominant bigs in AD and Cousins!" 
Then Curry has Derozan, Embiid, and Kyrie left to choose two from and says, "Oh, I am definitely sticking Kyrie with Lebron!  Haha yesssss, this is gonna be great!" and takes Derozan and Embiid.

Not a snake draft. James' first picks were probably
Durant
Davis
DMC
Kyrie

I think Lebron took Kyrie 2nd or 3rd. 

[Who]

LeBron's team has got a lot of big men. A lot of PGs / combo guards too. Few wings.

LeBron trying to guarantee himself minutes to go for MVP ??

How many more wings do you need when you have Lebron and Durant on the same team?

I am surprised by it because those guys usually end up playing a lot of PF in All Star Games. Big men have gotten less and less minutes over the years and LeBron has selected a bunch of them. Then he has gone for smallish guards too.

Gone away from versatile wings and forwards which have been so valuable in recent times.

[Who]

Steph's team:

Not wild about DeRozan and Giannis together in the starting lineup. I haven't liked DeRozan in the ASG in the past. He is very selfish and not efficient enough to justify it. Takes shots away from better players. Harms ball movement. Settles for bad shots. Dodgy jump-shooter. And Giannis is a non-shooter. So I don't like the two of them together. I think Steph would've been better off with a shooter at SF next to Giannis rather than DeRozan's slashing game.

His bench has a lot of guys who are not great All-Star type players. Horford, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. Slower players who do great in a halfcourt game which the ASG is not. It is more of an open court game. I don't think these guys do their best work there. So I don't his selections on the bench.

I don't like the Lowry selection either. Steph has Klay and Lillard off the bench with himself and Harden in the starting lineup. Lots of shooting and ball-handling. Lowry is unnecessary. They should glue his butt to the bench.

I think Lillard will do great in the ASG. I like Klay and Towns too. Lillard I think is a sleeper for MVP. I can see him having a huge game off the bench.

Giannis will be dynamite. Another top MVP candidate. He will be a breakaway train in the open court. Dunking left and right. Grabbing rebounds / loose balls. Handling the ball in transition. A nightmare for LeBron's team.

Steph and Harden are awesome. Embiid will be interesting. He is turnover prone and can settle for bad shots. On the other hand, he is incredibly talented and athletic. He is still inconsistent. He could go either way.

[Who]

LeBron's team:

It is all the bigs = Davis, Cousins, Love, Aldridge, Porzingis. Lots of size. Not a great deal of speed for an open court game. I don't like Aldridge in the ASG. His game (halfcourt game, midrange shooting, post play) doesn't translate well to the ASG. Cousins and Davis will tear it up. Porzingis will be an exciting one. Not wild about Love. He is too slow on D. He will play three point line to three point line. Too slow to get into the action consistently.

Then a bunch of guards = Irving (starter), Wall, Westbrook, Beal, Oladipo. Wall and Westbrook are dodgy shooters who need the ball in their hands. Very effective when the offense runs through them. Not as effective when sharing the ball. Irving is an awesome threat in the ASG. Beal figures to be very good as well. Oladipo I do not trust. Different situation when he is far down the pecking order and he has hasn't handled that in the past.

LeBron and Durant together is awesome. Lethal. No wings off the bench though. Surprising decision by LeBron. Lots of bigs and guards. So slow players frontcourt and lack of size/length on the wings. Opportunities for Steph's team to exploit. Durant and LeBron will have to play a lot of minutes. That should help their MVP causes.

I'd say Durant is favourite for MVP given his scoring ability and his team's lack of balance. 

[fairweatherfan]

In hindsight, they had to divvy up starters first and there was only one PG LeBron could possibly take there. I don't know if there were formal position rules or what but it seems more or less inevitable LeBron was going to end up with Kyrie.

[Ory]

I'm still trying to figure out whether LeBron or KD is announced as the starting shooting guard.

[Roy H.]

In hindsight, they had to divvy up starters first and there was only one PG LeBron could possibly take there. I don't know if there were formal position rules or what but it seems more or less inevitable LeBron was going to end up with Kyrie.

My guess is that he would have gone with Harden if he had been available with his second pick.

[Surferdad]

It's almost as if Curry said, LeBron pick all your starters and then I'll pick my whole team.

Really makes sense, this may be true.  If not, then there is no future as a GM for Curry.

[fairweatherfan]

In hindsight, they had to divvy up starters first and there was only one PG LeBron could possibly take there. I don't know if there were formal position rules or what but it seems more or less inevitable LeBron was going to end up with Kyrie.

My guess is that he would have gone with Harden if he had been available with his second pick.

Yeah that's fair, Harden's more or less a PG too, certainly a primary ballhandler.

[mmmmm]

I'm still trying to figure out whether LeBron or KD is announced as the starting shooting guard.

Lebron has played 'shooting guard' quite a bit the last couple of years so I expect they will lineup like so:

C:  Cousins
PF: Davis
SF: Durant
SG:  Lebron
PG:  Kyrie

with Lebron doing most of the ball-handling.

That's a frightening lineup.

[CelticsElite]

What's the chance horford was picked last?  Lebron locked in size early with cousins and Davis and curry spent time in reserves drafting his teammates and probably towns. Then lebron probably got K love for loyalty early in reserves

[Snakehead]

What's the chance horford was picked last?

I mean there are a lot of great players, but I think NBA players (especially smart ones) and coaches appreciate what Al can do.  It's mostly just fans and some media, occasional not as bright players who do not.

[Snakehead]

I'm still trying to figure out whether LeBron or KD is announced as the starting shooting guard.

Lebron has played 'shooting guard' quite a bit the last couple of years so I expect they will lineup like so:

C:  Cousins
PF: Davis
SF: Durant
SG:  Lebron
PG:  Kyrie

with Lebron doing most of the ball-handling.

That's a frightening lineup.

The size of it, plus the 5 out spacing, is pretty ridiculous.  The defense should be great.  Very tough to beat.

I also think it's cool because I personally love what New Orleans has done putting Davis and Cousins together in themselves (countering small ball with skilled big men who can shoot), but the rest of that team is very questionable for the most part.  It'll be cool to see a snap shot of them playing with stars.

[CelticsElite]

What's the chance horford was picked last?

I mean there are a lot of great players, but I think NBA players (especially smart ones) and coaches appreciate what Al can do.  It's mostly just fans and some media players who do not.

agreed. Fans who focus on box scores for sure

[Moranis]

What's the chance horford was picked last?  Lebron locked in size early with cousins and Davis and curry spent time in reserves drafting his teammates and probably towns. Then lebron probably got K love for loyalty early in reserves

0. he is on curry's team so he couldn't have been last