The Nuggets have been one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but they don’t have a representative on the Western Conference all-star team.
Some thought Ty Lawson could nab one of the seven bench spots that were announced Thursday, but instead the guards added were Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Phoenix’s Steve Nash and San Antonio’s Tony Parker. Westbrook was a shoo-in, Nash is having one of his better statistical seasons and Parker has surged lately, his 18.9 points per game and 7.7 assists faring better than Lawson’s 15.5 and 6.5.
“With the competition at the point guard position, I was probably more disappointed with (Danilo Gallinari) — I’m not sure how many votes he got,” Nuggets coach George Karl said before Thursday night’s game against the Warriors. “But because of the makeup of who could get votes — they took Parker, Nash and Westbrook and then you have (Kyle) Lowry, Ty, and some people said (Ricky) Rubio got some votes. There were too many guys, too many options.”
Dirk Nowitzki’s addition to the all-star team, one could argue, was due based on pedigree — he’s averaging just 17.6 points per game, well below his 22.8 career average. Gallo is averaging 17.0. He wouldn’t be able to play in the game because of an ankle injury, but the all-star nod would have been gladly accepted.
Karl also said the wacky schedule likely affected some of the voting, done by the coaches.
“With Monta Ellis, I haven’t played against him,” Karl said of the Golden State guard who didn’t get selected. “We talked about voting him as an all-star, but how can you vote for him if you haven’t even played against him? And there have probably been some coaches who haven’t played against Ty, so the veterans had the benefits.”
Brewer back? Karl said he thinks Corey Brewer will be back with the Nuggets on Saturday when they play in Indiana. The reserve forward has missed the past three games to be with his family after the death of his father.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
