Starting Five: Yaron's Western Conference All-Star picks

By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer

The NBA All-Star Game — scheduled for Feb. 20 in Cleveland — is inching closer, making this a perfect time to take a look at the field for Western Conference starters.

For those who need a refresher: The NBA is no longer using traditional positions. It is now two "backcourt" players and three "frontcourt" players, with a weighted system; fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, media 25 percent and players 25 percent.

I selected who I think should be the Eastern Conference starters last week. Here are the five players I believe should represent the West.

Backcourt spot No. 1: Steph Curry, Warriors

This one is an easy call. Curry is the engine and heart of the team with the league’s best record. He’s sixth in the NBA in scoring (26.8 points per game) and drilling just under 40% of the record-setting 13.3 deep balls he’s launching per game.

The interesting thing with Curry is that his shooting numbers are actually down this season. His 38.8% mark from deep is a career low, as is his 42% field-goal percentage. Yet none of that really matters. Nobody challenges, threatens or stretches a defense like Curry. Nobody leaves so many defenders feeling so helpless.

Curry is the best in the league — and ever — at jacking triples off the bounce (he has hit 39.3% of his pull-up 3s this season, the league’s top mark). He can launch from anywhere from distance and doesn’t need more than a slice of daylight. But he’s also an electric driver, an underrated finisher and an ace in the pick-and-roll; he has been the league’s sixth-most efficient pick-and-roll ball handler this season, according to Synergy’s tracking data.

He’s also the league’s most dangerous — and best — off-ball cutter and runner, the rare player who can draw a triple-team without the ball and create open looks for teammates while on the other side of the court. Curry is the type of player who could go scoreless for a month and still be a plus on the offensive end. He’s the best player on the league’s best team and an easy call here.

Backcourt spot No. 2: Donovan Mitchell, Jazz

For me, the West’s second backcourt spot comes down to two options: Mitchell and Ja Morant. You can toss Chris Paul in here, too, as he's the quarterback of the West’s No. 2 team, but the margins are thin at this level, and I think Morant and Mitchell have been better.

Let’s start with Ja, who has proven himself to be a player who not only can fill up a box score (25.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists per game, 48.9 FG%) but also impacts winning. The Grizzlies are an impressive 25-14 and have a 4.5-game cushion on the fifth-place Mavericks.

Yes, the Grizzlies went 10-2 when Morant was out with a knee sprain, but they’ve also won six in a row since he returned, including impressive wins on the road in Phoenix and Brooklyn.

Morant has always been an electric and explosive finisher with great touch around the basket and an innate feel for the game. But this year, he has become a deadly deep-ball shooter as well, connecting on more than 40% of his triples for the first time in his career. It’s a shot that has made him unguardable.

Yet if we’re going to pick a second guard based on offensive production, we have to go with the engine of what might be — statistically at least — the most explosive offense in NBA history.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s not just that the 118.6 points per 100 possessions the Jazz are putting up is a historic mark; it’s also that the difference between them and the second-most potent offense, that of the Atlanta Hawks, is basically the same as the difference between the Hawks and the 20th-place Boston Celtics. That’s how much better than the rest of the league the Jazz's offense has been. 

And all that starts with Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell is ninth in the league in scoring (25.5 points per game) and has been the NBA’s most efficient pick-and-roll ball handler this season. He also owns the league’s sixth-highest usage rate — proof of how much he’s the one elevating this unit.

Mitchell can score at all three levels. He’s a dynamic finisher, despite his size (6-foot-1, 215 pounds), and he can stop and pop off the dribble inside the arc or rise up from deep. 

The Jazz’s assault is predicated on breaking down opposing defenses via the pick-and-roll and forcing them into rotation. That starts with Mitchell's dynamism at the point of attack. He’s the best player on the team boasting the NBA’s best point differential and third-best record.

All that, to me, plus the fact he has missed only three games this season, gives Mitchell the nod over Morant.

Frontcourt spot No. 1: LeBron James, Lakers

Amazingly, even at the age of 37, this isn’t a legacy nod. The Lakers might be a mess this season, but LeBron, sort of quietly, is putting up a monster campaign.

His 28.6 points per game is the league's second-best mark, and his highest output since 2010. He also owns the league’s fifth-best PER. LeBron doesn’t get to the rim as much as he used to, but he’s still one of the league’s premier post players and has become a good enough shooter to make up for it (37% on 8.0 deep attempts per game).

And, of course, he remains a genius on the court and has shown this year that he’s still capable of expanding his game. Case in point: Injuries to Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers’ front line have forced LeBron to play center more than ever (35% of his minutes have come at the 5), and, incredibly, the Lakers have thrived in those minutes, outscoring opponents by 5.7 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass.

At this point, it seems like the only thing that can slow LeBron the Player down is LeBron the GM.

Frontcourt spot No. 2: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

You might not realize it if you haven’t watched much Nuggets basketball or are looking only at the standings, but last year’s MVP is actually playing even better this season. Jokic is averaging 25.7 points, 14.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists and shooting 56.4% from the field. 

In addition, not only is he leading the league in PER, but he’s also posting a mark that would set an NBA record.

Jokic is big, smooth and a wizard with the ball. He’s the best passing big man of all time, routinely flinging passes that seem to defy the basic rules of geometry and line of sight.

The knock on Jokic is his defense, and, yes, his lack of lateral quickness and poor jumping mean he can be exploited. But he’s so big and such a strong rebounder that he still manages to be a positive on that end of the floor.

— Nuggets' defense with Jokic: 104.6 points allowed per 100 possessions, better than the second-ranked Suns
— Nuggets' defense without Jokic: 118.2 points allowed per 100 possessions, worse than the last-ranked Blazers
— Nuggets' offense with Jokic: 113.8 points scored per 100 possessions, equal to the third-ranked Hornets
— Nuggets' offense without Jokic: 103.2 points scored per 100 possessions, equal to the 27th-ranked Magic

While plus/minus can be a flawed stat, Jokic’s mark is certainly telling. Not only have the Nuggets been a ridiculous 24.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor, but also, according to Cleaning the Glass, they’ve played like a 63-win team when he plays and like a nine-win squad when he sits.

Frontcourt spot No. 3: Draymond Green, Warriors

The case for Rudy Gobert is strong here. The Jazz roster is full of weak defenders, yet once again, Utah boasts one of the league’s best defenses (fifth in points allowed per possession). How? The answer is Gobert, specifically his prowess protecting the paint. Opponents are shooting just 47.5% against Gobert at the rim, the league’s top mark.

While Gobert might not be a dynamic offensive player who can create his own shot off the bounce, he’s still a strong screen-setter and smooth roller who has become a key cog in Utah’s explosive attack. The 1.25 points he’s averaging when finishing on the roll is the league’s sixth-best mark, according to NBA Advanced Stats.

The Jazz have been great this season, and I'd have no issues if you go with Gobert for this final spot. But I’m going with the best defensive player on the league’s best defensive team — and even that praise doesn’t do Draymond Green justice. 

Green is simply one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the game, and he's having one of his best seasons. 

Just ask Gobert’s coach:

Let’s also not ignore what Draymond does on offense. No, he’s not exactly an electric scorer or a dead-eye shooter. But the Warriors' offense as we know it wouldn’t exist without Green's brilliant passing and chemistry with Curry. 

Snyder is right. Green is someone worthy of MVP votes. I’m giving him my final starting spot.

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports and the author of "Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports." Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.