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Photo: AP-Scanpix
Photo AP-Scanpix
John Hollinger, former vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies and currently an analyst for The Athletic, is convinced that Indiana Sabers forward Domantas Sabonis is not worthy of an All-Star game.
Domantas Sabonis
| MIN: | 36.39 |
| PTS: | 21.48 (57.77%) |
| REB: | 11.62 |
| WHAT: | 5.72 |
| ST: | 1 |
| BS: | 0.66 |
| TO: | 3.38 |
| GM: | 29 |
Lithuania plays the best season of its career statistically and accumulates an average of 21.5 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists for every 29 games played.
On Thursday night, Sabonis played the best game of his career, scoring 36 points (dvit. 12/19, 1/2 trit., Penalties 9/11) in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ basket, bouncing 17 balls and gave 10 assists.
Still, it seems to Hollinger that it is not a motto.
“Will we leave Jimmy Butler overboard because Domantas Sabonis’s team has 15 wins and 14 losses? Hollinger asked in his text. – Please. Seriously, if Sabonis makes the All-Star Game this year, I won’t survive. “
“Please don’t get me started on Sabonis. The speeches about his possible entry are, frankly, hard to understand. The Pacers are a much better team when they’re not playing.
With Sabonis on the field, the Pacers spend on average 2.5 points more than gains on 100 attacks, and when he sits on a bench, the team scores 12.5 points more than their opponents. In attack, Sabonis is not as good as a year ago and, in addition, rivals tend to attack him in defense.
The only strong argument is that the Pacers have a win more than losses, so someone from that team should be chosen. However, Sabonis is not even the best player on the Pacers, the mainstay of defense Myles Turner has much more serious arguments, “continued Hollinger.
In his caption, Hollinger openly states that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and Orlando Magic leader Nikola Vučevičius are more valuable than Sabonis by inviting them to the All-Star Game.
Butler has played 17 games this season, capturing 19.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists. However, the Heat team he represents has a total of 12 wins and 17 losses on their tally and is 10th in the Eastern Conference.
At the time, Vučevičius averaged 23.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per 30 games, but Magic had 12 wins, stumbled 18 times and is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference.
“Most of the analysts hardly mentioned Butler,” Hollinger wrote. – I can understand that in part because he’s played 17 games and the Heat’s win-loss record is 12-17. Still, looking at the larger context, one can quickly see how crazy this is going to look in May. Butler missed 12 games. Everything. Is that why we left it overboard?
“Kevin Durant missed 12 games, Kyrie Irving 10, but they are considered stellar players without a problem. Do you remember where the limit is?” Hollinger asked rhetorically.
In arguing Butler’s merit for being in the All-Star game, the Athletic expert no longer paid as much attention to the Heat’s results.
“When choosing the participants of” All Stars ” de facto It is decided that players from teams with a negative win balance are not worth being there unless the game and the statistics they show take away their promise.
At that point, a positive win balance is like a magic elixir, ensuring a place for the players in the All-Star game, ”said Hollinger.
Another important question is, what will all this be like after the season? In Butler’s case, things will look ridiculous if he finishes the season after playing 55-60 games as the best player in the playoffs, which is very likely. He will likely be chosen for the NBA’s symbolic third five, but will not qualify for the All-Star game. Seriously? Hollinger asked.
Speaking of Vučevičius at the time, Hollinger is convinced that despite the game on display, the Montenegrin has no chance of reaching the prestigious event.
“Vučevičius has no chance of entering the All-Star Match and for that we must thank the Mafia Awards for Victory.” However, Vučevičius is playing the best season of his career for the poor offensive team “Magic,” wrote Hollinger.
Still, Sabonis received intercession from Inside the NBA presidents Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. All of them added Lithuania to their reserve rosters of “All Stars” basketball players.
In exposing his reserve basketball players, Hollinger expressed the view that the following Eastern Conference basketball players should participate in the All-Star game:
At that time, the following players should be invited to the All-Star Match in the Western Conference, according to Hollinger:
The NBA All-Star game will be held on March 7. In Atlanta.
In December, Hollinger spared no criticism of David Sirvydis, whose move to the Detroit Pistons was a joke.
“It just came to our notice then. Last year he had a hard time in the Lithuanian basketball league, and this year he scored 1 point in two games in the Israeli championship,” Hollinger wrote on Twitter.
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