NBA announces reserve players for 2019 All-Star Game

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The NBA announced its roster of reserve players for the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

NBA's reserved players in the East for the 2019 All-Star Game (from left to right): Bradley Beal, Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Kyle Lowry, Kris Middleton, Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin /VCG Photo

Eastern Conference: Victor Oladipo (injured) from the Indiana Pacers, Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors, Khris Middleton from the Milwaukee Bucks, Ben Simmons from the Philadelphia 76ers, Blake Griffin from the Detroit Pistons, Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards and Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic

NBA's reserved players in the West for the 2019 All-Star Game (from left to right): LaMarcus Aldridge, Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson /VCG Photo

Western Conference: Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets, Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors, LaMarcus Aldridge from the San Antonio Spurs and Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves

Like usual, the Eastern squad was outshined by their Western counterpart. Of all seven players, Simmons was the least disputed selection, with his average of 16.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Though Oladipo has similar numbers with an average of 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists, he will not play in the All-Star Game due to a season-ending injury.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will name the replacement for Oladipo. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowsiki, D'Angelo Russell of the Brooklyn Nets and Jimmy Butler of the 76ers are two potential candidates.

Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers dunsk in the game and he is about play the first NBA All-Star Game in his career. /VCG Photo

Lowry and Middleton made it to the All-Star Game thanks to their teams' high rankings – Toronto and Milwaukee make up the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference. Middleton scores an average of 17.3 points per game while Lowry has dropped an average of 14.2 points and 9.4 assists this season.

Beal, Griffin and Vucevic have all earned their spots in the All-Star Game despite their team's poor performances.

Beal has taken over the Wizards' offense by scoring 24.7 points per game. Griffin as the Pistons' only core player puts down 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists on average. Vucevic is one of the best offensive centers with 20.7 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic will play the first NBA All-Star Game in his career. /VCG Photo

By contrast, the West's reserves were more convincing. With 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.6 blocks on average, Anthony Davis deserved a spot in the All Star first-lineup. Russell Westbrook is averaging triple-doubles with 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists for the third straight season. Lillard's leadership has helped Portland to the No. 4 spot in the West, with an average 26.4 points and 6.3 assists.

Jokic's numbers have led to many calls for a MVP consideration. Aldridge proved that he's still that great power forward in offense with 21.1 points and 8.8 rebounds to put San Antonio back to top 8. Thompson's 21.7 points per game was good and let's not forget that he's a Warrior and sank NBA-record 14 three-pointers in one game this season.

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots in the game and he will play the first NBA All-Star Game in his career. /VCG Photo

The only surprise in the West was Towns. Though his 22.6 points plus 12.2 rebounds were All-Star-level, it was not too remarkable and his Minnesota were still bottom 5 of the West.

It's only natural that there's no way to make everybody happy in an All-Star selection. Many fans were disappointed that Derrick Rose who is playing his best season since an injury that almost ruined his career didn't make the list. Fans of the Mavericks were also unhappy that their super one-year rookie Luka Doncic was snubbed.

On February 7, captains of the two All-Star teams, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will select members. With more votes, James will pick first to make his first line-up. In return, Antetokounmpo will have priority in selecting from reserve players.