Fuck Yea[h] NBA

Like every year, there are people who are upset by NBA All-Star selections. They call them “snubs,” and loudly dery the NBA’s chosen mechanism for selecting guys in the annual NBA marketing circle jerk during the snow-ridden days of February. 

The fact Dirk Nowitzki made the Western squad reserves over guys like Pau Gasol, Monta Ellis, Paul Millsap and Danilo Gallinari means fans in those cities will inevitably bitch. But, Tom Ziller sums up why the inclusions of Dirk, and in the East, Paul Pierce, makes more sense than you’d think if you weren’t watching them play all year. Those guys are so good, even a shitty year for them means they’re within the top 12 guys in their conference.

Out West, the major issue is that Dirk Nowitzki got in over perhaps more deserving forwards Pau Gasol, Paul Millsap and Danilo Gallinari or one of the myriad guards considered (James Harden, Monta Ellis, Ricky Rubio among them). Dirk is having his worst season since 2000 (his second year), but his performance has been right on par with all of those other options. Nowitzki has been so, so good the last 10 years that when he’s less than amazing he looks like a shadow of himself. But as it turns out, the shadow of Dirk Nowitzki still legitimately has a case as one of the top 12 players in the West

The pantheon guys, and Dirk is one of them, don’t need to play their best basketball to be accepted as an all-star. That being said, can we figure out which New York fans voted Melo as a starter?

[SB Nation; Pic Via SI Vault]