General discontent is what there is right now in Dallas after learning that Luka Doncic will not start in the All-Star. What seems certain is that it was part of the template, which will be revealed next week.
Ahead of Doncic there are two players who are giving a lot to talk about this season, Stephen Curry (voted first) and Ja Morant (voted second). The supposed ownership of the Slovenian in this All-Star would not be like any other, since, had he appeared in the starting five, he would have become the first Maverick to have been a three-time starter in the NBA event of the year.
The race for the All-Star title is going to be very close in the next few years due to the quantity and quality of players. This is how Charles Barkley, a former NBA player, put it: “It’s gonna be crazy for the next 10 years who gets it.”
Doncic came third in the fan poll with 2,506,117 votes, garnering 54 player votes (fourth most behind Curry, Morant and Booker) and receiving no media votes, hence the discontent of Mavs fans, who talk about a possible campaign against the player. Other Mavericks who received consideration: Kristaps Porzingis, 20 player votes (12th most) and finished 12th among fans in the West frontcourt voting, while Jalen Brunson got nine player votes (13th most) and he was 18th among fans in the backcourt poll.
In the preview of the presentation of the quintets, Jason Kidd, coach of the Mavs, spoke about it: “I don’t even know how the vote is going. He has to talk to some players, I guess, because in the fan vote, I don’t think he can catch Ja Morant, so he will have to talk to you (journalists) and to the players”. There was also talk about a possible manipulation and campaign between players: “Oh that could be manipulationKidd said. “So maybe it’s not the players, maybe the media.”
Conspiracies and manipulations aside, it’s clear this isn’t Doncic’s best season in the NBA, at least not consistently. Up to now he has missed 15 games due to injuries and COVID-19. Despite criticism of his fitness, Doncic has started the year very strong, but perhaps too late to have been a starter. Since January 9, he has achieved four triple-doubles, once again showing his scoring ability (41 points against the Raptors).