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Name seven players in the West who should be chosen as All-Star reserves. For a debate on the East reserves, click here.
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Steve Aschburner: There are two immediate slots to fill with Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic, given the West had five frontcourt guys worthy of starting. LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gobert, Tobias Harris, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook would flesh out my stellar bench. I like Gobert over Utah teammate Donovan Mitchell because I want to see defense (Gobert’s shot-blocking) in the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, Dallas loses out at both ends of the NBA legend life cycle, with no spot to honor Dirk Nowitzki and a directive for Luka Doncic to showcase himself in the Rising Stars Game.
Shaun Powell: Make it Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Nikola Jokic as the frontcourt, Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard as the guards, and the wild cards are Rudy Gobert and Luka Doncic.
John Schuhmann: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic are easy picks. After that, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns are most deserving. And finally, LaMarcus Aldridge and Russell Westbrook edge out Tobias Harris, Donovan Mitchell and Klay Thompson for the last two spots.
Sekou Smith: My Western Conference All-Star reserves are Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Tobias Harris, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook.
