Joel Embiid Left Off Zach Lowe's NBA All-Star Team
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Does Joel Embiid deserve to be an NBA all-star.
We'll find out Thursday when the all-star reserves are announced, but ESPN's Zach Lowe says no.
"I've been polling team executives on Embiid's candidacy for the last week, and the response of one Embiid supporter stood out," Lowe wrote. "He lobbied for Embiid over [Paul] Millsap largely because Embiid would be more fun. Millsap's game is all subtle positioning, canny passing, and laborious drives to the rim. There is no room for subtlety in the All-Star Game, this person reasoned.
And then he concluded: "I realize that's not really fair to Paul Millsap."
Related: Bill Simmons Put Joel Embiid On His All-Star Ballot
Embiid finished third in the NBA all-star eastern conference frontcourt starters vote, but because of the new voting system he did not get in as a starter.
Related: 5 Reasons Joel Embiid Should Be An All-Star
Embiid's per-36 averages are historic, the Sixers are winning games, and The Process seems to be working. All-Star or not, Lowe says, that's all that really matters.
"He has played like an All-Star, and that should matter more to Philly and its fans than his participation in an exhibition staged between concerts," Lowe wrote. "He is going to make a ton of these.
"Embiid has now appeared in just 30 of Philly's 44 games, and he's averaging only 25 minutes when he plays. That just isn't enough."
