Utah Jazz: Update on Gordon Hayward’s All-Star Berth Quest

The last time a Utah Jazz player was selected for the NBA All-Star Game was back in 2011. Can this be the year for Gordon Hayward and the Jazz?

It’s been nearly six years since the Utah Jazz had an All-Star on its roster. With the franchise-altering Deron Williams trade that brought in Derrick Favors, Utah moved their homegrown All-Star and began the long road to developing others.

It’s a challenging path, but as Salt Lake City struggles to attract big name free agents, it’s the only route available to Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey and company.

Both Favors and Gordon Hayward have been hovering around the All-Star conversation for the last few years. But the Western Conference is so incredibly loaded with talent, it’s easy to be overlooked. Ultimately, you have to score at least 20 points per game and be solid everywhere else to have a chance.

What Hayward and George Hill have done so far this year has been special. But are they All-Star special? Let’s figure out how many spots are available and what it would take to get one of them.

This is last year’s Western Conference All-Star roster:

I think we can all agree that Curry, Westbrook, Durant, Leonard, Paul, Harden, Cousins and Davis aren’t going anywhere and should be locks for 2017.  Among these players, everyone but Paul is currently among the top 12 scorers in the NBA. Additionally, these eight players are all among the top 10 PER leaders in the NBA. Eight out of 10! The West is stacked man.

If eight of the 12 spots are locked up, barring any devastating injuries, there will be just four available spots on the team. The two players missing from last year’s team that will most certainly be on it this year are Damian Lillard (currently sixth in scoring with 27.8 points per game/13th in PER with 25.1) and Blake Griffin (21.1 points per game/15th in PER with 24.7).

Last season, Lillard missed out due to the Kobe Bryant farewell tour, and Griffin had the year from Hell.

Which leaves only two spots left open for grabs. The contenders at this point of the season include:

A true All-Star should be part of a winning team. He should also be a significant reason for that team’s success. My criteria for the above list is players who were a part of last year’s ASG (Green, Aldridge and Thompson) or are currently scoring over 20 points per game with a respectable PER (Player Efficiency Rating).

While Towns, Barnes and Wiggins aren’t on teams currently in the playoff picture, they are essential pieces to what their team is accomplishing.

Granted, I am favoring PER as it’s a decent representation of a player’s overall impact to its team. It has its flaws, as proven by Enes Kanter currently holding on to a spot ahead of LeBron James. But it gives us the opportunity to evaluate each case individually.

While the Minnesota Timberwolves have not come out of the gates playing as well as they intended, it is going to be very difficult for the coaches to leave Karl-Anthony Towns off of this team. For lack of a better term, he is killing it. He’s only playing better as the year progresses and is held in high regard based on the results of the NBA GM Survey.

Depending on what happens the rest of the season, this seems like a no-brainer over Green and Aldridge.

Which leaves the final spot open with two of the leading candidates both being from Utah. The longer Hill stays out with his second phalanges sprain of the year, the more he hurts his case. Hayward not only came back earlier than expected from his fractured finger, but has been Utah’s most solid and dependable player over its first 21 games.

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With three months remaining, it does seem like Hayward has the edge over Hill, McCollum, Barnes, Thompson and Wiggins. But anything can happen between now and then. Winning as always is the tie-breaker and the coaches could choose to reward the Warriors if they continue to dominate as they have been.

But if Utah puts together a run of its own, should they ever get healthy, the same reward should apply. If H20’s shot stays wet (I’m sorry) and he continues his run of 30 points or more, there won’t be much of a decision to make.