Utah Jazz players absent from first return of fan All-Star voting

Neither Rudy Gobert nor Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz were present on the first return of NBA All-Star fan voting that came out on Thursday.

Ah, NBA All-Star fan voting. Utah Jazz fans, if you ever find yourself in a pointless argument with a clueless NBA fan on Twitter, just glance at NBA All-Star fan voting results and you’ll realize how misguided many of them are. Don’t waste your time.

The latest return of votes is no exception as this year’s first release of the fan voting is about as ludicrous as they come. Check it out yourself via the tweet below from The Athletic’s Anthony Slater–

I love Luka Doncic, but the fourth highest vote-getter in the West? Come on. Oh, but wait, who’s that ahead of him – Derrick Rose? You’ve really got to be kidding me. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! DeMarcus Cousins, who has yet to play a game this season, still somehow managed to make the list.

I’m almost surprised the crazy fan voters out there didn’t find a way to get Kobe Bryant on the list somehow.

When Utah Jazz fans peruse the list, they’ll probably be quick to notice that not a single player from their team was included in this first run. As unfortunate as that might be, it’s actually not all that surprising. The small market Jazz are oft overlooked and rarely put up big numbers in these kind of popularity contests. Not only that, but there’s also a legitimate question of whether the Jazz deserve to have anyone in the All-Star Game as it is due to the team and individuals’ questionable play.

Of course, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are the two leading candidates, but they’re going to be hard-pressed to make it in. Mitchell’s numbers are down from a year ago and, to be quite frank, I think he had a better argument for the All-Star Game at this point of the year as a rookie than he has now. Mitchell’s explosive offense as he shouldered a massive load in the early part of 2017-18 kept the Jazz afloat while Rudy Gobert was dealing with injury.

This season, the whole Jazz squad has remained healthy, but Mitchell has struggled to find his shot in any form. He hasn’t been the offensive weapon that he was a year ago, and despite putting up a solid 20.1 points per contest, he just hasn’t been as reliable of a force as hoped. Especially when compared to other players in the deep and daunting Western Conference, I really don’t see any way that Mitchell gets in.

Gobert may have a bit more of a chance, particularly since he actually has played at an All-Star level this season. As evidenced by his absence from the first return of votes, it would take a miracle for him to come anywhere close to being an All-Star starter, but he still has a pretty good shot of making it in as a reserve selected by the coaches.

Rudy is putting up a career high 15.1 points per contest to go along with an astounding 12.4 rebounds and a fantastic shooting percentage of 66 percent. He continues to be an absolute anchor for Utah’s defense as he has them at the sixth best defensive rating mark in the league of 105.5 while putting up an individual mark of 102.8 to go along with a pair of blocks per game.

As the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, it’s nothing short of astounding that he has yet to earn an All-Star bid. Hopefully the NBA coaches will recognize that allowing Gobert to get his first ever nod for the big game.

The biggest thing Mitchell and Gobert have going against them, though, is their team’s poor record. Teams that have over-performed with winning records are typically rewarded in terms of All-Stars, and since Utah is sitting at just 18-20 as we near the halfway point, don’t be surprised to see them be overlooked.

I wouldn’t be one bit shocked to see someone like Nikola Jokic of the first-place Denver Nuggets or Tobias Harris of the LA Clippers make it over Gobert and Mitchell due simply to the fact that their teams are doing so much better than Utah. There’s strong arguments to be had that they deserve those spots over Mitchell and Gobert as it is.

Therefore, while fan voting results should be taken with a grain of salt, it also likely shouldn’t be considered too grave an error that Gobert and Mitchell are missing from the list. Between Mitchell’s inefficiency, Utah’s slow start and the hot play of teams above Utah in the standings of the deep West, the Jazz will be facing an uphill battle if they hope to have representation in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.