Darius Garland is proof that All-Star voters don’t watch basketball

All-Star games are designed to reward the best players of the current season across all sports. This is mostly done by getting fans to cast their votes for those who deserve the awards based on what they have seen. But like most things involving a referendum, you find out how separate you are from the masses. The NBA revealed the first round of voting in their fan polls, and a certain member of the Cleveland Cavaliers was left out.

While it’s clear to those who have watched that Darius Garland has been an instrumental pillar in the Cavaliers’ 29-4 start to the season, there appears to be a blackout in other parts of the country. Donovan Mitchell is currently second in the guard voting behind LaMelo Ball, but fans have deemed eight other guards more worthy of being an All-Star than Garland this season.

Based on public perception of the season, Jordan Poole is more worthy than Garland. Let me ask, what about Jordan Poole’s season is more impressive than Garland’s? Is it that his empty stats have Washington Wizards currently as the mighty 15th seed in the East at 6-25?

If stats are what you’re after, how about the fact that Poole is scoring just 1.2 points per game. match more than Garland despite being the focal point of the season? How about how Poole is scoring his 21.7 points on 43% shooting compared to Garland’s 49%? If basic shooting numbers don’t do it for you, you’ll want to know that Garland ranks as fourth most effective guards scorer in the league with a 59.1 effective field goal percentage? What are Pooles, you might ask? It is 54.9%which in itself is respectable. However, it is about determining who the best players in the conference are.

Despite this post making it seem like I have a personal beef with Poole, the point is more to point out the flaws and confusion I have with this voting process. The fact that Poole, who is having a good season for him despite the Wizards being atrocious, has no claim to deserving the votes he has over Darius Garland.

Garland has the narrative and the stats to make a case for being on this list. Garland is the second offensive option on the top team in not only the Eastern Conference – but the entire league. He’s also coming off a season that would normally cause most teams to give up on the player. Garland went from a hyper-inefficient season, plagued by personal issues and off-field tragedies, where his name was floated to be traded, to being better than the player we saw two years ago.

Garland is in the midst of a career year from almost every shooting state. Garland is currently shooting a career-best from three (42.7%), the free throw line (90.9%), and two-point percentage (54.9%). All this while playing fewer minutes than the past few seasons in a balanced and healthy offensive system.

I understand this has always been the case for All-Star voting systems. We all remember the year Zaza Pachullia was supposed to be a starter for the West. That doesn’t really excuse the process and the vote. Because of all the ways the All-Star Game is changing its structure, perhaps the committee should take some time to balance out the absurdity of this voting process. At this point, I’m surprised there isn’t a fill-in option so we can vote Harambe to be an All-Star.