As soon as the 2022 All-Star start list was announced, controversy came as scheduled.
None of the Suns, the league's best-recorded suns, were named to the starting lineup, Chris Paul and Devin Booker were left behind, and Associated Press reporter Tim Reynolds took the lead in beating the suns.
No wonder, before the all-Star starters were announced, the Suns were firmly in the first place in the West with 38 wins and 9 losses, three wins ahead of the Warriors. This season, the Suns have the highest winning rate of the strong team, the most stable performance of the abuse dish, the key ball is invincible, and the offensive and defensive efficiency is in the top five of the league. In terms of overall performance, the Suns should indeed have players selected as All-Star starters.
As a result, both Paul and Booker were ignored, with the former scoring 5th in the Western Conference backcourt and the latter in 4th place.
Why is it that the sun that reached the finals last season and proved that last season's success was not accidental is not welcomed?
In fact, the Suns' 134-124 home win over the Timberwolves today shows why.
Throughout the game, Paul scored 21 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in nine shots, playing a triple-double. Booker scored 29 points and nine assists on 26 shots. As the two cores of the team, Paul and Booker have a very clear division of labor, the former is mainly responsible for organizing the tandem, and the latter is mainly responsible for attacking the city. Both have done well in their respective fields, but the overall performance is uneven and lacks highlight performance.
Do you really want to compare the performance and the significance of the team, Paul and Booker are inferior to Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, and Luka Doncic? not necessarily. But Paul and Booker had far fewer highlight moments than Curry, Morant, and Doncic.
Non-Sun fans recall Paul and Booker's highlights this season and may only think of the former's assists and the latter's occasional scoring explosions. But Curry and Doncic have all had great killers this season, and Morant has also had highlight shots in some key games, such as blocking Bradley's anti-natural talent, which has been highly broadcast on social media.
There will certainly be people who will not be convinced, but this is the reality. The All-Star vote is not the best lineup vote, to a large extent, the All-Star vote is a contest of popularity, and those players who have more highlight moments and high exposure rates have an advantage. Paul often has 10 assists and zero turnovers in one game is not strong? strong. How much improvement has Booker's three-point shooting rate exceeded 40%? big. But compared to those three-point kills, anti-sky blocks, and shocking dunks, these can't bring paul and Booker too much popularity growth.
In these respects, the sun does not prevail. Because the sun is so balanced, they have been a feeling of light wind and light wind throughout the season. The Suns played overall, with as many as seven players scoring in double figures against the Timberwolves, and they were not a team that relied heavily on Paul and Booker, with cameron Johnson and Shamet's three consecutive three-pointers at key moments directly ending the suspense. In any honor vote, this kind of team that relies on the whole to play is not dominant, referring to the previous Pistons and Spurs.
In addition, the Sun is located in Phoenix, and the market is too small. The Suns don't have a championship background, and there aren't many fans who support them. Coupled with the negative label of Suns owner Savoor for many years as "slamming the door" and "blindly interfering in the operation and coaching of the team", and this season has been involved in racism, misogyny scandals and has been investigated by the league, the Suns are naturally difficult to get the support of neutral fans.
In terms of media exposure, the sun is also very weak. The only media that can report stably on the sun is the Arizona Republic newspaper, which is the sun's local newspaper. In recent years, the NBA has become the mainstream media, the goal of this media is to set up resident reporters in 28 cities where 30 teams are located, and now most teams have resident reporters, including the Suns in the few teams that do not have resident reporters.
Before ESPN, "The Athletic" some reporters exposed their own media votes for whom, from the choice of reporters, most of them chose Curry and Morant, they think that Curry and Morant are not too controversial to be selected as the starter. Only a small number of reporters believe that Morant's position should belong to Paul.
If you compare defense, team record, organizational ability, Paul is definitely above Morant, but sorry, in the era of looking at faces, people will also choose players with good playing style and good statistics when choosing All-Stars. In addition, those reporters who choose Morant also believe that Morant's helpers are not as good as Paul, he can lead the team to the 3rd place in the West, and he is more worthy of starting than Paul.
From the final vote, Booker's fan votes and player votes exceeded Paul's, but the media did not mention Booker when arguing about the two positions in the Western Conference starting backcourt. In their opinion, Booker could not shake the position of Curry and Morant. Because Booker, unlike Trae Young, was also seen as a data brush, and also proved himself by last season's playoff spree, Young is already the number one core of the Hawks offense, and has played a 50+10 luxury stat, and Booker has not yet proved his tactical position above Paul. Whether judging the MVP or the best team, the judges will give priority to Paul.
In the end, as the two cores of the league's highest winning team, Paul and Booker lost the All-Star starter unjustly? Definitely wronged. But would Paul and Booker have a good reason to top either Curry or Morante? No.
The All-Star vote is like this, there are 2 places in the backcourt, and there are 5 defenders in the West, who have a reason to be selected, and who loses is a pity. Who voters choose is only a difference in perception.
Just like the difference between Booker and Paul in the player and media voting, the league gives players and media 25% weight in the hope that their objectivity can offset the fans' subjectivity as much as possible, but it also represents "objectivity", and the attitude of players and media is also different. The media considered Paul to be the Suns' most important player, but his peers voted more for Booker. No one is right or wrong, it is simply that the cognition and understanding of basketball are different.
The result is already an established fact, and solar energy can only do to accept reality. Fortunately, both Paul and Booker have great hopes of being selected as all-stars as substitutes. Moreover, the color of the all-star honor will not increase because it is a starter, nor will it decrease because it is a substitute, and it makes no sense to worry about whether it is a starter.
Ultimately, for the Suns, the championship is the most important thing, and the championship is played, not by comparing which side has more All-Star starts and more All-Star players.
When the All-Star Selection is held, the Suns will be unpopular because the two stars are too solid and the lineup is deep and thick and balanced. But when competing for the title, these will be the advantages of the sun.