East’s All-Star pool very shallow

Amar'e Stoudemire and LeBron James are leading the fan vote at forward in the East. (Anthony J. Causi/Icon SMI)

On Monday, I evaluated the ultra-crowded field of legitimate Western Conference All-Star candidates in hopes of finding a few guys set to make their debut in the game. It’s only fair that we give the Eastern Conference the same treatment, but, man, the All-Star pool is so shallow here. Of the top 30 players in Player Efficiency Rating, only 10 play in the East — and two of them are Ryan Anderson and Tyrus Thomas. In other words: We won’t be apologizing to a bunch of deserving All-Stars in the East like we’ll have to do with the West.

The goal is to find guys with a real chance at landing in the All-Star Game for the first time. Here are the locks in the East for the Feb. 20 exhibition in Los Angeles, beginning with the five players who are on track to be voted starters by the fans.

STARTERS

G: Derrick Rose. A no-brainer.

G: Dwyane Wade. Ditto.

F: LeBron James. This is pretty easy.

F: Amar’e Stoudemire. By a nose right now over Kevin Garnett. You could make an argument for Garnett here, but I’m fine with Amar’e.

C: Dwight Howard. No contest, obviously.

That leaves the coaches to pick seven backups — two guards, two forwards, one center and two wild cards, to be revealed Feb. 3, one week after the starters are announced. But there’s a caveat everyone forgets: Coaches are free to designate players at any position if they feel it’s best for the All-Star roster. So, in theory, if you have seven deserving backup forwards and no guards or centers, you could pencil in all seven forwards as your bench.

With that in mind, here’s how I view the All-Star landscape — which could be altered if Carmelo Anthony is traded to an East team. If I had an actual ballot, I would consider the first half of this season only. A lot of folks think the All-Star Game should be a reward for career achievement, and I get that, particularly since this is a showcase for the fans more than it is a real basketball game. But if you have one of these things every year, in my view, the right thing to do is to put in the guys who most deserve to be there in that particular season.

LOCKS OUTSIDE THE STARTING FIVE

• Kevin Garnett (Player Efficiency Rating: 21.63, 21st): KG is right on the edge of having missed enough games that I’d think about disqualifying him, but he’s played in 30 of Boston’s 39 games and looks ready to come back soon. He’ll never be the scoring threat he once was — particularly on the interior — but he’s still shooting 54 percent, and his passing, screening and movement are crucial to Boston’s offense. On defense, he’s back to hitting the glass like he did in his prime, and he remains one of the three or four best overall defenders in the game. He’s in.

• Paul Pierce (PER 20.67, 26th). Pierce is aging beautifully. He’s having the most efficient shooting season of his career, his rebounding is up and his turnovers are down. He has learned to play off of Rajon Rondo instead of dominating the ball, but he still has a good enough mid-range game to isolate, score and draw fouls when Boston needs points. He also played a nifty point forward when Rajon Rondo went down with an ankle injury.

• Al Horford (PER 22.33, 19th). Horford’s play has fallen off a bit after sitting in the top five in PER for much of the season’s first month, but he is Atlanta’s best all-around player and absolutely deserves a spot. The Hawks have finally realized they should be using Horford more on offense, and he has responded by scoring even more efficiently — and dishing many more assists — than he did in previous seasons. He’s Atlanta’s best defender, both in the post and as a helper, and his ability to defend multiple positions often keeps Atlanta afloat on that end.

• Chris Bosh (PER 20.14, 35th). The early-season object of mockery has been one of the most consistently productive players in the league. He is really the fulcrum of Miami’s offense because of his pick-and-pop skills, and the Heat’s top-flight defense is based partly on Bosh’s ability to run out on pick-and-rolls, cut off ball-handlers and scramble back to his guy (or the opponent’s other big man). His elite plus/minus numbers tell the story. Bosh is an All-Star. Whether he’s ready for the intensity of a seven-game blood bath against Boston or Orlando is a different story.

• Rajon Rondo (PER 19.25, 42nd). Rondo’s inability/refusal to get to the line is reaching crisis levels and he’s not hitting his floaters with the same proficiency as last season, but he belongs on this team. His assist numbers are outrageous — minor padding aside — and his creativity off the dribble is the key reason Boston has a chance to be just the third team since 1997 to shoot 50 percent from the floor. He plays some of the best defense at his position, and though he turns the ball over too much, he’s become a more careful (and efficient) transition passer.

HOPEFULS

Raymond Felton may be on the brink of earning his first All-Star appearance. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

That’s 10 locks, leaving us with two precious spots left. Do we have any first-time candidates? Here’s the (pretty depressing) assembled field of candidates, with potential first-timers in italics:

• Josh Smith (PER 19.45, 39th). He’ll still drive you crazy with his tendency to hoist questionable jumpers (he’s making them this season, but the other shoe is going to drop) and his bouts with pouting — the latter being especially damaging when directed at officials and executed at the expense of getting back on defense. He’s a dangerous scorer in the post, and he’s more than a weakside shot-blocker on defense. And he’s managed to keep his assist numbers near last year’s career-best level. A good candidate, but he suffers from the crowded forward landscape in the East — and the comparatively small pile of All-Star-worthy guards.

• Elton Brand (PER 19.34, 40th). Some of you might be chuckling, but you shouldn’t be, because Brand has had a nice bounce-back season. He’s shooting 51 percent, rebounding almost like he did in his prime and finding a way to fit — at both ends — on a Sixers team that needs him to play a lot of center. He wouldn’t get an All-Star sniff in the West, and he probably won’t get in among the East’s forwards, either, but he merits a mention.

• Devin Harris (PER 19.31, 41st). Everyone wants to talk about the next guy on the list, which is fine, but if we’re talking about him, we also have to at least utter Harris’ name. His mid-range game is back, and he’s having a solid season directing a Nets offense that would be easily the worst in the league if you replaced Harris with a middling point guard.

• Raymond Felton (PER 18.79, 46th). A first-timer candidacy with some momentum behind it, and not without reason. Felton has settled in as a league-average three-point shooter, and that’s great for him, considering the number he takes and his (much worse) prior marks. He works hard on defense, and he directs one of the most lethal pick-and-roll attacks in the league. He’ll bug you occasionally with a bad three-pointer and a crazy pass in transition, but Felton is not a charity candidate.

• Ray Allen (PER 18.12, 49th). He’s not a high-volume shooter anymore — Glen Davis averages more shot attempts per minute these days — but the spacing Allen creates is like WD-40 for Boston’s offense. He’s not an elite defender, and he struggles against bigger shooting guards, but he’s feisty and always in the right place. A solid candidate, even if the odds are stacked against any team getting four All-Stars.

• Andrew Bogut (PER 17.48, 62nd). His shooting, from the line and (sometimes) from the floor, has been a mess, but he remains the second-best big-man defender in the league. He’s tops in shot-blocking and fifth in rebounding, and no one outworks him defensively. On good scoring nights, he merits a double team and can get you 20 points. A legit backup candidate.

• Joe Johnson (PER 17.34, 65th). Of all these backup candidates, Johnson is probably the closest thing to a “lock,” simply because coaches still perceive him as the superstar player he’s never been. But he’s a very good player, and he’s found his shooting stroke after a cold start and early-season elbow surgery. He carries a heavy load, even on defense, where he’s regularly asked to guard small forwards and point guards.

So that’s seven candidates for two spots, with only three potential first-timers among these final seven guys. We could, in other words, find ourselves with an Eastern Conference All-Star roster bereft of All-Star virgins, which is not necessarily a bad thing, even if it’s more fun to have some new blood.

DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT

And despite my earlier disclaimer … apologies to the following guys who are having decent seasons but aren’t quite doing enough to make the list:

• Carlos Boozer (he’s missed too many games); Rodney Stuckey (solid but not enough); Joakim Noah (hurt); Andrea Bargnani (scoring more, but still doesn’t rebound or help his teammates on defense); Jamal Crawford (shooting numbers are back to where they were last season, but his defense is abysmal); Danny Granger (a major disappointment, but still a nice player); Jameer Nelson (underrated, but not an All-Star this season); Wilson Chandler (almost there, buddy); Roy Hibbert (flailing after a strong start); Stephen Jackson (you’d be surprised how often he comes up as a potential All-Star, but he’s not doing enough).