Say hello to the Jodie Meeks All-Stars

All sorts of media-generated All-Star teams pop up every season — nominations for the actual All-Star Game, All-Bust teams, All-Improved teams, All-Potential teams and many others. I’m in a good mood this weekend, so I wanted to honor a different sort of player: The bit player who gives his team more production than anyone expected and (this is the most important part) sustains that level of production for most or all of the season. We’re aiming to find guys who haven’t made the sort of giant leap that gets you in the Most Improved conversation or anywhere near an All-Star discussion. And we’re not aiming for guys from whom we expected big things all along.

Think of it like this: How many players have a fantastic first month or a two-week hot streak, inspiring all sorts of fawning coverage, only to see their level of production drop off and (in some cases) their spot in the rotation vanish? Remember when Jason Smith looked like he could average double-digits shooting pick-and-pop jumpers? Remember when Shannon Brown was one of the league’s best three-point shooters? Remember when Xavier Henry was going to be a defensive stopper at 2-guard?

Here’s a 12-man team of guys who rose up, if not as spectacularly as those other names, and then sustained in important ways.

(All stats and records are through March 25.)

STARTERS

The older version of T-Mac has turned into a respectable rotation player in Detroit. (Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

PG: Tracy McGrady, Detroit Pistons

It took a while for McGrady to get serious run, but he has given Detroit decent all-around production — with a league-average Player Efficiency Rating — since John Kuester made him a rotation fixture. He overtook for Rodney Stuckey as the team’s lead point guard for a bit and has since settled in as one of several Pistons who run the offense. The old T-Mac appears only in glimpses, but this T-Mac has been a perfectly usable rotation player.

SG: Jodie Meeks, Philadelphia 76ers (team captain)

The Sixers probably never dreamed Meeks would contribute like this (10.5 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from deep) when they got him last season in exchange for Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey and a second-round pick. It’s not that Meeks is a fantastic player; he’s a shooter who does little else for you offensively and has a tough time defending physical 2-guards. But his one dimension is almost completely lacking otherwise in Philly, and the spacing he provides has been key to loosening up the Sixers’ offense. He has defended well enough to stay on the court, and the Sixers are scoring about four more points per 100 possessions when Meeks is out there versus when he’s on the bench — a big difference.

SF: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies

His minutes have increased every month of the season, and those who have watched Allen’s career closely probably expected his production to fall off once the Grizzlies placed such a heavy burden on him. But the opposite has happened: Allen is scoring more per minute than he has in any season since he blew out his knee in Boston, he’s shooting 50 percent, he leads the entire league in steal percentage, he can defend the league’s best wing players and he is perhaps the most important cog in Memphis’ crazy defense-to-offense attack. And best of all: He’s not a turnover machine anymore.

It was one thing for Allen to play like this in a 10-minute stint every other game. It’s quite another for him to do it every night, for 25-30 minutes per night. Well done, TA.

PF: Darrell Arthur, Memphis Grizzlies

You’re beginning to see why Memphis is going to make the playoffs despite Rudy Gay’s absence. Arthur has provided the Grizzlies with something every good team needs: a third reliable big man to come off the bench and make sure the team does not take a huge step back when a Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol sits down. Arthur has developed a reliable mid-range shot, and he’s an active, smart defender (if not much of a rebounder). Many were hoping for progress is Arthur’s third season but few could have foreseen a 16.1 PER and 50 percent shooting in 20 minutes per game.

C: Kurt Thomas, Chicago Bulls

It started off as sort of a joke — Oh, look at the old guy filling in for Joakim Noah! He’s even running around! Adorable!

But then it kept on going. Thomas kept on thwarting pick-and-rolls, shoving guys around in the post and grabbing a respectable percentage of available rebounds on defense — all in honest-to-god big minutes. He even played nearly 44 minutes in one win over the Bucks! In a way, he doesn’t belong on this team, since he has faded back into a deep bench role since Noah’s return. But he was so good, for such a long stretch at age 38 that we’re giving up a spot in the starting lineup.

RESERVES

Remember when most people mocked the Knicks for drafting that kid out of Stanford, Landry Fields? (Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Landry Fields, G, New York Knicks

The toughest omission from our starting lineup. Fields felt like a classic flash in the pan after he averaged 11 points, seven boards and one glowing newspaper feature per day in November, but he has maintained almost exactly that level of production in each month since. He has settled in as a 40 percent three-point shooter, he moves the ball, he cuts like a demon and he has even shown an off-the-dribble game now and then. He’s only a so-so defender on his guy, but he’s an active and willing helper. It’s amazing to think everyone mocked the Knicks for drafting this guy — and it’s perhaps more amazing that Donnie Walsh, the guy who signed off on the draft pick, is still looking for a contract extension.

Shawne Williams, F, New York Knicks

Williams felt like another too-good-to-be true story when he came back from multiple drug arrests and pseudo-banishment from the league and started hitting half his three-point attempts for the Knicks. He hasn’t done much beyond that on offense, and he relies so heavily on corner threes that Howard Beck of The New York Times wrote ”Even his one dimension is one-dimensional.”

But that one dimension helped the pre-’Melo Knicks in a fast-paced system that requires shooters, and it continues to help now on a team that lost a big chunk of outside shooting in the deal with Denver. Williams isn’t a big body, but he has played some center this season and thus relieved Amar’e Stoudemire of some pounding. He has been a useful part.

Kris Humphries, F, New Jersey Nets

He’s slow, his off-court relationship with a fake celebrity is sort of annoying and he really shouldn’t be starting at power forward for an NBA team. But wow, has this guy been solid this season — and he’s only getting better. He has a chance to average a double-double for the season, and he’s averaging 15 points and nearly 17 rebounds per game in March. He’s been so good on the boards that New Jersey fans have been rationalizing Brook Lopez’s sad rebounding totals by saying, “Well, Hump is just stealing rebounds from Brook!”

Humphries is a nasty screener, and an acceptable pick-and-roll option. He might also be a better defender than it would appear, though I remain skeptical. Still: Humphries is a free agent, and he’s going to get a decent contract from someone.

Amir Johnson, F, Toronto Raptors

Johnson did it: He cut his foul rate to the point that he can now stay on the court for half a game. He still fouls too much — about five per 36 minutes, the same rate as foul-happy DeMarcus Cousins — but that represents progress for Johnson. And even with the increased minutes, Johnson’s PER jumped up to a robust 18.2, his turnover rate dropped and he showed a much smoother and more diverse offensive game — including a legit mid-range jump shot.

He has tailed off this month, but that appears to be the result of nagging injuries more than anything else. You could argue this sort of development should have been expected, particularly after the Raptors tossed $30 million at him, but the skeptics probably outnumbered the faithful as Johnson entered his sixth (!) season in the league last fall.

Sam Young, G/F, Memphis Grizzlies

Five months ago, few would have taken issue had you suggested Young was not going to last much longer in the league. He’s nearly 26 years old, he’s a second-round pick with no guaranteed money beyond this season, and the Grizzlies opened the year with a log jam of wing players — including their lottery pick in June’s draft (Henry). But injuries, suspensions and chemistry issues have created a role for Young, and if he hasn’t seized in it a way that convinces you he has a long and fruitful NBA future, he also hasn’t fallen on his face. He has improved his jumper, and he’s a big part of the Grizzlies’ steal-oriented attack on defense.

Gerald Henderson, G, Charlotte Bobcats

If we care about positions, we need another guard who can handle the ball, so I’ll give one of the final two spots to Henderson. He only started playing once Paul Silas replaced Larry Brown as head coach, but Henderson has increased his scoring consistently since then while maintaining a just-fine shooting percentage in the mid-40s. He’s also a solid defender. The Bobcats are forcing things a bit with Henderson now that Gerald Wallace is gone — they are running plays through him as if he were an elite shooting guard — but Henderson has shown he can be a solid two-way player.

Marcin Gortat, F/C, Phoenix Suns

This might be the biggest stretch on this list, since a lot of folks had a hunch Gortat would produce if given minutes. Getting those minutes as Steve Nash’s pick-and-roll partner is even better, and Gortat has averaged about 14-10 over his last two-dozen games — with a killer rebounding rate on defense. He’s surging as the season nears its close, and showing the initial boost he got in Phoenix was no fluke. Gortat’s a player, and with Vince Carter set to turn into either an expiring contract or $4 million buyout expense, it’s clear the Suns did well in the deal that sent Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkgolu to Orlando.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

• James Jones, F, Miami Heat: He’s given Miami elite three-point shooting and active defense, but he hasn’t been able to nail down a consistent place in Erik Spoelstra’s rotation.

• Greg Monroe, F/C, Detroit Pistons: He’s a double-double guy now, but being a lottery pick comes with high expectations.

• Kwame Brown, C, Charlotte Bobcats: He’s resurrected a dead career, but he’s not producing quite enough to crack the 12-man roster.

• Paul George, F, Indiana Pacers: The same lottery-pick logic applies to George, who took a bit too long to win steady playing time for eligibility purposes here.

• Randy Foye, G, Los Angeles Clippers: He provided steady ball-handling and occasional shot-making in Eric Gordon’s absence, but I can’t ignore the Antoine Walker-level shooting numbers.

• DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles Clippers: Perhaps the toughest cut. Chris Kaman’s injury problems allowed Jordan to play more minutes than expected and he has done well, especially on defense, in those minutes. But you could see this kind of jump coming, and there is much more still to come.