Point Forward’s Western Conf. All-Stars

After revealing my official Eastern Conference All-Star roster, I give you my Western Conference roster, using the same rules …

STARTERS

Fans chose Blake Griffin over Kevin Love, but Love is better. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

• G Chris Paul, Clippers

• G Kobe Bryant, Lakers

• F Kevin Durant, Thunder

• F Kevin Love, Timberwolves

• C Marc Gasol, Grizzlies

I suspect we’re all in agreement on those first three, who comprise the Nos. 2-4 spots in the overall PER rankings and earned well-deserved starting nods from the fans. The same fans chose Blake Griffin over Love for the second forward spot, and while Griffin is having another excellent season, Love has been the better player. Neither is above-average defensively, though both are improving and holding opposing players to sub-35 percent shooting in the post, per Synergy Sports. Love strikes me as a bit more alert and quick on his feet, but let’s call defense a wash.

Love has opened up a small gap on offense because of his ability to stretch the floor as a high-volume three-point shooter, score from the block, earn bundles of free throws and actually make those free throws. He is a legit 80 percent foul shooter who leads the league in made free throws, while Griffin has hit just 49 percent of his freebies in what probably is just a run of bad luck.

And Love’s shooting is starting to open up shots for teammates in much the same Dirk Nowitzki’s shooting does in Dallas. More and more, teams are defending Love pick-and-rolls by having his man stick very close to him rather than jump out on the ball-handler, a strategy that prevents the Love pick-and-pop jumper but opens the kind of driving lanes guard J.J. Barea thrived on as Nowitzki’s pick-and-roll partner in Dallas. And when he’s not involved in the pick-and-roll directly, Love can act as a spot-up decoy behind the three-point line, dragging a help-defense big man away from the rim.

Griffin is outstanding. He’s a better finisher, nearly as good a defensive rebounder and perhaps a slightly more polished passer putting up better assist numbers than Love this season. But in an either-or choice, I’m taking Love.

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The center spot on my ballot came down to Gasol and Andrew Bynum, with Marcin Gortat and Al Jefferson just behind them. Gasol actually ranks last among those four in PER, but he might be the most well-rounded player of the four, and he is carrying a heavier burden than his chief competition here — Bynum. Only Love has played more minutes leaguewide than Gasol, who has maintained a 50 percent mark from the field while increasing his production in just about every category. He’s the best passer of the group — and it’s not close — and only Gortat is in his league as a mid-range shooter.

You don’t necessarily think of Gasol as a shot-blocking rim protector, but he edges all three of these guys in blocks per minute, and he’s the headiest off-ball defender among them. None are Dwight Howard-style pick-and-roll destroyers capable of consistently chasing ball-handlers above the three-point line. Gortat can struggle in this regard, though he’s already a monster rebounder. Jefferson has improved his all-around game, but he still flirts with liability status as a defender in space. Bynum is a giant in every direction, and probably a more intimidating two-way force than Gasol.

But Gasol is a such a savvy rover. He has great court sense, and he’s smart about picking the right times to slide a few feet in order to disrupt a passing lane. And late in the shot clock, he’s good at chasing shooters without fouling.

It’s far from an open-and-shut case, but Gasol gets the nod here by a tiny margin.

RESERVES

LaMarcus Aldridge is one of the NBA's true franchise centerpieces. (Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images)

• F Blake Griffin, Clippers

Mostly covered above. Griffin’s jumper remains shaky, but next time you watch the Clippers, pay attention to how much attention he draws in the post and on pick-and-rolls. As his jumper improves and he gets even better at making quick-hit interior passes, Griffin is going to be an absolute beast.

• F LaMarcus Aldridge, Trail Blazers

Aldridge made our All-Star team last season and finished at No. 11 in our summer top 100, so it’s no surprise he gets the nod again, during his best season to date. Aldridge is ninth overall in PER and is one of the league’s true franchise centerpieces. One knock remains — defensive rebounding — but otherwise, he has made an across-the-board jump on both ends. He’s shooting more often and more accurately, earning more free throws and dishing assists at a good level for a big man. Aldridge is thriving night to night even as Portland’s supporting players are inconsistent, and he uses his length and smarts to work as a very solid defender.

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• C Andrew Bynum, Lakers

Again, we addressed Bynum in some detail above. He has supplanted Pau Gasol as the Lakers’ (distant) second option, and he has rewarded Los Angeles with 56 percent shooting, nearly six free throws per 36 minutes and some of the best rebounding numbers in the league. He won’t touch Howard — his long-rumored trade counterpart — as an all-around defender, but he terrifies opponents near the rim. The knock on his passing out of double-teams is legitimate. Bynum has one of the lowest assist rates in the league, and he has the highest turnover rate among the quartet of centers mentioned above. He’ll get better at this stuff with time. As is, Bynum is clearly an All-Star.

• G Russell Westbrook, Thunder

The criticism is valid, if overblown. Westbrook shoots too much and can become dangerously addicted to pull-up jumpers on pick-and-roll plays early in the shot clock — shots to which defenses respond with a sigh of a relief and a rebound. His defense should be better, considering his athleticism and will. Westbrook is not getting to the line as often this season, and he draws much of his value from his ability to create free points.

And yet for all the hemming and hawing, Westbrook is an obvious All-Star, one of the 10 or 15 best players in the league, a scoring force still learning the league’s most demanding position. And he’s getting better at it, despite the drop in assists, some of which is due to the Thunder handing more creative responsibility to Durant and more minutes to James Harden. Westbrook is trying and making more next-level passes — the interior slips and tricky diagonal looks to shooters outside his direct line of vision. All of this comes with growing pains, especially since the Thunder lack any kind of big man pick-and-roll threat to pair with Westbrook. But the guy is a stud.

• G Steve Nash, Suns

Nash turns 38 on Feb. 7, he’s shooting 54.5 percent from the field, 41.4 percent from three-point range and nearly 87 percent from the free-throw line, and he’s on pace for the highest assist rate in league history. This is unfathomable. It should not be happening — not with the surrounding roster, bereft of even one other reliable off-the-dribble creator.

What Nash is doing is absolutely ridiculous and unprecedented, and it should be enough to get him to the All-Star Game after a one-year hiatus that looked like it’d become permanent. There are caveats, of course. Nash doesn’t play quite as much anymore, and he doesn’t attack the rim or get to the line nearly as often as he did in his prime. That is probably healthy, considering Nash’s age and importance to this Phoenix team. He’s vulnerable as an on-ball defender, but he knows where to be all the time, he remains quick on his feet and there just aren’t that many point guards capable of really punishing him in the post.

Regardless, Nash remains a brilliant pick-and-roll orchestrator. One player alone does not make a league-average offense. Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul last season presided over offenses that ranked as average or worse. Put even average talent around Nash and he’ll create a top-10 offense.

• WC Tony Parker, Spurs

The West is crowded, as usual, and so the final choices are difficult. But it’s hard to ignore what Parker is doing with Manu Ginobili in street clothes, Tim Duncan on the decline and a roster of unproven players. Parker has one of the heaviest burdens in the league, prodded by coach Gregg Popovich almost every night to somehow find the right balance of scoring and passing. All things considered, this might be Parker’s finest season. His PER is higher than it has been in three seasons, his passing numbers are the best of his career and he’s somehow managed to shoot a decent percentage and cut his turnovers.

The Spurs sit at 16-9, the No. 3 seed in the West, with an offense that ranks sixth in points per possession. Parker doesn’t deserve all the credit; Popovich demands constant motion and cutting, molds players into his system and knows how to juggle the rotation so that the floor is always spaced well. But Parker, passing and cutting like a mad man, has earned a trip to Orlando.

• WC Paul Millsap, Jazz

Three weeks ago, I wrote Millsap would not be able to sustain a start that had him seventh overall in PER, shooting 55 percent from the floor and 57 percent on long two-point jumpers. Three weeks later, Millsap is seventh overall in PER, and though the shooting percentages have fallen a bit, he’s still hitting a robust 53 percent overall. Millsap is rebounding at a career-best level, and creating off the dribble here and there while posting a turnover rate nearing Al Jefferson-level lows.

Though a wing player will go on a hot streak for two or three games, the Jazz on a night-to-night basis are essentially Millsap, Jefferson and whatever they can get from the rest of the roster. And as good as Jefferson has been, Millsap is the team’s MVP so far. He’s a more dynamic offensive player, comfortable from both the high and low post, as a mid-range shooter and as a surprisingly deft off-the-bounce creator. Neither he nor Jefferson is an elite big-man defender, but Millsap has the quicker and smarter feet against pick-and-roll plays. It will be interesting to see if the coaches reward him, given all the glittering names left off, including …

SNUBS

His shooting has slipped, but Kyle Lowry is still among the top PGs. (Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images)

• Kyle Lowry, Rockets. He’s been undone by a prolonged shooting slump that took his overall field-goal mark below 40 percent. Lowry is one of the top point guards in the league, and one of the two or three best defensively at his position, even if he’s been caught gambling this season more often than last. A very difficult snub.

• Kevin Martin, Rockets. He’s come on after a slow start, but the résumé just isn’t strong enough in a loaded Western Conference.

• Pau Gasol, Lakers; James Harden, Thunder. It’s ridiculous that one or both of these guys might miss the All-Star Game. But with the conference full of worthy candidates, it’s hard to find a spot for guys who so often work as third options on their teams — even if they also work as first options for stretches of every game, and probably should do so more.

• Monta Ellis, Warriors. Ellis is evolving into a more willing distributor and a better defender, but the evolution is slow and fitful. Despite the uptick in assists, he is shooting just 42 percent — his worst mark since he was a rookie. He takes too many bad shots and his defensive fundamentals remain below-average for his position. Ellis is a great player who is not quite great enough in this conference.

• David Lee, Warriors. Lee is quietly having a nice season on offense, but he’s just not on the same level as the other elite power forwards in the West.

• DeMarcus Cousins, Kings. Talk to me in a year, if his defense is more consistent.

• Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks. Given the missed games and the shooting woes, the only way you can make a case for Nowitzki is to weigh past achievement above everything else. Don’t worry, Dallas fans: The coaches will pick him.

• Denver Nuggets. It’s fitting for the post-Carmelo Anthony Nuggets to go 15-9 entering today and somehow come away with zero All-Stars. It’s going to happen, and not without reason. Nene’s overall play is down. Ty Lawson has been outstanding as the engine booster, but because of Andre Miller and Denver’s overall depth, he doesn’t have to do as much as Parker, Nash or Westbrook. Danilo Gallinari probably comes closest to All-Star status, especially since the Western Conference will be hurting for small forwards, but he hasn’t been as consistent on a nightly basis — especially of late — as the other forward candidates. Al Harrington has been possessed by an efficient scoring alien, but if we’re not putting Harden on the team, it’s difficult to justify a slot for Harrington.

• Marcin Gortat, Suns. Mentioned above. The Nash-Gortat pick-and-roll and Gortat’s rebounding are the things keeping Phoenix semi-competitive.

• Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves. Settle down, screaming fans (and my editor). He’s not there yet, but he’s close.

• Al Jefferson, Jazz. Mentioned above.

• Rudy Gay, Grizzlies. Started slow, came on like gangbusters in mid-January, fell back (highlighted by an 0-of-7 job against San Antonio last week) and has since surged again. If we could wait 10 or 12 more games, Gay might have a stronger argument than he does today.