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The first five are set for next month's All-Star game. Kobe Bryant, the Laker legend, Stephen Curry, the reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City's dynamic duo, and Kawhi Leonard, perhaps the best two-way player in the game, were all voted by the fans to be the Western Conference's starters on Feb. 14.
Now it's time for the coaches to start looking at who will round out the roster in Toronto. And while Gordon Hayward has to be a consideration, even the Jazzman himself wouldn't consider it a snub to not be chosen.
"I don't think we've played well enough as a team for me to deserve anything," Hayward said Monday. "So I'm not worried about it."
Hayward has been on fire of late, averaging better than 20 points, four rebounds and four assists a game in January, and has held the Jazz together and in playoff contention despite a slew of major injuries. Nevertheless, Hayward faces an uphill struggle in the crowded West and the Jazz's losing record certainly doesn't help his case.
"Hayward has been the one constant in Utah, filling every role as the undermanned Jazz cling to a playoff spot," ESPN NBA columnist Zach Lowe wrote last week, predicting Hayward would barely miss the cut. "… Rodney Hood has swiped some of that responsibility from Hayward, and Hayward slumped through the first month of the season. He has been on fire since, but that's enough to keep him out of Toronto — barely."
On Monday, the Sporting News predicted that the final roster spot in the West would go to either Golden State's Klay Thompson or Portland's Damian Lillard, with Hayward left out with the other also-rans.
"Probably the third-best small forward in the West," the Sporting News assessed, "Hayward's problem is that the Jazz have not been as good as many expected."
Standing by
The Jazz are still awaiting word on when their matchup in Washington, D.C., postponed ahead of the weekend storm that blanketed the East Coast, might be rescheduled.
Forward Trevor Booker, after assessing the roster, quickly realized that the Jazz are likely to face an especially difficult task given the team's already crowded schedule. The Jazzman said he hoped the new date wouldn't interfere with the team's extended All-Star break. But asked if he preferred the likely alternative, three games in three nights, Booker backtracked.
"Oh, hell no," he said. "I've done that before in the lockout and it's definitely no fun. I don't even like back-to-backs."
Jazz coach Quin Snyder remembers how grueling the lockout was for players, too. But the coach was simply grateful not to still be stuck on the East Coast, costing his team prep time for this six-game home stand.
"It's never perfect," he said.
Rookie forward Trey Lyles, barely 20 years old, said he thought he could handle it.
"If it's what we have to do, we have no say in it, really," he said. "We just have to make sure that we take care of our bodies. Coaches will be mindful of that and giving us the time we need to re-amp ourselves for those games."
Making strides
Trey Burke and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be linked as long as they're both in the NBA. When the Pistons took Caldwell-Pope with the eighth pick in the 2013 draft, more than a few fans were miffed they passed on Burke, the Michigan star who had just led the Wolverines to the NCAA championship game. The Jazz ended up working a trade to take Burke, who was selected one pick later.
In their third professional seasons, Burke and Caldwell-Pope both seem to be finding their groove.
Burke is averaging 12.7 points and 2.7 assists off the bench in Utah. Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, is putting up 14.8 points and grabbing 3.6 rebounds a night for the Pistons.
"Especially over the past month, his offense is much more efficient," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said of his player's development. "He is making shots. He's on balance. He's making plays. I think he is a lot more confident and comfortable in what is going on. He's played very well."
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