The Western Conference has eight All-Star guard contenders

The NBA All-Star Game will be held at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on February 19, 2023. The voting will begin as the month continues. Even more so in the West, where backcourt places figure to be more competitive than in the East.

Western Conference guards Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray moved conferences in the offseason to bolster the Eastern Conference’s backcourt for the 2022 NBA season. Despite losing four players who would not return to action until 2022, the team’s depth remained unchanged.

Each league’s starting lineup consists of two point guards, three forwards, and two replacements. Each conference, like with the NBA All-Star Game in 2022, will be represented by seven guards.

The eight Western Conference guards who might make All-Star teams that year are listed alphabetically below.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Despite being in All-Star form after 11 games, the six-time All-Star missed his fifth consecutive game on Wednesday due to a strained right calf. Lillard averaged 26.3 points and 7.0 assists per game in October. The Blazers are 4-6 without Lillard and have a 19-44 record since 2021-22. Lillard expects to play against Indiana on Sunday (9 ET, NBA TV).

Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

Regardless of how brilliantly Morant has performed thus far, we haven’t seen the full extent of his abilities. The Grizzlies have lost three of their previous five games as a result of sloppy performance. Bane, who was 23 at the time, was teamed with Jaren Jackson Jr., who was still healing from foot surgery. Bane was out for two games due to a fractured big toe. Jackson returned on November 15. Morant will almost certainly be an NBA All-Star in 2022-2023.

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

The Warriors won three games in a row after Curry took control before falling to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks. Curry finished the game with 32 points, five rebounds, and five assists. For the twelfth time this season, he scored 30 points. Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both 15, have the numerical attributes shown below. (14). 11-11 Golden State is now ranked eighth and final among probable finishers. The Warriors would not have had a chance to win without Curry.

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

The 23-year-old MVP contender produced his eighth 40-point triple-double in Dallas’ win against the Warriors, joining Oscar Robertson (22), James Harden (16), Russell Westbrook (13), Wilt Chamberlain (7), and LeBron James. Doncic finished with 41 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and 4 steals. With 20 40-point games, Doncic has tied Dirk Nowitzki for the most by a Dallas Mavericks player.

De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings

In Monday’s defeat to the Phoenix Suns, “Swipa” scored two less points than he had in any other game this season. He had made 35% of his field goals in his past three games (17-for-49). Wednesday’s victory over the Indiana Pacers altered everything. From November 9 to November 22, Fox guided Sacramento to seven consecutive victories. During that span, he averaged 28 points per game. Since 2006, Fox and Domantas Sabonis have given the Kings a chance to enter the playoffs.

Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies

Bane hasn’t been seen since November 11, when he injured his right big toe in a Grade 2 mishap. Despite the fact that Bane is just in its third season, he has already been onscreen alongside Ja Morant. He shoots 45.1% from outside the arc and averages 24.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. If Bane does not spend too much time on the bench, he might be a candidate for Kia NBA Most Improved Player (he was sixth in voting last season).

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

Booker intends to climb the Kia MVP Ladder whenever it is released. While Chris Paul has missed the last 11 games with a heel injury, Cameron Johnson has missed the previous 13 games with a ruptured right meniscus, and Jae Crowder has yet to play this season, Booker has guided the Suns to the top record in the Western Conference. The club has no choice but to fold with three starters out. Booker didn’t flinch when he scored 51 points against Chicago on Wednesday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Gilgeous-Alexander felt unwell in his left hip on Wednesday and was unable to play in the Spurs’ victory. Prior to it, he’d scored 30 points in five consecutive games, the most since Paul George in 2019. TNT’s Charles Barkley believes Gilgeous-Alexander should start the All-Star game. First and foremost, Gilgeous-Alexander is the first NBA player to score at least 30 points in 10 of his first fourteen games.

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