Bloggers Roundtable: Predicting Warriors Participation at NBA All-Star Weekend

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Through the first three days of the Warriors Bloggers Roundtable series, Rich Twu (Golden State of Mind), Steve Berman (Bay Area Sports Guy), Adam Lauridsen (Fast Break), Ben Cruz (Warriors World) and Ethan Sherwood Strauss (Bleacher Report) have offered their opinions on three questions facing the team this season. Today, our attention shifts to midseason and which Warriors players may find themselves in Houston this February for the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

Over/Under: The Warriors will have two participants at the NBA’s 2013 All-Star Weekend in Houston. Which Warrior has the best chance at being an All-Star this season?

Editor's Note: All answers were submitted prior to the NBA's announcement that fans will now select three undefined "frontcourt" players instead of having to choose two forwards and a center when voting for the All-Star Game starters.

Rich Twu | Golden State of Mind | @poormanscommish
I think the consensus amongst NBA bloggers would be Klay Thompson as the Warrior with the best shot at being named (or voted) an All-Star. First of all, there's usually a dearth of quality shooting guards in the NBA, so that's good news for Klay, as opposed to Steph Curry, who would be going up against a very, very deep list of talented pg's. Klay, a darling of NBA execs, will probably be named to the team to replace some injured player.

Per Jerry West, Bogut may be the third-best center on paper in the NBA, but we all know all bets are off until we know he's healthy enough to be a regular. Even healthy, Bogut could get on the squad as a reserve center, but it's a long shot.

I think Steph Curry is a shoo-in for the three-point contest. As we saw in the last two ASWs, the NBA marketing department loves Steph Curry. I tweeted as much in LA, when he was constantly on the jumbotron despite only participating in the Skills Challenge. Remember, this was when Monta Ellis was all the talk about being the possibly snubbed Warrior.

It depends on how the Warriors do in the win column, but there's a good chance the Warriors will have at least two participants at ASW. Harrison Barnes should be a shoo-in for the Rookie/Soph Game. Even if the Warriors don't get two, it's quite refreshing that we do have some up-and-comers as opposed to the near-zero representation the past few years.

Steve Berman | Bay Area Sports Guy | @BASportsGuy
Over. I think the Warriors will get three: Klay Thompson will take part in his first (but certainly not last) 3-point Shootout, and he'll also go against Harrison Barnes in the Rookie/Sophomore game.

Andrew Bogut has the best chance at being an All-Star, as there aren't many established centers in the Western Conference vying for that spot on the bench behind starter Dwight Howard.

Adam Lauridsen | Fast Break | @GSWFastBreak
The All-Star Game is the least of my concerns for the Warriors. It's an NBA marketing event, not an objective measure of talent. Making the playoffs, not landing All-Stars, should be the team's goal. That said, Barnes should make the rookie game and either Curry, Thompson or Rush should make the 3-point shootout. As for the big show, Curry or Bogut have the best shots of making it as reserves if they remain healthy and the Warriors are above .500 heading into the selection period.

Ben Cruz | Warriors World | @cruzkontrol
I'm going with the over. Golden State should have at least three participants at Houston's 2013 All-Star Weekend. Two in the Rookie-Sophomore game (Harrison Barnes for the Rookies and Klay Thompson for the Sophomores) and one participant in the three-point shootout (either Brandon Rush, Klay or Steph Curry).

Barnes is likely to play a big role for the Warriors, whether he gets the starting gig or not, and should garner enough attention from those selecting the Rookie team. Klay Thompson has a massive chip on his shoulder after getting snubbed from the Rookie team last season and since then has been out to prove he belonged not only on that team, but in the NBA. He'll be running alongside Kyrie Irving in the Sophomores starting backcourt. As for the three-point shootout representative, it really could be a bunch of guys on this team but for the sake of going with a firm guess, I'll go with Stephen Curry. He's had one of the most pure and beautiful shots from the minute he entered the league and is an absolute dead-eye shooter just like his dad, Dell.

The Warrior who has the best shot at being an All-Star is Andrew Bogut. This is purely based on the lack of depth at the center position in the West. For Stephen Curry to make it, he is going to have to compete with the likes of Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Ty Lawson and Jeremy Lin. For David Lee to make it, he's going to have to beat out names like LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin.

With Andrew Bynum taking his talents to the Eastern Conference, that leaves one center who is all but guaranteed an All-Star spot – Dwight Howard. That second center position is wide open with Bogut and Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies as the two likely candidates. Obviously Gasol has the inside track to that spot since he occupied it last season but when Bogut is on the court, he's shown that he is truly one of the best big men in the game. If Bogut can stay healthy, not only should he help the Warriors lock up a playoff spot, but he could find himself sitting alongside the West's finest in Houston.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss | Bleacher Report | @SherwoodStrauss
I would also put the over/under at "two players." Stephen Curry has the best shot, should the aging Tony Parker suffer a down year (Personally, I might choose a healthy Steph over Parker, but it remains to be seen if Curry can run triumph over his ankles).

We are two-thirds of the way through the Bloggers Roundtable, and on Sunday this starting five will analyze who they think will be the most improved player on the team. Feel free to share your comments below and be sure to check out the rest of the bloggers’ discussion at the links below.

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