Since the All-Star rosters were announced, many have expressed a familiar lament about the poor job the coaches do picking the All-Star reserves each year. The point, a good one, is that the coaches' picks skew towards good players on winning teams rather than the best players in the conference. This can tend to award All-Star berths based on how good a player's teammates are compared to his competitors.
This is unlikely to change in the near future because of the incentives the coaches have (or believe they have). One of the greatest challenges for coaches is to convince players to play unselfishly, maximizing the team's benefit rather than their own glory, shots, or money.* A great way to do this is to convince players that winning will bring individual rewards; an even better way is to self-fulfill that prophecy by actually bestowing individual awards on players from winning teams.
*Whether playing "selfishly" actually results in getting paid more in this era of ever-improving scouting, stats, and defensive metrics is another question.
This is unlikely to change in the near future because of the incentives the coaches have (or believe they have). One of the greatest challenges for coaches is to convince players to play unselfishly, maximizing the team's benefit rather than their own glory, shots, or money.* A great way to do this is to convince players that winning will bring individual rewards; an even better way is to self-fulfill that prophecy by actually bestowing individual awards on players from winning teams.
*Whether playing "selfishly" actually results in getting paid more in this era of ever-improving scouting, stats, and defensive metrics is another question.
 |
| Roy Hibbert's selection to the All-Star team over Tyson Chandler was dubious at best. |