Did Michael Porter Jr. Really get Snubbed From an All-Star Selection?

The Brooklyn Nets had a rough opening to February. They were shorthanded against the Detroit Pistons and lost 130-77, and Michael Porter Jr. was passed over for his first ever All-Star selection.

The seven Eastern Conference All-Star reserves are Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren, Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Miami Heat guard Norman Powell, Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns.

In his first season as a Net, Porter Jr. has seen career-high averages in points and assists per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 39.8% from three. Among the East All-Star reserves, he would've been the second leading scorer behind Donovan Mitchell.

Let's look at how Porter Jr. stacks up against the East reserves by comparing stats and overall impact.

Starting with the players who could've been the most likely swap-ins with Porter Jr., it's hard to see any more reasons for Siakam to earn the selection over the Nets' star. If the argument for other players with worse stats is about impact/team record, that doesn't apply to Siakam. The Pacers have the worst record in the East, while Siakam is averaging fewer points and rebounds per game than Porter Jr. on worse shooting splits.

Shifting to the oldest player of the reserves, Powell has seen career-highs in points, rebounds and assists, but outside of on-ball defense, there's not much he does better than Porter Jr. The Heat are currently the No. 7 seed in the East largely due to Powell's scoring prowess, but his player impact estimate doesn't touch Porter Jr.

It's safe to say that he should've been the All-Star choice over Siakam and Powell. Porter Jr. has held Brooklyn together through some tough stretches, and he has an argument over other East reserves.

A pair of bigs arguably haven't done as much as Porter Jr. this season to earn the All-Star nod. Towns and Duren both are averaging less than 20 points per game, but they are also averaging a double-double. Duren is the co-star of the East's current No. 1 seed, and Towns is the same on the current No. 2 seed.

Due to them being on the best teams in the conference, the selection committee likely felt their teams deserved multiple All-Stars. Porter Jr. could still have an edge because of better counting stats, but either way, the conclusion can be made that the 27-year-old deserved the All-Star designation.