Trae Young and Scottie Barnes have been chosen as replacements for the injured Joel Embiid and Julius Randle on the Eastern Conference All-Star Team, the NBA announced Tuesday. When a player chosen for an All-Star Team is injured an unable to participate, the decision on who replaces them falls to commissioner Adam Silver.
Notably, Embiid was not just a member of the All-Star team, but a starter as well. While the commissioner chooses who replaces him on the roster, the decision on who will replace him in the starting five falls on Eastern Conference head coach Doc Rivers, who was formerly Embiid's coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. Paolo Banchero and Bam Adebayo are the two other big men on the roster if Rivers decides to maintain the construction of the previous lineup.
Young and Barnes were both crowded out of the initial All-Star selections. Barnes was edged out by Adebayo, Banchero, Randle and Jaylen Brown likely due in part to the superior team success that those players have enjoyed this season. Young is similarly on a team below .500, but he was also punished by the deep field of Eastern Conference guards. Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard are starting, and Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell were all clear choices for reserve roles.
This will be the first All-Star selection for Barnes, who has grown significantly as a ball-handler and jump shooter this season. Young is making the All-Star Team for the third time, though his first two selections were as starters. At 27.3 points and 10.9 assists, he is certainly averaging All-Star-caliber numbers, but his defense surely played a role in keeping him out the first time.
For the time being, all 12 Western Conference selections are healthy, so we should not expect any more replacement picks. That means that, barring any more injuries, we've locked in the 24 players who will participate in the midseason showcase on Feb. 18 in Indianapolis.
