Searching for an All-Star: Southeast Division

We rolled out a new series this week on Basketball Insiders where we try to find players from each division who could make their first All-Star appearance next season. So far, we’ve covered the Central, Pacific and Northwest Divisions, and we continue today with the Southeast Division.

The Southeast Division is comprised of the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami HEAT, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. This division produces many household names when it comes to the All-Star game, with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Al Horford, Luol Deng, John Wall and Jeff Teague among those who have participated in the game.

This series is designed to identify those players that could take the next step and reach the All-Star game as soon as this season by way of earning the vote from either fans or coaches. Here are several players that we could see in Toronto next February (in no particular order):

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets:

Walker had himself a great 2014-15 campaign, and could have made the All-Star game had it not been for a knee injury. He ended up missing 20 games after undergoing knee surgery in January. The Hornets had been competing for a playoff spot when Walker went down, but they ultimately were unable to remain consistent after he got hurt and subsequently missed the playoffs.

Walker should be one of the top new names mentioned this season when it comes to the All-Star game. He was the top scorer on the Hornets last season and also averaged 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He was considered one of a few snubs last year as many viewed him worthy of a spot. Walker has averaged about 17.5 points per game in each of his last three seasons and next year could be the year he finally gets the credit he deserves.

Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic:

Oladipo shot down any possibility of a “sophomore slump” last season as the second-year guard averaged 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the Magic. He played extremely well after the All-Star break as he averaged 20.3 points per game in 26 contests (versus 16.6 points per game before the break). His 17.9 points per game was good enough to finish eighth in the East in scoring, ahead of notable players like Kyle Lowry and John Wall.

Many believe next year will be the year Oladipo can elevate his game to the next level. He’s coming off of a season in which he dazzled the New York-area crowd at All-Star Weekend during the dunk contest, and turned in a great showing a few weeks back for Team USA in an exhibition game in Las Vegas. It was during that game that he scored 25 points and posterized Michael Carter-Williams. It seems as though the sky’s the limit for Oladipo and it’s only a matter of time before we see him in the mid-season classic.

Hassan Whiteside, Miami HEAT:

At this point, it goes without saying that Whiteside put up a great campaign last year. There’s no question that if he put up the numbers he did from the start of the season, he would have been in the All-Star discussion. Unfortunately for Whiteside and the HEAT, he didn’t start playing significant minutes until January and by then it was too late.

Once he did start playing, Whiteside was a monster. He averaged 11.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Whiteside recorded one game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds, four games with at least 20 rebounds, and 23 games with at least 10 rebounds. His most well-rounded game of the season came against the Chicago Bulls on January 25 in which he recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks. He also led the entire Eastern Conference in PER with 26.26 as a qualified player after appearing in 48 games. If he has anywhere near the type of season he had last year, it’s quite possible Whiteside will make the All-Star game.

Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic:

Perhaps one of the biggest All-Star snubs last season was Vucevic. By looking at his numbers on paper, it seemed as though the seven-footer had a compelling case for the game. He averaged 19.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and two assists per game. His 19.3 points per game was good for sixth-best in the East and his 10.9 rebounds were third-best. He also recorded the fifth-best PER at 21.62, which was better than the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving and Andre Drummond.

The fact that Vucevic’s Magic ultimately finished 25-57 likely contributed to him not being named an All-Star. However, Orlando is poised for improvement next season, which could prove beneficial to help the All-Star cases for Vucevic and Oladipo. Vucevic has been near the top of the league in rebounding since arriving in Orlando in 2012 and it could be as soon as next season that he begins to get recognized.

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards:

There’s no doubting the fact that Beal has shown great promise through his first three years in the league. Pairing Beal up next to John Wall in the Wizards’ backcourt makes for one of the best guard tandems in the league. Beal has shown flashes that he can be an All-Star-caliber player, and after just turning 22 years old, he could be close to making it.

But one of the biggest things holding Beal back from reaching elite status has been injuries. He’s yet to complete a full season, and has played in 192 regular season games out of a possible 246 total games. He missed the beginning of last season and didn’t quite seem to really be himself until much later in the year. Beal could be facing a contract year if he and the Wizards don’t agree on an extension for his rookie-scale contract by Halloween, and he could be playing for a huge payday next summer. If that’s the case, then an All-Star appearance could be one of many things Beal accomplishes next season.

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There will surely be big competition next year for the reserve spots in the East, from the Southeast Division alone. It should be noted that since the Hawks sent four players to the All-Star game last season that there’s not many candidates on their roster that can make their first appearance. It’s been proven that All-Star players need to put up big numbers and players coming off of the bench are at a severe disadvantage of doing so.

How did we do in the Southeast Division? Would you add anyone to this list? Would you take anyone off of this list? Let us know in the comments!