The Pacers don’t have anybody in All-Star weekend, but should they?

Not one Indiana Pacers player will participate in an All-Star weekend event. For a good team with skilled players, that feels wrong.

Technically, Victor Oladipo made the All-Star team. He was immediately replaced due to his injury, and his exclusion means that the Indiana Pacers will have 0 players representing the team at All-Star weekend.

I demand a re-count! Not really. Most of what I am about to say is opinion, but there should be a Pacer in at least one event at All-Star weekend. They are third in the East and have some skilled players. The fans should have something to look forward to during the break, and there are a few cases you could make.

It’s not as if the Pacers are devoid of guys who could be in the events. Wesley Matthews has been in the three-point contest twice before. Thaddeus Young played in the rookie-sophomore game in 2009.  Bojan Bogdanovic, Myles Turner, and Domantas Sabonis all played in the rising stars challenge. Tyreke Evans won MVP of that game in his rookie season! The team has tons of guys with some all-star experience, and some of them have a good case to be at the event this year.

Let’s start with the skills challenge, er, I mean, the Taco Bell skills challenge.

The skills challenge is probably the silliest event at All-Star weekend. Players have to dribble around… obstacles and pass the pass through a ring before hitting a coast-to-coast layup and then a coast-to-coast 3 going the other way. It’s trivial, but it’s somehow beautiful.

The new format of the skills challenge features two players doing the obstacle course at the same time, with the faster player advancing. As a part of the knockout stage, the bracket is split into two groups – big men and guards.

So this challenge literally has a bracket for skilled big men. That sounds like it was made for Domantas Sabonis.

He can pass:

He can dribble:

And he’s hit 8 of his 14 threes this season. It doesn’t get much more skilled than that! The winner from the big man bracket has won 2 of the last 3 skills challenges (Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns), so it’s not like Sabonis would have no chance in the event.

It’s a travesty he didn’t make it.

Now we can look at the rising stars challenge, or rather, the MTN DEW ICE rising stars challenge. This event pits together rosters featuring only sophomores and rookies, with one team featuring all foreign players and the other all USA-born basketball players. Sabonis participated last year.

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To be fair, this USA roster is pretty stacked. Marvin Bagley and Kevin Knox are the worst two players on the roster. Meanwhile, the only eligible Pacers are Aaron Holiday, Edmond Sumner, TJ Leaf, Davon Reed, and Alize Johnson. None of those guys are good enough, sans maybe Holiday.

The Kings have two players on this USA roster. I don’t think Holiday has a better future than Bagley or De’Aaron Fox, but give the Pacers something to watch! Come on! Let me watch Holiday throw lobs to Indy native Jaren Jackson Jr. Do it for me, NBA. Please?

Let’s pivot and talk about a more realistic one. The 3-point contest, or rather, the MTN DEW 3-Point contest. This year the 3-point contest is HOT. Both Currys. Dirk. Buddy Buckets. I can’t wait for this event.

But it could be better. Bojan Bogdanovic could be in it.

Bogey led the league in 3-point percentage for roughly two months at the start of the season. After a slump, he’s still hovering at an elite 42.6 percent on 4.7 attempts per game, a statistical combo only matched by 6 other players this season. 3 of those 6 are in the shooting contest this year.

The extra validity to this one – Bogdanovic wanted to be in the event, according to Scott Agness of the Athletic.

He should be in it. His shooting numbers are absurdly good. He wanted to do it. 7 of the 10 participants aren’t matching his statistical 3-point shooting production. This one goes beyond my feelings and desires. Bogey actually should have been selected to be in the three-point contest.

Let’s close with the dunk contest – whoops, I mean the AT&T slam dunk contest. Oladipo made fans proud last year in this event despite coming up short. This year, with Vic sidelined, there isn’t an obvious candidate… or is there?

There is. Have you seen this Sumner kid? He can do some crazy stuff. Look at his pinned tweet on Twitter from FanJam this season:

https://twitter.com/EdmondSumner/status/1046577561223024642

The kid can fly. He was known for his athleticism in college before he tore his ACL. He isn’t afraid to get up and throw down.

His first EVER dunk in an NBA game (albeit preseason) was a two-hand slam over a defender. He is a fearless high-flyer (featuring awesome becnh reaction):

Put the kid in the dunk contest. He will not disappoint anyone.

Technically, the Pacers have a player in the All-Star game in Oladipo. I’m sure his name will get mentioned during the game, especially when D’Angelo Russell checks in as his injury replacement. But that isn’t enough. The Pacers are the only team without a player at All-Star weekend, it just feels wrong.

From an actual basketball standpoint, having no Indiana Pacers in the events is good. The players can rest and take vacations with their family – Thaddeus Yong is going to Cabo. This time off should allow them to reset physically and mentally and be prepared for the stretch run. All of that is good. While it is a bummer to not see any players in the All-Star proceedings, it is good for the team in the long run.