Indiana Pacers: Haliburton’s all-star bid and his biggest competition for starting

Donovan Mitchell(29.3 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG)

Arguably the best guard in the east this season, Mitchell is scoring at a career pace(29.3 PPG) and is the biggest star on a Cavaliers team that currently sits third in the Eastern Conference. Being traded to Cleveland in the offseason, people speculated how Mitchell would perform outside of Utah, which he called his home for 5 seasons.

Any thought that Mitchell would struggle to adjust to a new team has been viciously silenced, as Mitchell has done nothing but bring a much needed “killer” to a Cavaliers squad that lacked a true closer last year, averaging a top ten 7.5 PPG in the fourth quarter this season. While Haliburton leads

Mitchell in every other category besides scoring, the average NBA viewer will gravitate toward the players that can score the ball with their own offense more when it comes to all star-voting, which may give Mitchell an edge. Mitchell’s  Cavaliers currently sit at 21-11, and are 3rd in the Eastern Conference.

Jaylen Brown(26.4 PPG, 3.5 APG, 7.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG)

Like most guards on this list, Brown is having a career year. Brown is currently averaging career highs in points, assists, rebounds, and steals, and is apart of a two-headed monster with Jayson Tatum that is leading the Celtics to the #2 seed in the East.

Long thought of as Tatum’s sidekick, Brown has proven that he can be an Alpha when needed to, averaging 33PPG in games without Tatum this season. Brown’s team and his scoring vastly overshadow Haliburton, so this is another spot where Haliburton might find it hard to beat out a guard playing out of their mind on a team with a better record.

Brown’s Celtics currently sit at 22-9 and are 2nd in the Eastern Conference.