theScore's All-Star reserves picks

All-Star Game captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry have some difficult choices ahead.

The pair will pick from a pool of 22 honorees to decide the two teams in the 2018 All-Star Game. The five starters from each conference were announced on Thursday, and the remaining 14 reserves will be selected next week.

Here are our picks for the All-Star reserves.

Western Conference

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Westbrook is 0.1 assists and 0.3 rebounds away from averaging a triple-double for a second straight season, although much of that is lost in the drama surrounding the Thunder. Westbrook hasn’t been entirely blameless, but the Thunder have found most of their success by playing through the reigning MVP, and that’s no coincidence. Most defenses have no answers for Westbrook’s relentless aggression.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Towns is scratching the surface of superstardom. He's now become more efficient with a reduced role since the arrival of Jimmy Butler. Towns is shooting 54 percent from the field, 42 percent from deep, while throwing up 20.1 points and 12 rebounds as the second banana on the third-best team in the West. Towns is also improving on defense, as he’s contested 50 more shots than any other player in the league.

Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year doesn’t post the eye-popping numbers like the other talent on this list, but they can’t claim to be an indispensable piece of the best team in basketball. Green does all the little things for the Warriors, from giving them versatility on both ends to being their emotional edge. The Warriors are a top-five defense for the fifth-straight season and Green is the catalyst.

Jimmy Butler, Minnesota Timberwolves

Butler’s leadership is the main reason why the Timberwolves, a team that hasn’t sniffed the playoffs since 2004, are in position for home-court advantage in the first round. Butler is supplying elite, two-way production with 21.6 points per game while locking down the top scorer every night. But more than anything else, Butler is teaching the young Timberwolves how to win, and that’s the type of guidance the team has lacked since Kevin Garnett left.

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

The case could be made for a leading man like Damian Lillard to make the All-Star Game over a third option like Thompson, but, like Green, there’s something to be said for playing a crucial role on the best team in the planet. Thompson is shooting a career-high 49 percent from the field and 45 percent from deep while playing lockdown defense on opposing point guards every night. He has also made more threes than anyone else in the NBA.

Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder

George’s scoring numbers have taken a dip after joining forces with Westbrook, but he’s put the excess energy to good work on defense. George leads the league in both deflections and loose balls recovered while anchoring a top-three defensive unit. He's doing it while dropping 20 points per game and making more threes than anyone except Thompson and James Harden.

LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs

Aldridge has kept the Spurs afloat in the absence of Kawhi Leonard. Having hammered out his issues with Gregg Popovich, Aldridge is back to scoring 23 points on 50 percent shooting just as he was in Portland. The Spurs are quietly a bottom-five team in terms of scoring, and might otherwise be out of a playoff spot if it wasn’t for Aldridge. San Antonio is 7-6 when Aldridge scores under 20 and they’re 23-10 when he does.

Honorable mentions: Damian Lillard, Lou Williams, Nikola Jokic

Eastern Conference

Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Oladipo is having a breakout year with the sixth-seeded Pacers, making the leap from a role player to a star. He ranks fourth in the East in scoring with 24.3 points per game and second in steals with two per contest, and is largely responsible for Indiana's unexpected success. Not only is Oladipo shouldering the largest workload in his career - his usage percentage puts him right behind some guy named LeBron James - but the potential Most Improved Player has been incredibly efficient, pouring in points on a career-best true shooting percentage of 60.1 and boasting a top 10 PER of 24.3.

Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks

Porzingis is a highlight machine at both ends of the floor, and as a result, would be an incredible addition to the showcase. In his first year as Gotham's leading man, the versatile 7-foot-3 power forward leads the league with 2.4 blocks per game while ranking second in the East in usage percentage (32) and eighth in scoring with 23.6 points per contest for the fringe playoff club. One of the most talented and entertaining young players in the game, it's no surprise The Unicorn's peers voted for him to start in the ASG.

Al Horford, Boston Celtics

The criminally underrated Horford leads Boston with 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and a block per game to go along with 13.4 points while being tied with Kyle Korver for the fourth-highest 3-point accuracy in the conference (43.4 percent). The Celtics fluctuate from a 108.1 offensive rating with him on the floor (top 10) to just 98.1 (by far the worst) with him on the bench. That, coupled with his role as the anchor for the NBA's top defense, has helped Horford to a conference-leading Real Plus-Minus of plus-6.6. The vet may not be flashy, but he's damn good.

Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

Drummond is playing his best basketball. The dominant center is leading the league in defensive rating (98.7), defensive win shares (2.9), and rebounds per game (15). He's also putting up 14.5 points on 54.3 percent shooting (seventh in the East), and more impressively, is shooting a career-high 62.5 percent from the charity stripe in his sixth season. His improvements have helped him stay on the floor late in games (he now averages a team-high 32.9 minutes) for the Pistons, a team on pace to return to the postseason.

Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

The feisty floor general's numbers are down from last season when he earned his third All-Star nod, but he's still putting up a respectable 16.2 points - including an East-leading 2.9 threes per game - on a true shooting percentage of 58.9 to go along with 6.9 assists (fourth in the conference), 6.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals over 40 games. He remains an effective all-around player - his net rating of plus-5 ranks seventh in the conference - and crucial to the No. 2 Raptors' success.

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

Beal has been the man for Washington this season, keeping the team afloat while co-star John Wall was sidelined. The sixth-year shooting guard leads the fifth-place Wizards with 23.7 points per game (seventh in the conference) on a true shooting percentage of 56.2 to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 dimes - all career highs. Beal, who also ranks 11th in the East in usage rate (28.6 percent), refused to campaign for votes in hopes his game would speak for himself, and it should.

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets

Walker is once again carrying Charlotte on his back. The professional bucket-getter leads the Hornets with 21.7 points (ninth in the East) - including 2.5 threes (eighth) - 5.8 assists (10th), and 1.2 steals per game. The main knock on him is overall team performance, with Charlotte sitting four games out of the final playoff spot. But, consider the fact the Hornets have a net rating of plus-5.2 with Walker on the court which, extrapolated, would make them the fourth-best team in the NBA. Without the flashy point man, Charlotte is an abysmal minus-12.1 - the worst team in the Association.

Honorable mentions: Kevin Love, John Wall

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)