Kyle Lowry All-Star Game snub wrong but predictable by NBA standards

Kyle Lowry should be an NBA All-Star, yet it's no surprise that the Raptors point guard won't be heading to New Orleans as part of the Eastern Conference's elite.

Every metric imaginable points to Lowry's obvious inclusion into the All-Star team.

He leads all Eastern Conference guards in ESPN's Estimated Wins Added (similar to MLB's Wins Above Replacement) with an EWA of 7.7. His Player Efficiency Rating of 20.4 is only bested by Dwyane Wade's 21.4 and Lowry has played in 13 more games than the Heat star. He's in the top five among point guards in the East in PPG, APG, RPG, and SPG. The Raptors are 24-21, good for first in their division and third in the Conference, and 18-9 since trading Rudy Gay to Sacramento, thanks in large part to Lowry's stellar play.

The coaches however, opted to go with veteran shooting guard Joe Johnson, a decision that according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, came down to the last few votes. John Wall of the Wizards and Lowry's Raptors teammate DeMar DeRozan were the other Eastern Conference guards selected for the NBA's premier showcase.

Johnson has been the best player on a Brooklyn Nets team making a push up the standings of late after a disastrous start, but there's no discussion as to which player is having a better season to date.

Here's a comparison of Lowry and Johnson's numbers.

Three primary factors led to Lowry being kept off the All-Star team.

His much-publicized spat with Rockets head coach Kevin McHale while with Houston in 2012 hurt his reputation around the league. If there's anything NBA coaches do well, it's sticking up for one another.

There's the very real possibility that Lowry was left off some ballots because coaches wanted to vote for only one Raptor and chose to go with DeRozan. Beyond that, since they're are not allowed to vote for their own players, Dwane Casey suggested there's a good amount of strategic voting that takes place to help their guys get the nod.

Lowry addressed being overlooked for the honour and expressed how much DeRozan's selection represents the progress the Raptors have made as a team.

"It's always a goal as an individual, of course you want to be an All-Star but you can't bank your whole year on it," said Lowry. "I'm going to keep grinding no matter what. All-Star or not, I'm going to continue to work hard and be the best player I can be to help my team win.

"We didn't get two, it doesn't matter, we got one. It's a big statement for our team. [DeRozan] is going to go represent our team and he's going to represent us well."