DeRozan leads East guards in first all-star vosting returns
The NBA released the first all-star voting returns Thursday and the Bulls' DeMar DeRozan is the top vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards.
DeRozan plays mostly small forward for the Bulls, but whatever. Teammate Zach LaVine ranks fourth among East guards, with Brooklyn's James Harden in second and Atlanta's Trae Young third.
In the East frontcourt, the early leaders are Brooklyn's Kevin Durant, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is 10th.
Whether they're starters or reserves, DeRozan and LaVine figure to be locks to make this year's East squad. Not only do the Bulls lead the Eastern Conference standings right now, DeRozan and LaVine rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the league in scoring.
"We're No. 1 in the East right now, we're putting up great numbers," LaVine said Thursday. "DeMar is having, I feel like, an MVP-type season and I don't feel like I'm that far behind him. At the end of the day, I don't think we're worried about that.
"I've talked about it in the past: If you win, everybody gets what they deserve. I'm very thankful for that and having this team and just helping this team win."
In the West, the early vote leaders are the Lakers' LeBron James, Denver's Nikola Jokic and the Clippers' Paul George in the frontcourt; along with Golden State's Steph Curry and Dallas' Luka Doncic. Memphis' Ja Morant, who probably deserves to be a starter this year, is a close third.
Durant and Curry have received the most votes.
Voting continues through Jan. 22 at midnight.
The 2022 NBA All-Star Game will be held Feb. 20 in Cleveland.
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