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Boston Celtics: Is Tacko Fall eligible to be an NBA All Star?

By Justin Trombino

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 26: Tacko Fall #99 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on October 26, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 26: Tacko Fall #99 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on October 26, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Tacko Fall has only played eleven minutes for the Boston Celtics this season and he ranks sixth in All Star voting for the Eastern Conference’s All Star front court. What gives?

The Boston Celtics could easily have three players who could make the All Star team in Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But surprisingly there is another very popular player who could make the team as well… Tacko Fall.

The un-drafted rookie of the Boston Celtics-who’s currently on a two-way contract- has the sixth highest votes for the Eastern Conference’s front court with over 110,000 votes. Boston Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens wasn’t too enthused by the idea of Tacko getting so many All Star votes.

"“I don’t love the idea, when you’re talking about the All-Star Game or any awards, not being based solely on what’s happening on the court and impacting the team and winning. He is a wonderful person, he’s done a great job. Obviously, he’s played like 10 minutes here so he shouldn’t be sixth in All-Star voting. I get it.” – Brad Stevens, per A. Sherrod Blakely"

Although Fall has been the hottest sensation since the start of NBA season during Summer League and throughout the first half of the season, he shouldn’t really qualify to be an All Star this season. Fall has been crushing it in the G League with the Maine Red Claws, but he’s literally only played 11 minutes in the NBA.

There’s a chance Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward all end up battling with each other to make the All Star team. Although Tatum and Brown seem to be the front runners of that particular trio, Tatum weighed his opinions in on Tacko Fall’s All Star status.

"“I mean, Tacko got a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden. Tacko the goat.” – Jayson Tatum, per A. Sherrod Blakely"

Recently as the NBA has progressed into the entertainment side of the business, the NBA All Star game has become more of a popularity contest than anything. I really enjoyed the early 2000’s when the All Star game was still competitive between the Eastern and Western conferences. Back when the game was solely about pride and competition.

For example, the All Star game of 2000 featured Allen Iverson scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter to give the East the victory over the the West 111-110. Iverson went pound-for-pound with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’ Neal; who at the time were absolute machines on the floor and the best at their positions.

Now in the later part of the decade we’re noticing how the All Star game is no longer about pride and competition, but rather than popularity and status. There are players in the league who are being voted in but really shouldn’t qualify for the All Star game and are only getting in based off their popularity and experience.

It’s nice for the players to put on a show for the fans. Who doesn’t enjoy alley-pop slam dunks and the final score totaling a couple hundreds points? I mean, that’s kind of what is expected from these types of events in professional sports. But it has to be a bit annoying for all the true basketball fans out there.

In a way it’s definitely unfair to the rest of the players in the league who may not get the recognition they deserve. To put it into a clearer perspective after the first round of All Star voting is complete, Tacko Fall has more votes than guys like Gordon Hayward, Andre Drummond, Domantas Sabonis, Dwight Howard and Bam Adebayo.

Even though he is sixth in the voting, there’s a really high chance Fall doesn’t even make the All Star team. The fans only account for 50 percent of the votes, while the media and current players account for the other half (25 percent each).

As the contest has become somewhat of a playground anyways, who knows, maybe some current players will give the tallest player in the NBA some more votes!

Next. Why the Celtics don't need another center. dark

Tacko is progressing well with the Maine Red Claws this season. He’s averaging 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game in the G League this season. That said, the NBA All-Star game is a bit of a stretch, even for the seven-foot-six super-giant.

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