Will Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen repeat as an All-Star? It'll be hard in a stacked West

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SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen's All-Star case comes down to a numbers game.

The Jazz forward is having a similar statistical season as he did last year when he made his first All-Star Game. He's putting up around the same numbers with the same efficiency, and he's doing it this time with a rotating cast at point guard instead of Mike Conley.

There's an argument to be made that he's been even better this season — especially with how he's helped the team charge back into the postseason conversation.

"I'm extremely biased, but I think that Lauri is an NBA All-Star," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "I think that what he does night in and night out, and the efficiency at which he does it, speaks for itself. He's one of the best players in the West. He's shown a consistency in his approach. He doesn't market himself very much. He's not loud about it — like, he just comes to work every day and produces."

So he's a lock to make his second All-Star appearance, right? Well, not exactly.

Why? Let's break it down.

The West coaches will pick seven reserves (two backcourt players, three frontcourt and two wildcards) to join starters LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic on the West roster

Seven spots for, well, quite a lot of players.

With Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard back healthy and Durant moving West — to make no mention of Minnesota's dream season — spots are quite limited this year.

In the frontcourt, Markkanen will be fighting with a group that includes Davis, Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Chet Holmgren, Zion Williamson, Domantas Sabonis and maybe Paul George (will coaches consider him a backcourt or frontcourt player?) — and maybe even a few more for the final spots.

Things aren't any lighter on the guard line. Steph Curry, De'Aaron Fox, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, and George(?) all have strong cases to make the team.

In the end, there are a dozen or so players with legit cases to make the team and just seven spots. More than a few will be disappointed Thursday, and choosing is quite the difficult task.

Are you really going to leave Steph Curry off the All-Star team? And Minnesota— the best team in the West — needs at least one All-Star, right? And maybe more? Heck, Gobert is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year and Towns just hung 60 points.

Devin Booker, meanwhile, is averaging 28 points and seven assists; how can he be left off? Markkanen has led a remarkable turnaround for his team, Fox and Sabonis have been every bit as good as last year's All-Star versions, and George and Leonard may be the league's top wing duo.

The West is stacked.

It's safe to say Markkanen would be waltzing to his second straight All-Star Game if the Jazz so happened to play in the East. As it is, he will likely be left off the team.

So what's our best guess for the West reserves?

In the backcourt, let's go with Curry and Booker, and then Davis, Leonard and George in the frontcourt. The final two? Edwards and … yeah, it's hard to even make the final guess.

Utah's surge through January could give Markkanen a potential leg up, but whatever the result someone somewhere will be feeling snubbed.

"He's a huge reason why we're having the season that we are," Hardy said. "He's been a big reason why we've had the turnaround that we've had. He was a little bit unhealthy early in the year. To me, Lauri is an NBA All-Star."

There just might not be enough spots for him to actually be one.