Monta Ellis, Mavericks shut out from 2015 All-Star Game

No Mavericks will be representing Dallas at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York this year, something that was made officially with the announcement of the All-Star reserves on Thursday. Here is the official team.

Western Conference: (Starters) Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol. (Reserves) James Harden, Klay Thompson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan

Eastern Conference: (Starters) John Wall, Kyle Lowry, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol. (Reserves) Jimmy Butler, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kyrie Irving, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Dallas Mavericks aren't represented. It's surprising in the sense that Dallas is currently a playoff team in the much more competitive West and are still 30-17 despite recent struggles, and that obviously didn't happen because a lack of talent. But Dallas' success this year has been due to a fairly balanced performance from all of its top players, and teams like that frequently go unrewarded this time of year.

A Kobe Bryant injury has opened the door to the possibility that either Dirk or Monta could have a chance to sneak in as alternates, but that still remains very unlikely (Damian Lillard or DeMarcus Cousins are much more obvious candidates). Despite a December slump from Dirk, he's been playing incredibly well the last few games, and Ellis is widely considered to be playing the best ball of his career this season, but other players simply have bet

It's understandable that Dallas fans may feel slighted, but with such a tough playoff schedule ahead, a week of rest rather than a trip to Brooklyn and a few minutes in a pointless game sounds like the much bigger prize.