by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

Selecting NBA All-Star reserves is never cut and dried, no matter obvious the reserves may appear.

Players will be snubbed.

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez wasn’t selected by coaches as a reserve. Neither was Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol didn’t make it. Same for Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford.

Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer gets a long weekend at home, instead of All-Star Weekend in Houston Feb. 15-17. Utah Jazz forward Al Jefferson was left off, too. Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce didn’t make it for the first time since 2007, and Indiana Pacers forward David West and New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith weren’t selected either. No Al Horford or Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks or Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The biggest omission in the East is Lopez. He is a major reason why the Nets are 26-16 and in third place in the East, just a ½ game behind the Knicks. Lopez averages 18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and is an improved defender and rebounder. Without Lopez’s play, the Nets might still be trying to rebound from their December doldrums, especially with guards Deron Williams and Joe Johnson have sub-par seasons.

Lopez grades out strongly in advanced statistics, too. The Nets are a better offensive and defensive team with Lopez on the floor, and he is second in the East in Player Efficiency Rating — a measure of a player’s per-minute productivity — behind only Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James.

But if someone left off the list deserves to be an All-Star, then a player selected as a reserve needs to come off the list.

Who comes off the list?

One of the Bulls needs to come off the list. It’s either Luol Deng or Joakim Noah, not Deng and Noah on the All-Star team.

TNT’s Charles Barkley advocated for Crawford’s inclusion. However, as good as Crawford has been for the Clippers, he is shooting 41.8% from the field. No crime leaving Crawford off the All-Star team.

Gasol didn’t make it, but Memphis Zach Randolph did. No harm, with the Grizzlies … [For more on Why Brook Lopez should've been an NBA All-Star, click here.]