Lou Williams belongs in the NBA All-Star Game, seriously

Lou Williams’ final possession of the Clippers’ win over the Warriors — with 30 seconds left, up 16 points on the best team in the league — was the definition of a man in strife. He knew you weren’t supposed to treat that situation seriously or risk upsetting the other team by breaking unwritten rules, but he was also one shot away from scoring half-a-century ... and he damn sure wanted that 50-point game.

You could see his mind racing, ball in hand. What would be too disrespectful? Should I just take the shot clock violation?

Instead, Williams settled on a compromise — he shot one final three-pointer, but he hoisted it, almost lazily, from 30-plus feet away from the basket. If that went in, surely he deserved the honor, right?

It did.

You can see Steve Kerr’s face right after. It could have been conveying emotions that aligned with “did he really do that,” but it looks closer to “did he really make that?” Kerr’s face had shown that exact expression throughout the night.

You can’t really blame him, right?

Williams spent his first seven seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and his next six as a journeyman, suiting up for five different teams. The Clippers are the sixth stop of his career, and the 31-year-old has never been better. In fact, Williams, a free-agent-to-be, is pushing toward ending his constant movement around the league.

His play is the reason why. Williams is averaging 23 points and five assists per game, both career highs, while playing almost 32 minutes per night, another personal best. The bench scorer extraordinaire has broken into the Los Angeles starting five and may stay there, at this rate, especially as the Clippers are ravaged with injuries.

Los Angeles is one game out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference despite Blake Griffin, Milos Teodosic, Austin Rivers, Patrick Beverley, and Danilo Gallinari all missing serious time with various ailments. This is impressive work from Doc Rivers to keep the Clippers in this, even as he leans heavily on rookies and players on two-way contracts. But who knows where he would be without Williams.

Quietly, Williams — despite a reputation as a classic sixth man chucker — has turned his game into an efficient one over the past few years. He has recorded a True Shooting Percentage at or above 55 percent the past six seasons, and he’s over 58 percent each of the last three. This year is his peak, despite the highest volume of his career. Thanks to his sensational three-point shooting and herky-jerk foul-drawing game, Williams’ True Shooting Percentage is 60.9 percent — an elite mark, even better than players like Klay Thompson and Chris Paul.

Williams is the same old Williams this season, but with further incremental improvements. He expertly dodges around picks and jumps out behind the three-point line when no one expects him to. He’s hitting 43.3 percent of his pull-up shots behind the arc, after all, a huge jump (and a possibly unsustainable one) from the 32 to 35 percent that he averaged the four seasons before this.

Or consider this stat: Williams has taken 29 three-pointers after seven or more dribbles this season — normally a bad sign — and has made 18 of them. No defense in the world can stop great shooting.

While the all-star format has changed, there will still be 12 representatives from each conference, perhaps more if any player has to miss with injury. Here are players who should be locks in the West, with three guards who will be going in bold.

Only four Western Conference guards went last season, but we often see up to six guards represented. There’s probably room for six or seven on this ballot, due to injuries to traditional all-stars like Rudy Gobert, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, and maybe even Chris Paul. (Marc Gasol’s poor play also rules him out.) Paul George, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Draymond Green will all compete for spots, but there aren’t too many serious frontcourt candidates past them.

But Williams has firmly placed himself in the conversation among guards, where the candidates are:

Then there’s Williams, averaging the third-most points and third-most assists of that bunch with the highest efficiency while playing the fewest minutes. If you pick three from that group, could you convince yourself that Williams doesn’t belong?

Before Wednesday, his stellar year might not have had enough oomf to sway voters and catch everyone’s attention. But dropping 50 points on the Warriors in their home building? Scoring 27 points in the third quarter? Yes, the Williams’ all-star candidacy is full throttle ahead.

Make Williams an all-star. We’re completely serious — he deserves it.