Carmelo Anthony To Replace Kevin Love In All-Star Game
Carmelo Anthony was selected as the injury replacement for Kevin Love in the 2017 NBA All-Star game.
It looked as it Carmelo Anthony‘s All-Star streaks were going to come to an end this season. Anthony had been named to the All-Star game nine out of the 10 seasons he has played in the NBA. Not only had he been selected to play in seven consecutive All-Star games, he started in each and every one.
Anthony’s streak of All-Star games started ended this season, as he was not selected by the fans, coaches, and players to be a part of the Eastern Conference starting lineup. Anthony held out hope that he would be selected as an Eastern Conference reserve, but that also didn’t come to fruition.
As a result, Anthony set up a vacation for his family. While he had hoped to get selected, he said he would welcome the rest that came along with the All-Star break; the New York Knicks do not play again until February 23rd.
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Those vacation plans will now have to be adjusted. With Kevin Love injuring his knee and being sidelined for at least 6-8 weeks because of surgery, a spot on the Eastern Conference team opened up. That spot will be filled by Anthony, who was offered the spot by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Anthony appreciated the invite despite it throwing a wrench into the vacation he planned with his family.
"“It means a lot,” Anthony said. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an honor to be named to the All-Star team, to go out there and represent despite everything that’s been going on, that’s surrounding us, that’s surrounding me, that’s surrounding our organization. To still go out there and represent not just the organization, but New York City as a whole, it’s still an honor to do that.”"
The Knicks have struggled mightily this season, which may have played a part in Anthony’s original exclusion from the Eastern Conference team. The Knicks head into the All-Star break with an underwhelming 23-34 record, but Anthony has played well as of late.
Despite all of the distractions around him and the team, and a nagging shoulder ailment, Anthony has played very well recently for the Knicks. In his last five games, Anthony is averaging 28.4 points on 54.1 percent shooting overall and 58.1 percent from deep. He is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steal per game over that span.
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While some people will argue that Anthony should have declined the offer to rest up for the stretch run of the season, it is something that means a lot to him judging from his quote. He loves representing the Knicks and the Eastern Conference and appreciates the chance to do so after not originally making the cut.