2011 All-Star Reserves announced

The reserves for the 60^th edition of the NBA’s All-Star Game were announced early Thursday evening. Continue reading after the jump to see who the coaches voted in.

Western Conference:

	Team	All-Star Selection
F/C Pau Gasol	Los Angeles Lakers	4th
F/C Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	13th
F Blake Griffin	Los Angeles Clippers	1st
F Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas Mavericks	10th
G Deron Williams	Utah Jazz	2nd
G Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder	1st
G Manu Ginobili	San Antonio Spurs	2nd

What they got wrong: Tim Duncan

It’s hard to find a handful of players in the history of the NBA who have seen the success that Tim Duncan has. He’s won three regular season MVP awards, four NBA titles, three Finals MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year Award, and an All-Star MVP award. He has also been selected to 13 All-Star games, nine All-NBA first teams, three All-NBA second teams, and eight All-NBA first defensive teams. With all of that, Duncan may have a trophy case for his trophy cases.

But the All-Star Game is not a lifetime achievement event. It is a game where the best players of that current season play against each other. And unfortunately for Duncan, he’s not one of them. His averages of 13.9 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game are by far the lowest totals in his career.  And although the Spurs are sitting pretty at 40-8, All-Stars should not be chosen based on their team’s performance. There is no reason to punish a deserving player because of his team’s win-loss record. It is a variable that is way out of a player’s control.

That is exactly why Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves should have been in Duncan’s place. To describe Love’s season as monstrous would be a gross understatement. He’s averaged 21.4 points and pulled down a league-leading 15.5 rebounds per game. Love also leads the league in double-doubles with 43 and has the largest double-double streak with 34 games in a row. It’s a crying shame that Kevin Love, despite playing some of the best ball in the NBA, will not receive a ticket to Los Angeles.

Just missed:

F Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers

F LaMarcus Alridge, Portland Trail Blazers

F Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Conference:

	Team	All-Star Selection
C Al Horford	Atlanta Hawks	2nd
F Kevin Garnett	Boston Celtics	14th
F Chris Bosh	Miami Heat	6th
F Paul Pierce	Boston Celtics	9th
G Joe Johnson	Atlanta Hawks	5th
G Ray Allen	Boston Celtics	9th
G Rajon Rondo	Boston Celtics	2nd

What they got wrong: Nothing

To make this short, these are the players who should be in the All-Star Game. My grandmother could have predicted this. You can make cases for guys like Raymond Felton, Carlos Boozer, and Andrew Bogut, but none of them touch the current reserves. All seven guys are playing extremely well and their success has relayed into their respective teams’ success.

Just missed:

G Raymond Felton, New York Knicks

F/C Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls

C Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks