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Cleveland Cavaliers: Carmelo Anthony Replaces Kevin Love In The 2017 All-Star Game

By Quenton S. Albertie

Jan 23, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) reacts late in the fourth quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers 124-122. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) reacts late in the fourth quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers 124-122. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love will be replaced by Carmelo Anthony in the 2017 All-Star Game.

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love, who is out for six weeks following knee surgery, will be replaced by New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony in the All-Star Game according to an official release by the NBA.

Some would say that Love should be replaced by Anthony on the Cleveland Cavaliers too but to do so would do the Cavs an injustice. Love is an All-Star because he has a generational ability to be an elite rebounder and three-point threat. In the ways that people get excited when they watch Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, Serge Ibaka or Joel Embiid knock down threes and block shots with the best of them, Cleveland Cavaliers fans should be excited about the unique talents of Love.

Especially considering that Love came into this season in the best shape of his career. The dedication to his physical conditioning has played off on both ends as he’s quicker and stronger than he’s been in years past. Defensively, the stats won’t show you how well he does when guarding perimeter players in isolation. He moves his feet well and makes it entirely believable that “The Stop” wasn’t a fluke gifted to the Cleveland Cavaliers by the basketball gods.

At times this season he’s been particularly energetic on defense. He’ll fly around the court on rotations and block a few shots.

Offensively, Love’s game is a little different in that he attacks the rim off-the-dribble more than fans have seen in years past.

He’s seen bumps in his field goal attempts, three-point percentage, free-throw attempts, points, rebounds, steals and usage this season. While Love isn’t a perfect player and isn’t a ball-handler or a rim-protector, he’s one of the best power forwards in the game with averages of 20.0 points, 11.1 rebounds per game.

He’s the only player with averaging a 20-point triple double outside of Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony-Towns, Russell Westbrook and DeMarcus Cousins.

Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James’ best friends in the NBA, has endured a fair bit of drama himself over the past few months due to Phil Jackson and constant trade speculation. He can probably relate to Kevin Love more than people think as he’s often criticized despite his talent.

At 32-years-old, the 9-time (now 10-time) All-Star is averaging 23.2 points per game while shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range and has 13 games scoring 30 or more points this season. He also has 10 games with 5 or more assists.

Anthony, who is also averaging 6.1 rebounds per game, has been one of the most consistent performers in the league over his career.

Love will miss the All-Star Game and the Cavs will have to wait until next season to have three All-Stars playing in the All-Star Game, the first time the team will have performed that feat since the Mark Price, Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty era.

Related Story: Could The Cleveland Cavaliers trade for One Of These Players?

Who do you think should have replaced Kevin Love in the All-Star Game? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.