Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love was chosen to participate in the 2017 NBA All-Star game but underwent knee surgery and subsequently will be out for six weeks. New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was picked to replace Love, but Bradley Beal and many others believe he deserved the spot.
“I’ll never say a player doesn’t deserve to be on the all-star team. For one, Carmelo is a great player. Hell, he’s been one of the best offensive threats in the league for years now, and I’m taking absolutely nothing away from him. But the process of it does not make sense. If they reward winning, then I don’t understand how the decision was made,” Beal said Thursday morning via the Washington Post. “It was kind of weird to me.”
“I don’t know what the rules are or how everything goes, but I definitely feel I had a great opportunity,” Beal said. “Being on a winning team and being able to have success and I’m playing pretty well this year, I felt like I deserved to be there, but at the end of the day it is what it is. It’s not going to determine me as a player. It’s not going to put me down for the rest of the year. … I can enjoy my break and come back full steam ahead and rolling into the playoffs.”
The Washington Wizards currently have a 34-21 record and the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference. Beal is currently averaging 22.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and 3.7 apg.
The New York Knicks have a 23-34 record and the No. 12 spot in the Eastern Conference. Anthony is currently averaging 23.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 2.9 apg.
