CLEVELAND — The NBA All-Star Game is right around the corner, slated to be played on Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. With the weekend of events being hosted in Cleveland, it seems only fitting the Cavs are represented in the game.
After missing out on being selected as a starter, Darius Garland was selected as a reserve in the top-talent showcase.
Garland has become a star this season, notching his first career triple-double while recently boasting a six-game double-double streak. This season, Garland is averaging 19.8 points, 8.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
The Cavs point guard was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Jan. 10-16 and has been in the top 10 vote-getters throughout the All-Star fan vote standing releases.
Garland has been dealing with lower back soreness that has kept him off the court for Monday and Wednesday’s games against the Pelicans and Rockets. His All-Star impact has been very clearly visible in his absence as the Cavs have struggled to generate offense with Garland off the court.
With his selection Thursday, Garland becomes the first Cavalier to make the All-Star Game since LeBron James and Kevin Love in 2018.
The All-Star starters were announced on Jan. 27, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid, Trae Young, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins all selected as starters.
Team captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant will draft their teams from the pool of starters in the first round and from the reserves in the second round.
While Garland was selected to play in the All-Star Game, Jarrett Allen was snubbed from the honors.
This season, Allen is averaging a double-double with 16 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in addition to 1.4 blocks per game. His rim protection and athleticism have helped the Cavs put out a top. 10 defensive rating in the league, ranked No. 3 behind the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns.
Allen was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week in Week 3 and was consistently ranked No. 6 in Eastern Conference frontcourt All-Star fan voting at each new data release.
Despite not being named an All-Star starter or reserve, Allen still has a chance to make the All-Star roster as a replacement. No bigs were named reserves from the Eastern Conference, and with Kevin Durant not playing in the game due to a knee injury, Allen could get the nod after all.
The All-Star reserves were voted on by the head coaches in each conference. Seven reserves were selected from each conference.
