Kevin Love All Star Replacement: Six Players Who Will Likely Take His Place
Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers has just been announced to miss out six weeks of the game after having gone through surgery for his injured left knee. Still, the NBA All-Star game will continue but who will be the best replacement?
Love was supposed to play the NBA All-Star Game this weekend but the Cavs on Tuesday announced that the power forward will miss six weeks after his knee surgery, which was performed by Dr. David Altchek.
With an open spot in the Eastern Conference 2017 lineup, someone should step in as Kevin’s replacement in the All-Star game and now there have been various predictions as to who will become fit for the role.
Channing Frye, Cleveland Cavaliers
According to Bleacher Report, there is no single player that can match Kevin’s playing style. The 28-year-old has a 9.2 net rating that makes him a top member of the Cavaliers and his on/off rating of plus-12.0 makes him nearly on par with Lebron James. Channing Frye somehow has similar three-point shooting ability and floor-pacing as his teammate, making him an ideal replacement for Love but he is observed to be a poor rebounder, the news outlet noted.
Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
The Miami Heat have the longest winning streak of 13 straight wins and Hassan Whiteside contributed to that success. Expectations are high for Whiteside and he was able to meet them thus far. He has an average of 16.7 points and 14.1 rebounds. As Fansided noted, if there is one person who is worthy to become Love’s All-Star replacement, it would be the 27-year-old Hassan.
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
The season has not been good for the 32-year-old New York Knicks power forward with all the trade rumors going on. Anthony’s game has not been as great as it was in the past but still, his record of 23.2 points, 2.9 assists, and 6.1 rebounds makes him a potential candidate for an All-Star replacement.
Goran Dragic, Miami Heat
Miami Heat is hot because of Goran Dragic and if the league is not so keen on replacing Kevin with a frontcourt player, Dragic could be a fine candidate, according to Fox Sports. The 30-year-old averages 20.3 points and 6.4 assists with a three-point shooting rating of 44.2 percent.
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards is having a wonderful season and it can be seen that the team has come out strong when Beal returned to play after sustaining a hamstring injury. Commissioner Adam Silver will be in charge of choosing who gets to be the best injury replacement for the All-Star game, and according to a WizofAwes’ writeup, Beal is a legitimate choice.
Beal is a popular pick to become Kevin Love’s All-Star replacement and he comes from a team that has the best Eastern Conference 2017 record. Out of the 20 games played, the Washington Wizards won 17 and for that Beal is believed to deserve an All-Star nod.
Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Anthony has been shortlisted as Kevin Love’s replacement in the All-Star game, but he still has to ask his family first. Anthony seems not that interested in playing and he even said he would like to see his teammate Kristaps Porzingis represent the team, NY Daily News reported. If Melo will indeed sit this one out, Porzingis will become the likely candidate – and a fine one at that. Porzingis averages 18.5 points, 1.9 blocks, and 7.1 rebounds and that will easily make him fit to be Kevin Love’s replacement.
The basketball stars in the list are all worthy to step in as Kevin Love’s replacement in the NBA All-Star game. As previously mentioned, Commissioner Silver will make the call and fans will know who gets the spot relatively soon.
[Featured Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]
