Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony was an All-Star starter last season. This year, he’s not even on the team as a reserve.
Averaging 21.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 43.7% shooting (his lowest field goal percentage since 2004-05), Melo has played in just 31 of Denver’s 46 games. His missed action due to injury certainly played a big role in being left out.
Still, the proud player isn’t going to pretend he didn’t want to make it.
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports:
“A little bit,” Anthony told the Rocky Mountain News on Friday morning in his first public comments about whether he was disappointed in not being selected Thursday to the NBA Western Conference All-Star team. “But it ain’t nothing I can control. It is what it is. I’m happy for Chauncey (Billups) making it, though.” Billups, a guard, was selected by Western Conference coaches as an All-Star reserve for the Feb. 15 game in Phoenix. But Anthony, after being selected the past two years, was left off after missing 10 games with a broken right hand. “Of course,” Anthony said when asked if he didn’t make the team because of his injury. “I didn’t think I did nothing wrong. My game didn’t do nothing wrong. That’s the only thing that could have (cost Anthony). It is what it is. There’s nothing I can complain about.”
There aren’t any small forwards on the entire West All-Star team.
I think had Melo not missed so many games he’d have been picked ahead of Hornets power forward David West.
