CLEVELAND -- LeBron James might have a lonely Valentine’s Day in Toronto.
Despite being in first place in the Central Division and Eastern Conference, James will be the Cleveland Cavaliers’ lone representative at next month’s NBA All-Star Game, as point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Kevin Love were not selected as reserves to participate in the league’s midseason exhibition.
“Whether I made it or not, it was going to be the same reaction from me,” Irving said when it was announced last week that he was not selected as a starter. “It would’ve been good to be there in Toronto, but like I said, (Kyle Lowry) deserves it. I didn’t play in 26 games. I’m still making up ground now. My main focus is being there for my teammates and getting better every, single day.
“Honestly, me as principled man, seeing it from a broader perspective, I wouldn’t be mad at all. Personally, I don’t feel like I deserve it just from the amount of games that I’ve played and the body of work. There are guys that have been playing the whole, entire season that are more deserving than I am.”
Although Irving will miss the All-Star Game for the first time in four years, his teammates believe he belongs among the league’s best players.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many games Kyrie plays,” James said. “He’s an all-star player. I don’t think that’s out of the question. If not the best, he’s one of the two best point guards in our league, along with Steph (Curry), so that’s not even a question, and he continues to just show us why. I think, and I’m going to continue to harp on it, he’s much more than an all-star player. He’s better than that. He’s 23 years old. He hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.”
Shooting guard J.R. Smith added, “That’s nuts. That’s nuts. By far, he’s probably the best one-on-one player in our game, and to do what he’s done in that nine, 10 months to get back and still be able to come out there and shake and bake like he’s doing, it’s remarkable. I don’t think there’s any question who the real all-star is.”
In his three previous NBA All-Star appearances, Irving has scored 57 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, assisted on 23 baskets, converted 24 of his 37 shots and knocked down eight of his 18 three-pointers in 78 minutes of play.
This season, Irving has averaged 15.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 0.89 steals in 26.8 minutes of play in the 18 games since returning from the fractured kneecap he suffered in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors last June with a 12-point, four-rebound, two-steal performance in a 108-86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on December 20th.
Early in January, Irving combined to score 57 points in back-to-back 120-plus point performances in wins over the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards, which came at the midway mark of the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak.
Love is averaging 15.7 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists over 32.3 minutes per game, and he is one of just two Cavaliers to play in all 44 games this season.
