Portland Trail Blazers: Why LaMarcus Aldridge Will Be an All-Star This Season

In a very controversial decision last February, NBA Commissioner David Stern chose to select Minnesota's Kevin Love to replace the injured Yao Ming and represent the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. 

Stern's decision seemingly came down to choosing between Love and Portland Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge.

At the time, Love was boasting averages of 21.4 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, while shooting better than 40 percent from three-point rangel and he had recorded an incredible 34 consecutive double-doubles. However, his Minnesota Timberwolves had a dismal 11-38 record.

Aldridge, on the other hand, was producing 21.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. But he had led his Portland Trail Blazers to a 26-24 record, despite the fact that the face of the franchise, Brandon Roy, had experienced serious knee issues and had missed most of the season.

Aldridge was disappointed when he learned Love had been chosen over himself, stating that he now knew it "was about stats and not wins."

The good news for Aldridge's All-Star campaign this season is that the Timberwolves drafted forward Derrick Williams from Arizona with the No. 2 overall pick and added Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. This will pull Love's averages down—his touches will decrease and Williams will take a fair portion of the rebounds Love would have grabbed last season.

Another plus is the Blazers addition of an athletic up-tempo point guard like Raymond Felton, which will give Aldridge lots of fast break buckets and create more offensive rebound opportunities.

All this, combined with the fact that the former Houston center, Yao, has been forced to retire due to injury issues, should result in Aldridge's first NBA All-Star appearance.