Jock Itch All-Star Wolves

Everybody from ESPN to Jesse Eisenberg is raving about basketball’s version of Tebowmania, Linsanity. As Shaq puts it on Twitter, “Linderrella story of the year jeremy lin has lingle handedly played lensational lincredible I’m linpressed all he does is Lin Lin Lin gd jib.” With all of this going on, it’s no surprise that the announcement of the 2012 NBA All-Star selections has fallen by the wayside. As exciting as the week has been for the New York Knicks, Minnesota fans have much to delight in, with Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and Derrick Williams headed to All-Star Weekend.

Rubio and Williams both made it to the Rising Stars pool; the former leads the league in steals and ranks fifth in assists, while the latter is averaging 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in just under 19 minutes per game. However, a shake-up of the BBVA Rising Stars system means that the two Wolves might not play together. This time around, TNT personalities Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley will draft rookie and sophomore players. Considering the wacky mental states of the two legends, it’s anybody’s guess as to which players will go where. As tantalizing as it would be to see Rubio lobbing balls to, say, Blake Griffin with Spanish suavity, it would be nice to see Rubio and Williams connecting on a broader public stage.

The BBVA game also has the potential for a Ricky Rubio vs. Kyrie Irving showdown. Irving is the frontrunner for the 2012 Rookie Of The Year award; Rubio is a close second. And while Rubio is arguably a bigger fan-favorite, Irving’s play has been nothing but solid since his first day as a Cleveland starter. Perhaps a face-off of this magnitude, one known primarily for its offensive antics, would serve to better distinguish the two on a national scale.

Kevin Love is also bound for Orlando, making the Western All-Star roster for the first time straight-up, which is to say that his selection last year was a last-minute replacement for Rockets’ center Yao Ming. Love will undoubtedly be looking to prove himself with that in mind—that, and the fact that he was not named a starter for this year’s All-Star game. While one cannot complain about Blake Griffin dunking over other superstars in the opening minutes of the game, it is somewhat of a snub to not list Love as a starter. It’s not a surprise; Griffin, a prolific dunker, is more popular in both the NBA and American/marketing culture. (You don’t see Love selling Red Bulls in his Kia.) But letting the statistics speak for themselves, Love is currently fourth in the league in scoring, averaging a cool 25.5 points per game to Griffin’s 21.1, and Love is second in rebounding (behind only Dwight Howard) with 14.1 boards to Griffin’s 10.8. An argument could be made for the Clippers’ record in making the decision—but how much of that has to do with the addition of Chris Paul? And how about that time the Wolves bested the Clippers off of a Kevin Love game-winning three-pointer?

The man is getting it done every way imaginable, so it’s disappointing to see Love listed without a starter-denoting asterisk next to his name. Love will also be entering the three-point contest, so at least he’s got a shot at winning that crown, which is much more relevant to basketball than the ability to leap over the hood of a mid-size sedan (impressive as that may be).