The Boston Celtics are upset that they'll only have
one representative in the All-Star Game but they
understand why Rasheed Wallace was chosen.
With Kevin Garnett out with an injury, the Celtics
will only be represented by Paul Pierce. They were
hoping Commissioner David Stern would pick Ray Allen
as Garnett's replacement.
Stern went with Wallace because the Eastern Conference
needed another frontcourt player. Dwight Howard and
Chris Bosh are the only other legitimate big men on
the roster.
Boston coach Doc Rivers, who will also coach the
Eastern Conference All-Stars, agrees with Stern's
choice.
"With losing Kevin at the forward spot, it makes sense
to replace him with a forward," he told the Boston
Globe "(Wallace) is well-deserving and one of the guys
I voted for in the first place."
But Rivers also thinks Allen got jobbed by the coaches
when they chose the reserves.
"I'm still disappointed in the original selection, or
lack of (selection), for Ray," Rivers said. "He has
sacrificed more than anyone to make things work here,
and that should be rewarded."
He's right. With the season the Celtics are having,
Allen should be starting ahead of Dwyane Wade and
Jason Kidd. He certainly should have gotten the nod
over Atlanta's Joe Johnson when the coaches selected
the reserves, regardless of the stats. It's easy to
put up big numbers on mediocre teams - just ask Ray,
who did that in Milwaukee and Seattle for years.
As for Sheed being disappointed about not having the
weekend off, well, too bad. There's plenty of free
time in the summer for that. You never saw Larry Bird,
Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan complaining about
being an All-Star every year. He should be glad at
this stage of his career that he's still considered an
elite player.