Blake Griffin and Pau Gasol were among the NBA All-Star reserves chosen by Western coaches, Yahoo! Sports reported on Thursday. The NBA was set to announce the All-Star rosters at 7 PM ET on TNT, but per usual the names were leaked a little early.
Griffin and Gasol are joined in the frontcourt by Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan, surprisingly leaving Kevin Love, who is on pace to be the first player since Moses Malone to average 20 points and 15 rebounds per game for the season, on the outside. The guards chosen to be All-Star reserves were Manu Ginobili, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook.
The reserves join West All-Star starters Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. Yao Ming was also voted to the starting five, but he's out for the season. Commissioner David Stern will select his replacement -- likely Love -- in the coming days, and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich will then select a replacement starter from his All-Star bench. Gasol would be the favorite for that spot.
The NBA All-Star Game will be held on Feb. 20 in Los Angeles.