Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard, and Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, have been named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured West All-Stars Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets (right knee) and Carlos Boozer (left fibula) on the Western Conference Roster for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18, in Las Vegas.

Anthony and Howard, each in their fourth NBA season, will be making their first All-Star appearance. West All-Star head coach Mike D'Antoni will determine which player on his roster will replace Yao in the starting line-up.

I for one would like to thank David Stern for not depriving us of a chance to catch this season’s top scorer in the NBA All-Star Game. He also went a long to proving that the NBA does not hold grudges against any of its players.

Anyone out there who thinks that Anthony does not deserve to be there because of his involvement in a December fight that broke out between the Knicks and Nuggets at Madison Square Garden forgets the main spirit of the All Star game. Whilst this is a merit to all players voted in, most importantly this is a game to thank the fans for their support of the league, by showcasing the best of the league in a match-up of the two conferences.

Commissioner Stern could have further penalized Anthony for his actions, but he chose he chose to include one of the game’s most prolific scorers because he knows that it is in the best interests of the league to showcase such talent. Suggesting that he should miss this event because of an action for which he has already been penalized somehow feels wrong. I guess David Stern felt the same way.

What is interesting is the notion that Anthony’s selection actually made it necessary to select Josh Howard also. With Anthony’s inclusion Denver has two All Star selections, whilst the top team of the west, Dallas, had just one.

Howard is a worthy selection but I think he beat out some other worthy players because he plays for the Mavericks. I could come up with three or four more names that are just as deserving to become All Stars this season, but none that are more deserving than him.

The simple reason for picking Howard is that he is a key player of the team with the best record and that is probably better than any of the reasons you could come up with for anyone else. It is a totally defendable selection, and I cannot blame Stern for making it.

Here is the 2007 All Star line-up:

West: Carlos Boozer (Utah, injured), Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers), Tim Duncan (San Antonio), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota), Allen Iverson (Denver), Shawn Marion (Phoenix), Tracy McGrady (Houston), Steve Nash (Phoenix), Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas), Tony Parker (San Antonio), Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix), Yao Ming (Houston, injured), Carmelo Anthony (Denver, injury reserve), Josh Howard (Dallas, injury reserve)

East: Gilbert Arenas (Washington), Chauncey Billups (Detroit), Chris Bosh (Toronto), Caron Butler (Washington), Vince Carter (New Jersey), Richard Hamilton (Detroit), Dwight Howard (Orlando), LeBron James (Cleveland), Jason Kidd (New Jersey), Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana), Shaquille O'Neal (Miami). Dwyane Wade (Miami).