Carmelo Anthony is an All-Star [David Stefanini]

ESPN.com reports:

Carmelo Anthony is going to the NBA All-Star Game after all.

The Denver Nuggets forward, the league's leading scorer, and the Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard were both named by NBA commissioner David Stern as injury replacements to the Western Conference team. They will replace Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz for the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas.

Anthony averages an NBA-high 30.8 points, but wasn't voted in by the fans and then wasn't chosen as a reserve by West coaches. He was undoubtedly hurt by missing 15 games when Stern suspended him for his role in the brawl at Madison Square Garden in December.

But Stern said he would not consider Anthony's penalty when deciding whether to consider him for a replacement spot.

Comments:

I thought it would have been a good idea, if the NBA kept Carmelo Anthony off the All-Star team. There is no question his play on the court is worthy, however his actions on the court say otherwise. The NBA is trying to clean up the bad image they have, they are not going to accomplish that by letting 'Melo play in the All-Star game. This does not send the message to the rest of the players in the league that they are going to punish you and follow through on it.

'Melo promises to be one of the players who carries this league into the future; the NBA should have made an example of him and kept him off the All-Star roster.