NEW YORK — After considering several high-class options to replace the injured Anthony Davis in the starting lineup for the Western Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has made his choice — Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
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ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported Saturday that Kerr was leaning toward Aldridge — whom Portland expected to be on the shelf through the All-Star break due to a torn ligament in his left thumb before he decided to just tough it out and play through the injury — after initially considering both Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant and San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan for the slot, which Davis had to vacate due to a right shoulder sprain. And when the lineup sheets were printed up a couple of hours prior to tipoff on Sunday, the eagle-eyed Erik Gundersen of The Columbian caught the starter-denoting asterisk next to Aldridge's name:
All-Star Starter LaMarcus Aldridge pic.twitter.com/5MEm0dPo3i
— Erik Gundersen (@blazerbanter) February 15, 2015
It will be the first All-Star start for the 29-year-old in four career All-Star appearances, and it will mark the first time a Blazer has started the All-Star Game in 21 years, dating back to Hall of Fame guard Clyde Drexler lining up alongside Mitch Richmond in the Western backcourt back in 1994.
Aldridge said during his interview session on Friday that he wouldn't campaign for the starting gig, but he got it anyway, offering a bit of validation for a player whose game — built largely on a smooth but subtle low-post game and a sweet stroke from midrange (and, this season, from beyond, too) — doesn't necessarily seem suited to an exhibition geared toward displays of aerial artistry and hellacious handles.
"I don't jump high. I don't windmill," said Aldridge, who recently joked that he's a "boring" All-Star, albeit one well-deserving of an All-Star berth after ranking in the top 10 in scoring (a career-best 23.6 points per game), rebounding (10.3 caroms a night) and Player Efficiency Rating (22.7, well above the league-average of 15) in the first half. "I'm kind of like Dirk [Nowitzki], where I — maybe even less than Dirk. I don't do anything flashy. It's just, like, me being regular."
To some extent, though, "boring" is in the eye of the beholder — ask the Houston Rockets just how ho-hum they think LMA's game is. For what it's worth, Blazers and All-Star teammate Damian Lillard finds Aldridge much more exciting than the man himself does.
“I think there’s excitement to his game,” Lillard said. “I think he’s not the most outspoken person, he doesn’t play the game where he’s trying to dunk on people, stuff like that. But I don’t think he’s boring at all.”
Whether you find his style electric or enervating, Aldridge is now an All-Star starter, joining leading vote-getter Stephen Curry and Splash Brother Klay Thompson, league scoring leader James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol in Kerr's lineup. He might find looks hard to come by as the four-man in the three-guard alignment, but after making just two of his nine tries in 13 minutes last year in New Orleans, he might not mind that too much.
"Last year I put 'em up early," a smiling Aldridge said Saturday, according to Mike Richman of The Oregonian. "It didn't go well."

2015 NBA All-Star Game coverage from Yahoo Sports:
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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