Out of all the All-Star snubs that commissioner David Stern could choose from to replace the injured Kevin Garnett for next week's All-Star weekend, the best he could do was Rasheed Wallace? Forgive the juvenile protest, but puh-leeze.

There are two reasons why this makes absolutely no sense. One comes from the "teams should get awarded for success" theory, and the other is "the better player should be an All-Star" preference. In both cases, Wallace should not have been selected as a replacement.

First, the team perspective. Boston currently holds the best record in the NBA. Not just the Leastern, ahem, eastern conference, mind you. The entire league. Yet now they will have a grand total of one representative at the All-Star game. When was the last time that happened?

(I'd like to know what search tools those professional writers use to look up random trivia like that. Then I'd sound really smart by answering my own questions.)

Even without Garnett, Boston was able to pull off a big win at home against the Spurs. That makes Boston an impressive 16-0 against western conference foes, despite all the critics and pundits prematurely crowning whoever comes out of the dogfight for the western conference championship.

In case you haven't gotten the hint yet, Ray Allen is starting to sound like a fairly reasonable candidate (if not shoe-in) to replace his injured teammate. So far, that's only on the basis of team merit.

Individually, (again, a question that more professional writers with professional resources could answer), when was the last time someone played in the All-Star game averaging a paltry 12.9ppg and 7.3rpg? Sure, Ben Wallace has made the All-Star team averaging less points, but his rebounding numbers were in double figures. The AP release mentions in passing that Wallace leads his team in steals (1.36spg) and blocks (1.6bpg). The cynic within says, "Whoopdee-freakin'-doo."

Ray Allen on the other hand? A cool 18.3ppg. Not unreasonable for an All-Star, especially on such a loaded squad. And while some may have missed this transpiring, Allen has actually become the "go-to guy" in the clutch, winning a handful of games with his silky-smooth jumper to close it out. Doesn't it say something on his behalf that Allen is chosen over All-Star teammates Garnett and Paul Pierce that he gets the nod in clutch time?

Had Stern still been tempted to bypass Allen, there are a few other players that come to mind as replacements; players "more deserving" than Wallace, if such a phrase can indeed be used in this situation. Jose Calderon comes to mind. A more obvious option is Hedo Turkoglu, who has been nothing short of phenomonal in keeping the Magic firmly entrenched in third place the whole season. Heck, even Michael Redd should get a look before 'Sheed.

David Stern's had to put up with a lot of #### over the last couple years, mainly due to the mistakes of others (Suns players leaving the bench, cheating refs, players running afoul of the law, etc.). This time, though, Stern had the power, swung, and missed big time.