While we already know that Carmelo Anthony will play in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game for the Western Conference team, the NBA will announce the reserves for both teams tonight. At 5:00 p.m. MT, TNT will have an hour-long special before their Thursday night doubleheader to let the fans know who will come off the bench for the Eastern and Western conference teams.
There are a total of seven reserves spots: two guards, two forwards, one center and two open spots for any position. Those spots on the roster are voted on by the league's coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Voting was finished on Monday afternoon.
Denver Nuggets center Nene should receive consideration for the backup center position or one of the open spot. He finished third in voting for Western Conference forwards behind the Houston Rockets' Yao Ming and the Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum. Nene is averaging 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds this season.
If Nene gets overlooked for one of the reserve spots, it is possible that Commissioner David Stern could select him as Yao's replacement since the center is out for the season with a stress fracture. Stern, though, does not need to select a center to replace Yao.