Does Love have the All-Star scent?

Posted: January 28, 2011 6:45 p.m. CT

By ANTHONY MAGGIO
FOXSportsNorth.com

Kevin Love's got clout in L.A. — if his twitpic from apparent homeboy Snoop Dogg taken at Tuesday night's concert at The Cabooze wasn't enough evidence, he also helped lead UCLA to its third of three straight Final Four appearances in 2008.

But to make it to Los Angeles on the NBA's dime the third weekend of February, Love will need enough clout among Western Conference coaches to get voted onto the All-Star team as a reserve in a stacked field of forwards. Love currently leads the NBA with 40 double-doubles, including 31 straight, and leads the league with 15.7 rebounds per game.

He'll find out on Feb. 3 if it's enough.

"It's hard to argue that Kevin does not deserve to be on that team," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "He's doing a great job in all areas, he's improved his game. The numbers he's put up offensively and defensively, it's a rare combination to put up those kind of numbers and you'd like to see the effort rewarded."

There's seemingly just one problem — he plays for the 10-35 Timberwolves.

There's a school of thought that looks down on inflated statistics gained on inept squads. But on the flip side of that coin is the idea that players on good teams have an easier time putting up big numbers because defenses can't focus solely on them. Meanwhile, the good players on bad teams attract all the defensive attention.

"You have players like a Blake Griffin who's on a losing team, Monta Ellis on a losing team, guys like that who are on the very top of the scouting report every night, guys teams game-plan to stop the entire time," Love said. "So does that define an All-Star? Who knows?"

Griffin is one of the forwards Love is up against for the precious few roster spots, as is LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowtizki, David West and Lamar Odom. All but Griffin play for teams with winning records.

But judging an All-Star based on team performance can be a slippery slope.

"If we were 20-24, would that mean he still wasn't deserving?" Minnesota President of Basketball Operations David Kahn said. "Where do you draw the line? I think it's very arbitrary. I think at the end of the day the best players should be on the team. That's it."

To help sway the opinion of the Western Conference coaching fraternity in favor of Love, the Timberwolves unveiled a "Numb#rs" campaign on Thursday. Complete with videos, interviews, stats, quotes from players and coaches around the league, and even a faux fragrance commercial, Minnesota hopes www.612allstar.com will stir up enough buzz to land Love a spot on the team.

The creativity and effort of the campaign are certainly a plus, but nothing speaks louder than the numbers themselves. Not only is Love posting nightly double-doubles, he's lapping the field in overall production.

Love leads the league in NBA.com's Efficiency Ranking, but there are far more tangible measures of his dominance. For starters, Love's 31-point, 21-rebound performance on Wednesday was his third 30/20 game this season. For those scoring at home, that's Kevin Love: 3, Rest of NBA: 0.

Love's tallied double-doubles in a single half 22 times. Only six players besides Love have 22 full-game double-doubles all season. Love leads the league with seven 20/20 games, and he owns eight of the 10 games in which a player has at least 15 rebounds and three 3-pointers.

The list is seemingly endless — and it gets even longer when looking at his numbers in a historical context. Love's performance compared to NBA greats of seasons past is a reason why Kahn, Rambis and Love's teammates are all convinced Love deserves a place in the All Star game.

"We want it really bad," teammate Martell Webster said. "What he's done — I don't think you can do any more. His numbers are numbers that people used to get back in the day. Those are unheard of numbers. The fact that he's doing it in this league today where guys are bigger, stronger, faster, that shows, that's a proven testament right there."

Love's quickly chasing down Kevin Garnett's franchise record of 37 consecutive double-doubles, and is third behind Garnett and John Stockton's 37 straight double-doubles for the longest streak since 1987.

When Love piled up 31 points and 31 rebounds against the New York Knicks on Nov. 12, it marked the first 30/30 game since Moses Malone did it on 1982. Speaking of which, Love is on pace to be the first player since Malone in 1982-83 to average more than 20 points and 15 rebounds per game.

Love became the first player with four 20/20 games in one month since Kevin Willis did it twice during the 1991-92 season. Willis was also the last player to record 14 consecutive double-doubles with at least 14 rebounds in every game until Love snapped that 18-year drought.

No one in NBA history has averaged more than 12 rebounds per game and shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc, and Love is currently a career-best 44.7 percent from long range. He's also on pace to become the first player in league history to average more than four offensive rebounds per game and shoot at least 40 percent from downtown.

Not bad for a 22-year-old who would otherwise still be a Bruin.

"For him even to be in the mix knowing he should be a senior in college speaks very highly of him," Kahn said. "I feel very passionately that even if it doesn't happen for him this year, not only will it happen for him in the future, but it will happen for him here on multiple occasions."

For now, Love waits.

"I'm not going to lie and say I'm not anxious," Love said. "But if I'm not picked, I'm not picked and I can't do anything about it."

As the campaign says, Love has the numbers. Soon he'll learn if he's got the clout.

Follow Anthony Maggio on Twitter @fsnorthmaggio