GER - Kaman gets All-Star call

LOS ANGELES (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Germany's Chris Kaman got close to what he feels he deserves by being named a replacement selection for Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas.

The 7ft centre from the Los Angeles Clippers will replace Brandon Roy as one of the seven Western Conference reserves after the Portland Trail Blazers guard was ruled out of the mid-season extravaganza with a hamstring injury.

Kaman is having a banner year, averaging a career-best 20.2 points per contest to go along with nine rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

The news of his selection was not greeted with the greatest amount of enthusiasm with the seven year veteran calling it "like a half All-Star game for me, just not being selected right away."

When the All-Star reserves were named late last month, Kaman made no secret of the fact that he thought himself more deserving than Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol, who was selected by the coaches despite missing a sizeable chunk of the start of the season through injury.

Now, the German and Spaniard will play together and it will be interesting to see if there is any animosity between the pair.

The kind of All-Star form Kaman has displayed so far this season could bode well for Germany's national team. Head coach Dirk Bauermann would like nothing better than to re-unite the big man with Dirk Nowitzky at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey later this year.

The 27-year-old made his debut for Germany at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and subsequently played at the Summer Games in Beijing. However, he has not worn the national jersey since, deciding to sit out last summer's EuroBasket in Poland.

Last month, he revealed that his future with the German national side is tied to that of fellow Western Conference All-Star reserve Nowitzki.

"If he (Nowitzki) plays, I'm going to play," Kaman said at the time. "I'll base my decision on what Dirk does...I want to play, but I also want to win, and the chances are a lot better if Dirk plays."

The Dallas Mavericks star forward sat out last summer's EuroBasket in Poland in order to get some much-needed rest.

When Germany were granted a wild card for the FIBA World Championship last December, Nowitzki strongly indicated he would like to make a return to the national side.

FIBA