Damian Lillard/Photo courtesy of Portland Trail Blazers, NBA.com

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard will replace the Clippers’ Blake Griffin on the Western Conference All-Star team. Griffin on Monday will have surgery to remove a staph infection from his right elbow and is expected out until sometime after the All-Star break. He had been voted in by fans to start Feb. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Since Griffin is a frontcourt player, Clippers fans might have begun thinking their DeAndre Jordan would get the nod to make his first All-Star game appearance by replacing his teammate. But Lillard being left off seemed to create even more controversy than Jordan being left off, and so it goes. NBA commissioner Adam Silver made the call.

Lillard is having a fine season, averaging 21.6 points and 6.3 assists. He also leads the league in fourth-quarter points with 311. He had helped Portland to a 34-17 record before action Sunday and were in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.