Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles will replace Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic in the Rising Stars Challenge during all-star weekend.
Mirotic, who received an appendectomy recently, will miss the game as he continues to recover. That opens up a spot in the Team World roster which is now being given to Lyles.
Lyles did not have a quick start to his rookie season but has turned it on of late. The Canadian power forward nearly five points and four rebounds per game in only 18 minutes of playing time. Lyles is also surprisingly shooting 43% from three, albeit with only 44 attempts all season.
Despite Lyles having improved recently, his addition to the rosters will again spark up debate about the format of the game. With the USA vs. World format, the league has chosen to play ten American players and ten international ones. As a result, some very talented rookies and sophomores, including Julius Randle, Devin Booker, and Justise Winslow have been completely left off. Had the format been different, one of those three players would likely replace Mirotic instead of Lyles.
Nevertheless, this game will be an opportunity for Lyles to showcase his skills in front of a national audience that likely does not know much about him.
