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Lakers' Howard not a fan of All-Star ballot

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard sounded off on the new All-Star Game ballot that eliminates the center designation.

This season's change has fans voting for three frontcourt players, instead of two forwards and one center.

"I don't like it at all," Howard told reporters. "We work just as hard as anybody else. I don't think it's fair to take away a position which has been here for life. You need a center on the court. So I don't think it's right. That's like taking away a guard. That's how I feel. It's been that way since they started All-Star Games, so why change it now? Because centers shoot 3's now?"

The NBA has evolved to the point where big men play more in the open and operate in ways similar to a guard. Some fans and analysts maintain that this had led to fewer players being regarded as legitimate centers.

"The game changes every day," Howard said. "It changes every year. You look at the game back then and now, centers are bigger, stronger, faster. Guards are bigger, stronger, faster. So the game evolves. That doesn't mean you take out a position because of the game evolving, because the players that play center are evolving also."