Where does Heat duo of Adebayo and Butler stand in latest All-Star balloting returns?
If Bam Adebayo and/or Jimmy Butler are going to represent the Heat at the 2020 All-Star Game, it might not be as starters.
The second release of fan balloting for the All-Star Game released Thursday has Butler (1,400,293 votes) fourth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players, behind Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (3,259,383), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (1,784,211) and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam (1,730,763).
The only other Heat player in the top 10 in either the backcourt or frontcourt categories for the second returns of fan voting is Adebayo, who is seventh among Eastern Conference frontcourt players with 349,078 votes. Boston’s Jayson Tatum (1,182,663) is fifth and Boston’s Tacko Fall (543,352), who has played in just four games this season, is sixth.
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the Feb. 16 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at the United Center in Chicago. All current NBA players and a media panel each account for 25 percent of the vote, with every voter completing a ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players.
Voting for fans, players and media will conclude Jan. 20.
So, how exactly are the five All-Star Game starters from each conference determined?
After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups — fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference will be named NBA All-Star Game starters. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.
If Adebayo and/or Butler don’t make it in as starters, they will still have an opportunity to get in as reserves. Conference coaches will select the seven reserves from each conference.
The two rosters for the All-Star Game will be drafted by two captains, which will be the All-Star starter from each conference who receives the most fan votes in his respective conference. That’s currently Lakers forward LeBron James from the Western Conference and Antetokounmpo from the Eastern Conference, and they will choose from the pool of players voted in as starters and reserves regardless of conference affiliation.
The All-Star Game starters, including the two team captains, will be revealed on Jan. 23 on TNT. The network will announce the reserves on Jan. 30.
While Adebayo and Butler are the two Heat players vying for spots in the All-Star Game, the organization could be represented by others during All-Star Weekend. Forward Derrick Jones Jr. is a candidate to receive an invite to the Slam Dunk Contest, forward Duncan Robinson could receive an invite to the Three-Point Contest, and rookie guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn are expected to be part of the The Rising Stars game.
In addition, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra would be one of the two head coaches in the All-Star Game if it was determined following Wednesday’s slate of games.
The two All-Star head coaches are chosen by a best-record scenario, meaning the coaches of the teams that are first in their respective conference two weeks before the All-Star Game (games played through Feb. 2) earns the honor. But a coach can’t participate two years in a row.
The Heat entered Thursday with the East’s second-best record, behind only the Bucks. Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer is not eligible to coach in the All-Star Game this year because he did so last year. That means the coach of the team with the second-best record in the East, which is currently Spoelstra, would represent the conference.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
