How does Spoelstra feel about Butler not getting voted in as All-Star starter? ‘It’s a joke’
How does Heat coach Erik Spoelstra feel about Jimmy Butler not making the 2020 NBA All-Star Game as a starter? Spoelstra didn’t hold back when he was asked this question in advance of Friday night’s game against the Clippers.
“I wasn’t from the standpoint that I’m so confused by it,” Spoelstra said. “I just think it’s ridiculous that we’re still in this antiquated ‘positions,’ so who’s to say what position Jimmy is. I put him No. 2 on my card, so I go Kendrick Nunn, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, I go Bam [Adebayo] and then Meyers [Leonard]. But you could flip any one of those guys around. In many ways he’s our point guard, so should he be in the All-Star Game as a point guard? I don’t know.”
Boston’s Kemba Walker and Atlanta’s Trae Young were the two Eastern Conference guards voted in as starters, with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam as the three East frontcourt players who made the cut.
Adebayo and Butler are both considered East frontcourt players on the All-Star ballot. Both have played big roles in Miami’s success this season, with the Heat entering Friday’s matchup against the Clippers at AmericanAirlines Arena with the league’s third-best record at 31-13.
“Either way, regardless of how you want to label it or discuss it, Jimmy Butler should be a starter in this All-Star Game,” Spoelstra said. “It’s a joke that he’s not. Hopefully, this will change things in the future.”
Why did Butler not get voted in as a starter despite having the third-most media votes among East frontcourt players behind only Antetokounmpo and Embiid? Because fan balloting accounts for 50 percent of the vote, with all current NBA players and a media panel each accounting for 25 percent of the vote.
Butler was fourth in the fan vote and sixth in the player vote among East frontcourt players, while Siakam was second in the fan vote, fourth in the media vote and third in the player vote.
As for Adebayo, he finished seventh in the fan vote, fifth in the media vote and fourth in the player vote.
After all votes were tallied, players were 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 was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, player votes and media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference were named All-Star Game starters. Fan voting serves as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.
When the final score was calculated, Butler finished fourth among East frontcourt players after taking the fan votes, player votes and media votes into account. Boston’s Jayson Tatum finished fifth and Adebayo finished sixth.
“Bam, I think — a great sign of respect, might be the ultimate respect, that the players have him [fourth],” Spoelstra said. “I think that is cool. That matters and he better be in by the coaches’ vote with the year that he’s having and I think coaches can respect and acknowledge a style of play. I really think that they’ll respect and acknowledge the type of impact, and year, that Bam Adebayo is having. That’s an All-Star year by any measure and Jimmy should be a starter in this thing.”
For Adebayo and Butler to make the All-Star Game this year, it will have to be as a reserve unless they are elevated to a starting spot because of an injury to one of the selected starters. The conference coaches determine the seven reserves from each conference, which will be announced Thursday at 7 p.m. on TNT.
The seven reserve spots include three frontcourt players, two guards and two additional players regardless of position. That allows for a maximum of five frontcourt players from each conference to be voted in as reserves.
Adebayo has never made the NBA All-Star Game, but Butler is already a four-time All-Star and earned a starting spot in the 2017 All-Star Game.
The competition Adebayo and Butler are facing for a frontcourt reserve spot includes Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton and Tatum.
The Western Conference All-Star starters were Anthony Davis and LeBron James from the Lakers, and Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers in the frontcourt, and Luka Doncic from the Mavericks and James Harden from the Rockets in the backcourt.
The 2020 NBA All-Star Game will take place at the United Center in Chicago on Feb. 16. It will follow last year’s format: The two team captains will draft rosters from the pool of players voted as starters and reserves in each conference, making their picks regardless of conference affiliation. The All-Star Draft will be televised by TNT on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
▪ The Heat played without guards Goran Dragic (left calf soreness) and Kendrick Nunn (left Achilles soreness) in Friday’s game against the Clippers. Spoelstra classified Dragic and Nunn as “day-to-day.”
Butler (right knee soreness) was available, though.
In addition, forward Justise Winslow remains out for at least another week because of a lower back bone bruise. Rookie forwards KZ Okpala and Chris Silva were also unavailable, with both currently playing in the G League.
The Clippers played without Paul George (hamstring strain) and Patrick Beverley (sore groin) Friday.
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 6:51 PM.
