Podcast: A recap of Heat’s busy All-Star Weekend. And how will Miami finish the season?
What break? All-Star Weekend was a busy one for the Miami Heat.
The Heat had six players representing the organization in Chicago.
1. Heat rookie guard Kendrick Nunn scored 16 points to help lead Team USA past Team World in the Rising Stars Game on Friday. Fellow Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro was also voted into the Rising Stars Game, but he watched from the bench because of a foot injury.
2. Two of the three All-Star Saturday Night events were won by Heat players — Derrick Jones Jr. took home the Slam Dunk Contest crown and Bam Adebayo won the Skills Challenge. In addition, second-year Heat forward Duncan Robinson was part of the Three-Point Contest but was eliminated in the first round of the competition.
3. The Heat duo of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler participated in Sunday’s All-Star Game. Adebayo finished his first All-Star Game with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes. Butler ended the night with four points on 2-of-2 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 13 minutes.
In this week’s episode of the Heat Check podcast, David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer, each list their takeaways from All-Star Weekend. How big was it for Adebayo and his confidence? Did Jones deserve to win the Slam Dunk Contest?
Wilson and Chiang close the podcast by discussing their post-break expectations for the Heat. Will Miami finish the regular season with a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference? The Heat has one clear advantage in this area, and it’s revealed toward the end of the episode.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
