Where does Heat stand in All-Star fan voting? And more impressive Yurtseven rebounding feats
The last time a Miami Heat player started in the All-Star Game was Dwyane Wade in 2016, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change this year.
The initial returns of fan balloting for the All-Star Game released Thursday has Jimmy Butler (522,513 votes) fifth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players behind Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant (2,360,435), Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,145,835), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (1,236,060) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum (643,970). Heat center Bam Adebayo is seventh among East frontcourt players with 141,693 votes.
Adebayo has missed the past 18 games because of a thumb injury. Butler has missed 16 games this season due to various injuries and sat out Wednesday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers with a sprained right ankle he suffered in Monday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The only other Heat player in the top 10 in either the backcourt or frontcourt categories for the first returns of fan voting is Tyler Herro, who is eighth among East guards with 122,224 votes. Herro is the NBA’s leading bench scorer, averaging 20.2 points per game this season.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan (1,487,598 votes), Brooklyn’s James Harden (892,065), Atlanta’s Trae Young (862,878), Chicago’s Zach LaVine (776,043), Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball (422,247), Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving (267,929) and New York’s Derrick Rose (232,501) are the East guards with more fan votes than Herro.
Heat starting point guard Kyle Lowry is not in the top 10.
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the 10 starters for the Feb. 20 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. All current NBA players and a media panel account for 25 percent apiece of the vote, with every voter completing a ballot featuring two guards and three frontcourt players.
Voting for fans will conclude Jan. 22.
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, Butler, Lowry and/or Herro don’t make it in as starters, they will still have an opportunity to get in as reserves. Head 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. They will choose from the pool of players voted in as starters and reserves regardless of conference affiliation.
Details about the NBA All-Star draft will be announced at a later date. But the All-Star Game starters will be revealed on Jan. 27 on TNT and the network will also announce the reserves on Feb. 3.
While the Heat was not represented in last season’s All-Star Game, Adebayo and Butler were selected as All-Star reserves in 2020.
YURTSEVEN’S STATEMENT
Heat rookie center Omer Yurtseven continues to make the most of his opportunity with Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon out because of injuries. Yurtseven finished Wednesday’s win against the Trail Blazers with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Yurtseven, 23, has logged double-digit minutes in 12 consecutive games, averaging 9.8 points and 12.5 rebounds during that stretch. He has also started the past six games, averaging 12.8 points and 15.2 rebounds in that role.
Most importantly, Yurtseven has contributed positive minutes. The Heat has outscored opponents by 28 points with Yurtseven on the court during his six starts.
“He’s just scratching the surface. He hasn’t even really played good yet,” Heat forward P.J. Tucker said of Yurtseven. “I think he can be really good. He’s just so nice. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, so he just has his double-double and plays pretty solid and is cool with it. That’s my job, to push him. Right now, Bam is out and he’s getting minutes. When Bam is coming back, those minutes aren’t going to be the same. When Markieff [Morris] comes back, those minutes aren’t going to be the same. You’re going to look at these opportunities and wish you had them again. So while they’re here, take advantage of it.”
Yurtseven has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 10 consecutive games, which is the longest such streak by a rookie in Heat history. He’s also the first player in franchise history to finish with at least 12 rebounds in 10 straight games.
The only other player to grab 12 or more rebounds in 10 consecutive games this season is Atlanta’s Clint Capela.
“To be honest, there isn’t one,” Yurtseven said when asked what his ceiling is. “I think as long as you put pieces together and you have a group around me such as our coaching staff and players around me like veterans who want to help out, there’s no limit or there’s no ceiling.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 2:47 PM.
