Heat bemoans having only one All-Star: ‘Somebody else should have gotten in.’ Bam’s plan
Ultimately, it will be irrelevant, a footnote to a season whose success will be determined by what happens in May and potentially June, not a February weekend in Cleveland.
But as the Heat (38-21) begins the All-Star break standing first in the Eastern Conference, it is not lost on the players that Miami will be the only team among the East’s top five that doesn’t have a second player named to Sunday’s showcase.
In fact, of the eight teams holding the top four seeds in each conference, only the Heat and Memphis have a single All-Star.
Erik Spoelstra will coach one of the teams, a byproduct of the Heat having the best record in the East on Feb. 6, the cut-off date. But Jimmy Butler will be the Heat’s only player in the game, barring a late injury creating an opportunity for a teammate.
“Being No. 1 in the East, we should have gotten somebody else in,” Heat forward P.J. Tucker said Thursday. “Between Tyler [Herro], Kyle [Lowry] and Bam [Adebayo], I think somebody else should have gotten in.”
Conversely, the other occupiers of the East’s top five seeds have two players named to the rosters for Sunday’s game: Zach LaVine and Demar DeRozan with Chicago; Joel Embiid and injured James Harden for Philadelphia; Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton with Milwaukee and Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen with Cleveland.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver selected Allen to replace Harden, Spurs guard Dejounte Murray to replace Draymond Green and Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball to fill in for Brooklyn’s injured Kevin Durant.
“I feel like Tyler should have been in,” Adebayo said. “We’re No. 1 in the East. Kyle should have been there, Jimmy is already there, and Tyler should have been there. Jimmy didn’t miss as many games as me.”
Adebayo wasn’t selected primarily — if not entirely — because he has missed 25 of the Heat’s 59 games, mostly due to December thumb surgery.
His numbers (18.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 42.5 percent field-goal percentage against) stack up well again Allen’s ( 16.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 41 percent field goal percentage against).
Among all centers who have defended at least 400 shots, Allen is second in field-goal percentage against, Adebayo fourth. And that metric doesn’t reflect Adebayo’s unique ability to defend all positions.
But Allen has appeared in all 51 games for the Cavaliers, while Adebayo has missed a large chunk of games.
“A lot of people are going to say I missed too many games,” Adebayo said. “I don’t know if I did or not. A lot of dudes have missed games with COVID protocols or injuries. You’ve got to look at it from both sides. [But at some point], you let it go.”
Adebayo, who has been an All-Star once (in 2020), hopes to become a regular in the midseason event.
Getting to that point “shows the type of talent you are, shows the type of competitive [reputation] you have,” he said. “For Kobe Bryant to be an 18-time All-Star, that shows every year he had this standard where it was never below All-Star performance.
“In my mind, you get to a point where there’s no doubt you should be an All-Star, and I feel like that’s an ascending thing for me.”
While All-Stars are cavorting in Cleveland this weekend, Adebayo said he will be home in Miami working out.
“I’m definitely going to watch [the All-Star Game] to see Jimmy,” he said. “I’m always going to support my fellow teammate.”
When he watches, will he be feeling that he should be playing in the game?
“With something like that, you’re going to always have emotion where you want to be in a game and gathering accolades,” he said. “I’m glad Jimmy got to be in it. At least one of us got to be there.”
Herro, for his part, didn’t attempt to conceal his disappointment about being bypassed.
How do his numbers stack up against some of the other Eastern Conference reserve guards?
Herro closed the first half of the season averaging 20 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 37.4 percent on threes in 46 games, all but 10 off the bench.
Ball, selected as an injury replacement, entered Thursday averaging 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 37.3 on threes in 52 games.
Garland averages 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists while shooting 47.7 percent overall and 37.8 on threes in 47 games.
Toronto’s Fred VanVleet is averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 41.9 overall and 40.1 on threes in 50 games.
So there isn’t a huge disparity between Herro and those three.
LaVine had the best pre-All-Star break resume of that group, averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 48.2 percent overall and 39.9 percent on threes in 47 games.
“For some reason, my name isn’t mentioned with All-Star games,” Herro said. “It is what it is. I feel I’ve had an All-Star year to this point.”
HARDAWAY AGAIN NAMED HOF FINALIST
Former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway was among the 11 finalists named Friday for possible induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2022 class.
The 10 other finalists for this year’s class are Manu Ginobili, Michael Cooper, Lindsay Whalen, Hugh Evans, Marques Johnson, Bob Huggins, George Karl, Leta Andrews, Swin Cash and Marianne Stanley.
Hardaway, 55, was also a finalist for the Hall of Fame last year but not get in.
Already enshrined in the Hall of Fame for careers that included time with the Heat are Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, and Pat Riley. Former Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo is also in the Hall.
The entire Class of 2022 will be announced on April 2 at the NCAA Men’s Final Four. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Hall of Fame.
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 1:31 PM.
