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The NBA All-Star break is finally upon us and the Miami Heat are in a great spot as the league hits the pause button for its annual showcase. On Thursday, the team won a double-overtime thriller over the Hornets to push its record to 38-21 on the year.
As a result, Miami enters the hiatus deadlocked with the Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
While that’s an incredible feat for the Heat, who have faced all kinds of adversity over the first two-thirds of the season, there remains something rotten in South Beach. Namely, the fact that Jimmy Butler and head coach Erik Spoelstra will be the club’s only participants in the All-Star Game itself.
“Being No. 1 in the East, we should have gotten somebody else in,” Heat forward PJ Tucker said Thursday, via the Miami Herald. “Between Tyler [Herro], Kyle [Lowry] and Bam [Adebayo], I think somebody else should have gotten in.”
He’s not the only Heat player who believes as much, particularly in relation to the team’s Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Bam Speaks out on Herro Staying Home
Clearly, the biggest snub for the Heat was that of Herro, who has rebounded from a sophomore slump to become the best bench player in the Association by a college mile. Perhaps more than anyone, Herro is responsible for keeping Miami at or near the top of the standings amid widespread injuries and COVID-19 cases.
So, it came as no surprise when the third-year guard bristled over his exclusion. “For some reason, my name isn’t ever in the All-Star Game,” he said at the time. “It is what it is. Cool.”
Former All-Star Bam Adebayo was equally overt in expressing his displeasure over Herro not getting picked.
“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.”
Lowry may have been a tough sell, especially with his scoring average dropping almost four points and his shooting numbers being down across the board. However, Adebayo definitely has a point where Herro is concerned.
The 22-year-old has more total points this season than anyone on the team. And his 20-5-4 line with 37.4% shooting from deep is definitely All-Star stuff.
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Join Heavy on Heat!Adebayo on His Own Omission
For his part, Adebayo has the look — and the numbers — of an easy pick for the big game, too. In the end, though, his hopes of a second All-Star nod were likely dashed when he tore his UCL.
“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.”
In any event, Adebayo has taken a long-term view with regard to making the cut. His goal is to become the kind of player whose All-Star status is a foregone conclusion year in and year out.
“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.”
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