Jimmy Butler’s arrival in 2019 changed the fortunes of the Miami Heat franchise. He led a team that had won 1 playoff series in the 5 seasons prior to his arrival, all the way to the NBA Finals in 2020.
It wasn’t just Butler who shone for the Heat though, as Bam Adebayo emerged as a star in the making in 2019. He continued to improve as time went by and the 2022-23 season has seen the best version of Adebayo. He is averaging a career-high 21.1 PPG and is hauling in 10.1 RPG but NBA fans don’t seem to be paying much attention to his excellent play. Adebayo finished 11th in fan voting for the All-Star game and he blasted the voting system recently. He is banking on the coaches now to get him to the game in Salt Lake City and when Butler was asked about whether Adebayo should be an All-Star, he was pretty clear that he should be.
(starts at 1:05 mark):
"We all know that he deserves it. I think he will be picked… He better be there, that's for sure."
Jimmy Butler talks about how Bam Adebayo NEEDS to be an All-Star ✍️@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/Nkkj2ZYD06
— HEAT on FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN_Heat) January 28, 2023
“I think he will. Yes, we all know that he deserves it but I think he will be picked by the coaches and whoever else picks the reserves. He better be there, that’s for sure.”
Adebayo ranked 5th in both player and media votes, which makes you think the coaches will also have noticed just how good he has been. He had another great game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night, as he finished with 20 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.
The Heat Are Heating Up
After all the doom and gloom at the start of the season, the Heat are very much back on track. They beat the Magic 110-105 to make it 8 wins in their last 11 games to improve to 28-22. They are just 2 games behind the 4th seed and all the talk from the likes of Charles Barkley on how they need to blow it all up seems a bit ridiculous now.
There are still holes to fix in this roster and there are contracts that they need to get rid of, but it is safe to say that talks regarding their demise were premature. The Heat, especially if they can make some moves before the deadline, look set to be a factor in the postseason once again.
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