Can Miami Heat afford regular Jimmy Butler absences?
Q: Jimmy Butler resting already? What a joke. I should go to work on Monday and Tuesday and tell my boss I need to rest the remainder of the week and see how that goes. – Evens.
A: To not even list an injury does come off as the height of hubris. Of course, so does the NBA scheduling a back-to-back set that goes from Boston to Minnesota. (Geography 101, people?) Plus, the NBA’s new rules for this season essentially mandated that Butler appear Friday night against the Celtics because of the national telecast on ESPN. The upshot is that the NBA has made it clear that nationally televised games are the priority, and that for everything else it is caveat emptor to the ticket-paying public. And now that goes, as well, for those who pay for streaming services that essentially also come at a cost-per-game basis. But let’s also be fair, Jimmy certainly earned a few hall passes with his playoff performance last spring. So you just acknowledge it as part of the Buckets package.
Q: Kyle Lowry showed up. Good for him. – Seth.
A: Sort of showed up, if you look past the 1-of-6 shooting. This was part of the follow up when the news came out of Jimmy Butler sitting out Saturday. And there is something to be said about a 37-year-old player pushing through a Boston-Minnesota back-to-back the first weekend of the season. The NBA’s new Player Performance Policy, in fact, excludes players of Kyle’s age from the new regulations. On the other hand, onerous early-season minutes took a considerable toll on Kyle at midseason last season, so there likely will have to be some balance with his playing time. Still, he went 32 minutes Saturday, with seven assists and four rebounds.
Q: There’s a reason why the team went deep in the playoffs after Tyler Herro broke his hand last year. Taking 23 shots to get 22 points is horrible for a player with bad defense. – Chi.
A: Not quite willing to go that strong with that, especially on a night Jimmy Butler was out and scoring options were limited. But even Tyler Herro said going into the season that there has to be greater efficiency. There wasn’t on opening night, and there wasn’t again Saturday in Minnesota.
