Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both attended the All-Star game last season as Adebayo made his first appearance, but this year is much different. Miami currently sits at the 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, which pretty much explains why they didn’t get an All-Star this season.

But Butler and Adebayo not making the All-Star team could be the best case scenario for this Heat team for an abundance of reasons.

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For starters, any rest this team can get after recent injuries, Covid tracing, and a short off-season, they must take it. It allows Goran Dragic to regroup over a short period, since he’s played minutes to begin the season that weren’t really expected coming in.

Butler has had to carry a load over the past few weeks, since the interchanging lineups haven’t allowed Miami to get in any type of flow.

But rest isn’t the main reason for this being a positive for the Heat. It’s actually about the chip that’s back on their shoulders.

Every player on the current roster has had a chip on their shoulder their entire life, since the Miami Heat embody players who battle adversity. But a spark has been needed as of late, even after the latest three game winning streak.

The only way a spark can really be generated is with an addition to the current roster, but well, that was until the All-Star reserves were released on Tuesday night.

This gives Miami’s two stars even more drive to take that next step, while everybody continues to count them out once again. But they’ve been counted out their entire lives.

Now, they can regroup back home in Miami, without taking a chance of being in a crowded environment on All-Star weekend.

No All-Stars, no problem. As Butler has always essentially said, it’s about winning over other accolades, and this snubbed accolade could actually be the biggest spark for their winning.