While the Miami Heat's season has been filled with ups and downs, there have been bright spots outside of their current playoff standing. The Heat were not expected to be one of the best Eastern Conference teams but they also were not expected to be among the worst. There is a sweet spot between the seven through 10 seeds where the Heat were projected to fit perfectly with their current roster. Early on this season, the Heat were flying up the standings despite the absence of Tyler Herro due to the strong play of Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell.
ESPN released an article, highlighting the biggest storylines of the season and in the article, writer Zach Kram predicted the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star Game rosters. Kram split the projections into two tiers: “write it in pen" and "write it in pencil". The first category highlights the Eastern Conference players who are most likely locks to be named to the All-Star Game.
Some of the players in the “write it in pen" category include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Jalen Brunson. Adebayo was included in the "write it in pencil" category meaning it is most likely a 50/50 chance he gets nominated.
Adebayo is having a strong season. Despite missing nine games earlier this campaign, he has been a big reason why the Heat are above .500. He is averaging 18 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range. He is also averaging 0.9 blocks. His defensive strengths are what would get him sent to Inglewood to compete in All-Star festivities.
While Adebayo has been one of the best players on Miami this season, Powell has helped reinvent the Heat's offense. However, he is snubbed from the All-Star Game entirely in these projections.
"Norman Powell is the first man out in the East," the article wrote. "There might be room for just one All-Star from the Heat, and Adebayo has a slightly stronger case because of his defensive contributions and Powell's relative slump in December."
Powell is continuing his breakout from last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he had a career year. This year may be even better. He is playing the best basketball of his career at 32 years old. The veteran is averaging 23.7 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from three-point range.