Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler is said to have been the player who was the “angriest” after being left out of the fourth quarter of the NBA All-Star game on Sunday night.
Perhaps, that wouldn’t have been the case had this contest been what’s normally played out on All-Star weekend. But this time around, it was very different and the Elam-ending fourth quarter was the most competitive we’ve seen in a very long time.
The new format saw players really go at it as they argued over calls, took charges and actually played defense – it wasn’t very different from a playoff game. But, that it was won on a free throw was probably not optimal.
Butler had to sit by and watch Team LeBron come back from a nine-point deficit to win the game’s final quarter and the game itself. And, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen, he was the one most hurt by the snub.
To be fair, the fourth quarter fashioned the type of atmosphere Jimmy is known to thrive on and his being upset over not getting a single minute of the action is understandable.
Who knows, though? Maybe the snub works out in Miami’s favor as it could leave the player even more motivated to take on the rest of the season. Someone’s going to have to pay for the frustration.
