Was There A Case For Jimmy Butler Over Jrue Holiday As An All-Star?

Butler and Holiday face each other tonight in Milwaukee

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler will have fun more at home than participating in NBA All-Star Weekend. 

Still, there were plenty disappointing with him being left off the team, especially considering some of the players who were chosen ahead of them. Among them were Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls) and Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks). 

Tonight, Butler faces Holiday for the first time since the All-Star reserves were announced. But does Butler have a case to be chosen ahead of Holiday? 

Here are the numbers: 

Butler --21.7 points, 5.9 rebounds. 4.9 assists and a league-high 2.1 steals

Holiday -- 19.2 points, 7.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals

About the only advantage Holiday has is the Bucks have a better record, sitting at No. 2 (35-17) in the Eastern Conference standings. The Heat (29-24) are No. 6 but part of the reason is because of injuries, with Butler missing 15 games.

Jrue Holiday over James Harden and Jimmy Butler is ridiculous

— Classxc.j (@Classxcj) February 3, 2023

John Hollinger of The Athletic brought in the analytics factor to make a case for Butler. He said he felt Butler was the second-best reserve candidate behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who is a non-starter despite being among the top MVP candidates. 

"Jimmy Butler: 4th among Eastern Conference players in PER, 3rd in BPM, 4th in EPM, and despite supposedly not playing enough games, 7th in VORP," Hollinger wrote on Twitter. "Should have been second name on every East coach's ballot after Embiid; leaving him out entirely was insane.

Jimmy Butler: 4th among Eastern Conference players in PER, 3rd in BPM, 4th in EPM, and despite supposedly not playing enough games, 7th in VORP. Should have been second name on every East coach's ballot after Embiid; leaving him out entirely was insane.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) February 3, 2023

Butler won't lose much sleep over being passed over. He was more excited about teammate Bam Adebayo earning his second selection. Perhaps tonight is opportunity for Butler to prove he was more worthy of an All-Star performance against Holiday. 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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