Miami Heat: Do the Heat deserve any All-Star recognition this season?

The 23-24 Miami Heat are playing the New York Knicks on Sunday night, hoping to get back to a .500 record. Not only does that beg the question if Miami will make the playoffs this year, but it also forces Heat nation to be very honest when asking themselves if this team deserves any All-Star recognition.

Last year, the Miami Heat finally got some All-Star recognition for the first time since the LeBron James years, with Goran Dragic being nominated as a reserve by Head Coaches around the league.

However, due to Dragic’s injury woes this season, he was unable to get a 2nd-year All-Star bid. And while that seems like a totally responsible action by the voting committee to not get Dragic in once again, that means the Heat are most likely All-Starless for the 2019 All-Star game. Some fans have been pushing for Josh Richardson this season, but he has been up-and-down, almost like a shell of himself, since the beginning of December.

Because of the inconsistency of Richardson and the lack of star power on this team, there does not seem to be an option for Miami to get a player in the All-Star game, even with Justise Winslow playing out of his mind as of late.

Albeit, with Dwyane Wade falling only behind Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker in votes for being an Eastern All-Star starter, there is a chance for the future Hall of Famer to grab a spot on the bench as a reserve. While Wade’s numbers are most definitely not deserving of his potential 13th All-Star nod, the coaches around the league may vote him in, especially with the unfortunate season-ending injury to the Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo.

But Wade does not seem to agree with the notion he should be handed an All-Star spot due to his historic career, per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel:

"“If I’m choosing an All-Star, I’m not picking me,” he said after the Miami Heat completed their shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena in advance of Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “It’s not an indictment on anything, but guys that deserve to be All-Stars will be All-Stars.”“It’s a lot of guys that get their first chance to be All-Stars, and if they deserve it, then they deserve it and they should have those spots. I appreciate the love from my fans to even vote me, to have as many votes as they did. But from an All-Star standpoint, there’s multiple guys that deserve to be in there and I hope they get their opportunity.”"

Somehow, this has to be one of Wade’s more impressive and mature quotes in his career, as he honestly states that the All-Star game should be full of the best players around the league, simply put, the “real All-Stars.” Wade even goes on to say that there are a lot of guys who have their first chance of being an All-Star, and it would not be right of him to take their spot because of a – for lack of better words – pitty vote.

In conclusion, It is evident that the Heat do not necessarily deserve an All-Star on their team this season, however, the East is really, really bad. So it is quite possible that Wade could slide into the roster as the final 7th reserve spot, whether he likes it or not.

We will find out over the next few weeks whether the future Hall of Famer gets his 13th All-Star nod, it’s now in the coaches hands.