Winderman: NBA misses mark, which could create interesting awards season for Heat’s Butler, Adebayo | Commentary

It turns out that for singular games that will have the greatest impact on this NBA season, the play-in games don’t count.

The NBA confirmed that in duplicate this past week.

First, the league said statistics from the play-in games will count neither toward regular-season stats nor playoff stats.

Instead, basically an entire new NBA record book will be written the third week of May, when statistics from the six play-in games (three in each conference) will create their own ledger.

All-time highest-scoring performance in a play-in game? Coming later this month. Career leaders in play-in points, assists and rebounds? The Class of 2021 will set the pace.

And that’s fine, because the league has never come this way before, with the six games that will determine the final two playoff seeds in each conference.

But when it comes to the league’s annual postseason awards — Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, etc. — that’s where the league again has missed its mark.

For years in this space, and other spaces, the point has been made that the NBA does itself a disservice by not including playoff games in the voting process for annual awards. No games mean more.

Typically, the playoffs run about two months, roughly equal to a third of the regular season. This season, with the playoffs to remain four best-of-seven series to determine a champion, but with the schedule reduced from 82 games to 72 due to the pandemic, the playoffs are an even greater ratio of the overall total.

But the NBA, in sending out advance notice for the media balloting for the annual awards, announced a hard deadline of May 17 for voting.

The day after the end of the regular season.

The day before the start of the play-in round.

It means, for the first time, the awards voting will come before the playoff field is set.

Yes, two teams will play only a single play-in game before moving into the No. 7 seed in each conference. And no team will play more than two play-in games.

But for a league that typically provides 82 games (this season 72) to judge a player’s overall body of work, no single game for many players will be as significant as the play-in games.

For example, if Bradley Beal helps the Washington Wizards complete a rags-to-riches single-season comeback to the postseason, how can that not factor into his place in All-NBA voting?

For that matter, if Damian Lillard comes up short of the playoffs due to the play-in, wouldn’t that alter how is body of work is viewed?

And on down the line with potential play-in players such as Julius Randle, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Clint Capela, LaMelo Ball.

And from a Heat perspective, playoff Jimmy Butler assuredly would be viewed differently in All-NBA voting than lottery Jimmy Butler (especially with the Heat’s unprotected lottery pick in possession of the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Ditto for playoff Bam Adebayo vs. lottery Bam Adebayo when it comes to voting for Defensive Player of the Year and the All-Defensive teams.

By its format, the play-in is as dramatic as anything this side of a Game 7. The format has the No. 7 seed hosting the No. 8 seed in a single game to determine the No. 7 seed in the best-of-seven first round. Concurrently, the No. 9 seed hosts the No. 10 seed in a single-elimination game. The winner of that game then travels to the loser of the Nos. 7-8 game for each conference’s No. 8 and final berth in the best-of-seven opening round of the playoffs.

The argument against factoring in the postseason has been the lack of inclusion for those left behind in the lottery. The response here? Then don’t be losers.

But the play-in should be viewed differently, perhaps as the league tinkers with the process going forward.

There is a clear distinction in the NBA between players who drive their teams to the playoffs and those who come up short. It is the singular goal of the regular season.

Now, for the first time, during these new times, players could get voted upon for success that evaporates before the award ballots are dry.

Playoff Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo should be viewed through a different prism that those who come up short of the second season.

IN THE LANE

FEEL THE THUNDER: To Bam Adebayo, there is nothing quite like the calming sounds of . . . thunderstorms. Such was among the revelations in a recent piece on Adebayo in GQ. The Heat center said he started listening to recordings of the storms during last summer’s Disney World quarantine bubble. “It’s kind of like meditation,” he said. “Turn all the lights off and just sit in the dark and turn on YouTube and go to ‘thunderstorms.’ You envision yourself playing the game without playing the game again, if that makes sense.” Adebayo said it is a reminder from the tin that enclosed the small trailer home where he was raised in North Carolina. “It was one of those like soothing sounds to me,” he said. Adebayo said he listens to between 90 minutes to two hours. “Sometimes,” he said, “I fall asleep.”

CULTURE CLUB: With the Phoenix Suns back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10, former Heat forward James Jones, now the Suns’ general manager, said it has been a matter of a culture transplant. “Your team, in general, needs a clear philosophy,” Jones told CNBC. “That’s what I learned [with the Heat]. It was, ‘This is our philosophy. This is our process. And these are our people.’ You need all three of those things to be aligned.” Among Jones’ moves was hiring Monty Williams as coach and then bringing in Chris Paul this season. “In order to win championships, your expectations must be high,” Jones said. “And you don’t have championship culture unless you win a championship.”

NUMB REALITY: There was a time when the NBA’s Last Two Minute officiating reports would lead to enduring indignation. Perhaps it says something that almost all involved have been able to accept the reality that referees aren’t any less flawed than players or coaches. So there hardly was a chirp when the NBA acknowledged a pair of missed calls that would have made the close of the Heat’s 116-111 victory Wednesday over the San Antonio Spurs far simpler. With the Heat up 109-104 with 1:58 left, the NBA said Adebayo should have gone to the line for two free throws on an uncalled foul on Jakob Poeltl. No call. Then, with 1:45 left, the league said Dejounte Murray should have been called for a travel on a layup that drew the Spurs within 109-106. No whistle. Those were the only acknowledged errors on the report, with the error reality always easier to accept when the disadvantaged team winds up winning, anyway.

CLOSING STATEMENT: Now in retirement, former New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman reflected during a recent appearance on Showtime’s Desus & Mero on the letter he wrote to former Heat center Meyers Leonard after Leonard uttered an anti-Semitic slur during a video-game livestream. “It’s almost a responsibility for your culture,” said Edelman, who is Jewish. “There’s always going to be some kind of adversity. Why don’t we educate each other? A lot of people, they’ve never had an experience with a certain group of people, a certain color of people, a certain religion, so they don’t really know. Why don’t we give an experience and then let them have a judgment after that? Why don’t we educate each other?” Edelman went on, “I know I’ve said stupid things. I’ve been a dumb idiot in different matters. Let me put myself in this kid’s situation. Did he really know what was going on?”

NUMBER

2. Times in the Heat’s 33 seasons with at least five players scoring 18 points or more, as they did in Wednesday night’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs with Jimmy Butler (29), Bam Adebayo (21), Dewayne Dedmon (18), Goran Dragic (18) and Kendrick Nunn (18). The Heat previously did it in a March 22, 1996 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, with Chris Gatling (23), Walt Williams (23), Alonzo Mourning (21), Rex Chapman (20) and Tim Hardaway (19).