Load management strikes again. One young fan traveling from Argentina was heartbroken to learn that his favorite player, Jimmy Butler, would not be in attendance for Tuesday night’s game against the rival Celtics (whom Miami met in last year’s conference finals), a late scratch due to what the team described as “lower back tightness.”
The crestfallen fan was shown on TNT’s national broadcast, holding up a sign that read, “Dear Jimmy: We flew over 4,405 miles to see you play. Can we get a photo or a Big Face Coffee?” Big Face Coffee is a reference to Butler’s business venture, which he first operated out of his hotel room in the Orlando Bubble, later expanding to pop-up shops and food trucks with merchandise available for online purchase.
Butler logged 34 minutes, almost exactly his season average (33.9), Sunday in a win over New Orleans, suggesting his absence against Boston had more to do with maintenance than health. This trend has become all too common throughout the NBA, with Miami among the worst offenders, recently being fined for flouting the league’s injury reporting rules. Playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Celtics were similarly shorthanded, playing without Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon, among other regulars.
Caving to public pressure after the clip went viral on social media, the Heat, as a concession for Butler not playing, made it up to the fan by presenting him a jersey and what appeared to be a signed basketball from point guard Gabe Vincent. The Heat also passed his contact information along to Butler, who, according to TNT’s Jamal Crawford (a former teammate of Butler’s on the Minnesota Timberwolves), felt “really, really bad."
Even with commissioner Adam Silver threatening fines and other consequences, teams continue to rest their starters at great expense to fans, many of whom paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, not to mention parking, stadium concessions, merchandise and travel expenses. Just last week, the Cavaliers hosted the Warriors and Bucks on consecutive nights, only for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry—the latter making his only visit to Cleveland this year—to serve as spectators.
Teams that hold their stars out for rest purposes are not only doing fans a disservice, but also hurting their television partners at TNT and ESPN by presenting an inferior product. Unfortunately, outside of stiffer penalties and a shorter regular season with fewer back-to-backs, it’s hard to see things changing with teams continuing to harm the fan experience by trotting out skeleton crews of backups and scarcely-used depth signings under the guise of “maintenance” and “load management.”
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