Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler earned his fourth straight All-Star nod this season, but he didn't play a minute of Sunday's game in Los Angeles. He wasn't hurt either.
"Just rest, man. I got to rest my body," Butler said afterward, according to the Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda. "I know that this Timberwolves season is very, very important to me and I've got to make sure I'm ready to go when I get back there."
Butler earlier relayed to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that he told Team Stephen coach Mike D'Antoni not to worry about playing him in Sunday's exhibition.
While some in the Twittersphere posited that Butler's DNP was another result of L.A. nightlife being undefeated, keep in mind that the swingman has played five of his seven NBA seasons under Tom Thibodeau. Butler leads the NBA in minutes per game again this season; the only times he didn't lead the league in that category in the last five years were the two seasons he played for Fred Hoiberg with the Chicago Bulls.
To be fair, Butler's teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns also lead the league this season in total minutes played, and Towns logged 18 minutes in the All-Star Game. However, Butler is six years older than both Towns and Wiggins.
Minnesota sits fourth in the West going into the season's final 21 games. The Wolves have four back-to-backs in that span.
