Another leap for Heat’s Bam Adebayo? A look at the continued growth of his offensive game
Much of the discussion surrounding the Miami Heat early this season has been about what has gone wrong during its slow start. But there’s also something that has gone very right.
Center Bam Adebayo is very clearly still ascending.
Adebayo, who signed a five-year max extension this past offseason, is averaging 19.5 points on 64.5 percent shooting, nine rebounds, 5.1 assists, one steal and 1.2 blocks in 10 games to begin his fourth NBA season.
Adebayo led the Heat (5-7) to a much-needed 113-107 home win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday, finishing with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. He recorded 13 points and shot 7 of 8 from the foul line in a dominant fourth quarter and also had a spectacular block on a Jerami Grant layup attempt with 30.6 seconds to play to help snap Miami’s three-game losing skid.
“He was angry. He was frustrated after our last game and that is 1,000 percent what you want your best players to embody, that type of competitive spirit,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo, with the Heat set to begin a four-game trip Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Sun). “Because when it matters that deeply then that becomes important to everybody else. But he backed it up with a great day [Sunday] and he produced [Monday].”
Players guarded by Adebayo are also shooting just 43.7 percent this season, which is 3.5 percent worse than their combined average shooting percentage, according to NBA tracking stats.
But Adebayo (6-9, 255) already had a strong defensive reputation entering this season, and he averaged 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season to earn his first NBA All-Star Game appearance.
So, what’s the big improvement Adebayo has made in recent months? He has become a more efficient scorer as he continues to add new skills to his offensive game.
Adebayo, who averaged a career-high 15.9 points on 55.7 percent shooting last season, is averaging 19.5 points on 64.5 percent shooting and just 10.7 shots to begin this season.
Adebayo entered Tuesday as the only player in the NBA averaging at least 18 points on 60 percent shooting or better. Adebayo’s true shooting percentage (a shooting percentage that factors in the value of three-point shots and free throws in addition to two-point shots) of 71.4 in his first 10 games this season is the NBA’s best among players with a usage rate of 24 percent or more.
It helps that Adebayo is drawing more fouls and making a higher percentage of his free throws. After shooting 69.1 percent from the foul line on 5.3 free-throw attempts per game last season, he’s shooting 85.1 percent on 6.7 free-throw attempts per game this season.
The result, so far, has been two additional points from the foul line per game for Adebayo, who made 10 of 11 free-throw attempts in Monday’s win over the Pistons and is 22 of 23 on free throws in the past two games.
“Just consistency and trying to get the same rep and follow-through every time,” Adebayo said when asked about his improved free-throw shooting. “Just shooting them while I’m tired. I’ll do a conditioning workout and go straight to shooting free throws and I have to make 10 in a row. I put that pressure on myself. If I can’t make 10 in a row by the third cycle, I’m running again. That’s the type of stuff I put myself through.”
The other big step forward Adebayo has taken on the offensive end has come from the rapid improvement of his midrange jumper.
Adebayo is 17 of 34 (50 percent) on midrange shots this season, according to NBA tracking stats, and went 4 of 7 from that area in Monday’s victory.
That’s a small sample size, but Adebayo’s midrange efficiency actually began rising during last season’s playoff run to the NBA Finals. He was 17 of 37 (45.9 percent) on midrange shots last postseason.
Since the start of last season’s playoffs, Adebayo is 34 of 71 (47.9 percent) from midrange.
“You can see that jab to midrange shot is cash,” Heat guard Goran Dragic said of Adebayo. “We want him to be aggressive. It works both ways. When he’s passing the ball to Duncan [Robinson] or handoffs, he makes the game easy for everybody else. But he needs to take his own shots, too. The opponent is going to then be in drop coverage or up and he can keep the ball and attack. He’s a great finisher and great shooter. We want him to be aggressive.”
For perspective, Adebayo made just 22.3 percent of his midrange shots last regular season.
“My improvement is because I work at it,” Adebayo said. “I never stop working. Going to the gym and working on my shots and do what I usually do. It became repetition, and now I’m knocking down shots.”
With Adebayo consistently taking and making the midrange shot and hitting more free throws, the diversification of his offensive game is real. Just 37.9 percent of his points have come from shots within the restricted area this season compared to 53.6 percent last season.
One of the only blemishes on Adebayo’s stat line is he’s averaging a team-high 3.6 turnovers per game this season, and his turnover rate is slightly up from last season.
Spoelstra believes the jump in efficiency for Adebayo from the free-throw line has been the most encouraging development.
“I think everybody is going to point to that, and that’s where I don’t want to point to,” Spoelstra said of Adebayo’s midrange shot. “That’s a new weapon that he has got. I think it’s critical particularly at the end of possessions. But it’s not what we’re looking for as the first or second option. But he has worked diligently to add more things to his game. His ability to make free throws is so big, so important because the ball is in his hands all the time.
“So I think it’s misguided just to talk about his midrange. The midrange is a free-throw attempt and your ability to go up there and shoot that at an extremely high percentage. That’s 10x improvement for him and for us. ... That’s what great players find a way to do is generate a lot of free throws. There’s nothing better than a free throw or layup.”
Whether it’s with midrange jumpers or free throws, a confident and improved Adebayo on the offensive end is a good thing for the Heat, especially with the Heat’s other All-Star Jimmy Butler missing six of the Heat’s first 12 games because of a sprained ankle and now the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“I feel like I step in a bigger role when one of our main guys is out, and that’s what coach wants,” Adebayo said of playing without Butler. “Coach want to push us in that seat where you gotta produce to help us win, and you gotta do everything you can to help us win. I’m not backing down from the challenge.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 2:15 PM.
