Heat’s Bam Adebayo on reliving playoff pain, what he did different this summer and more
As expected, the Miami Heat has not forgotten about what happened four months ago. Center Bam Adebayo is among those who still forces himself to relive the Heat’s early playoff exit.
The Heat was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in May. Miami lost the final three games of the series by an average margin of 26.7 points.
Adebayo, 24, has watched tape of those games this summer.
“That’s a lesson. We got our ass whooped,” Adebayo said to the Miami Herald this week. “That’s a lesson. You learn from that to make sure it never happens again. That’s the goal, to never have that type of playoff performance, playoff series again for us.”
The Heat is carrying that lesson into next season, with Media Day on Monday and the start of training camp set for Tuesday at FTX Arena. In total, 10 players return from Miami’s 2020-21 season-ending roster, including the leading duo of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.
“A chip will make a monster,” Adebayo said, referring to the motivation drawn from last season’s disappointing playoff showing. “[Udonis Haslem] was preaching that to us the whole year, that [the Bucks] had a chip on their shoulder. They went and got Jrue Holiday, who was a great asset to their team. They had a chip on their shoulder. So you 4-1 somebody the season before and they were the No. 1 team in the East. Just think about that. That whole summer, they were probably like, ‘Yo, we were the No. 1 team and got 4-1. We were the No. 1 team and got 4-1.’
“They got some get-back. That’s what they wanted. They got their get-back. You live and you learn. You take that as a playoff series to the chin and then we develop a chip that’ll make a monster.”
Along with returning most of last season’s roster, the Heat also made some new additions. That list includes three accomplished and experienced veterans in six-time All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, and forwards Markieff Morris and P.J. Tucker.
“The one thing you want to do every year is prove that you’re better than you were last year. That’s our job,” Adebayo said. “That’s our job to be better than we were before and that’s what we’re all doing. I feel like we’re all getting better at something and it’s because of that chip. Everybody on this team has a lot to prove this year, so everybody’s got a lot of stuff on the line.”
Here’s what else Adebayo had to say during the interview just days before the start of training camp ...
Q: What did you do differently this summer to continue to improve entering your fifth NBA season?
Adebayo: “I got in the weight room. Just because last year, I couldn’t lift as much as I could because I had my shoulder injury from the Finals. So I was thinner up top than I should’ve been. That comes with recovery. Since we had such a short offseason and went straight into last season, I could only do so much. But this offseason, I’ve really been in the weight room and made a conscious effort to get my body back to where it was.”
Q: So what are the results?
Adebayo: “I just added muscle. I came in last year at like 245 and now I’m at 260. So I put on a lot of muscle.”
Q: You added all of that weight this offseason?:
Adebayo: “Yeah, this summer. Because I could lift. I could actually get in the weight room and actually throw weight around.”
Q: How do you hope the added muscle will help you this season on both ends of the court?
Adebayo: “I mean defensively, I do what I do. Defense is all effort to me. If I really don’t want you to score, I’ll try my hardest to make sure you don’t score. That’s how I feel whenever I step on the court and I’m playing defense. My goal is to make sure you don’t score. But on the offensive end, just being able to get by dudes, really use my strength to power through certain fouls and get certain and-ones. Then finishing, of course.”
Q: Has incorporating the three-point shot into your game been a focus for you this offseason?
Adebayo: “I feel like if I just come back as a better player overall, I feel like everybody is happy. So therefore it isn’t a distinct thing. Yes, I’m working on threes, obviously. But that’s not the main focus of what I’m working on this offseason. If I come back two times better on the offensive side than I already am, that’s a plus for me.”
Q: How do you envision Lowry fitting in?
Adebayo: “He’s one of those guys that’s very vocal. He’s going to do what Kyle does. He’s going to do little stuff. He’s going to make sure dudes are in the right spots and he’s going to try to feed me, Jimmy and then he’s going to be able to expand his game through us also. Because the way we play, once you get the hot hand, there’s no like changing plays. It’s keep running that until they stop it. I feel like Kyle is going to get to a point where he’s going to be helping others and also being a lethal threat and being able to do what he does best.”
Q: How will Morris and Tucker help in the frontcourt as power forward options?
Adebayo: “It’s going to be a great season. I feel like they both bring that dog mentality, that defensive presence and also being able to space the floor. At the end of the day, they make us a better team. I like this team. A lot of us have a lot to prove, so it’s kind of like that chip we keep building.”
Q: What’s the defensive potential of this roster?
Adebayo: “It’s going to be fun. If we get stops and are able to run in transition and really be in a go-pace kind of system, where we play defense and get stops and run, I feel like we’ll be OK.”
Q: You’ve predicted your season averages in the past. Have you done it yet for the upcoming season?
Adebayo: “I have not. But by training camp, I’ll know.”
