Heat’s Bam Adebayo again making defensive statement this season: ‘He’s like “The Matrix”’
To describe center Bam Adebayo’s unique defensive skill set, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra brought back a movie that was released more than 20 years ago.
“He’s like ‘The Matrix,’” Spoelstra said. “It feels like he’s in two or three places at once.”
That’s not really hyperbole, as Adebayo flashed that ability in the second quarter of the Heat’s dominant 112-99 home win against the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Adebayo started the possession on Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, who set a screen for guard Coby White to force Adebayo to switch on to White on the perimeter. White then tried to drive past Adebayo and find Vucevic rolling to the basket with a lob, but Adebayo recovered quickly to switch from defending White on the drive in time to block Vucevic’s alley-oop layup attempt.
After Adebayo’s block sent the ball out of bounds, he then swatted a 10-foot fadeaway shot attempt from Vucevic just four seconds later.
“Athletically, he can guard the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll and then go get the big,” guard Gabe Vincent said, as the first-place Heat now hits the road to continue its week-long stretch against some of the East’s best on Wednesday against the fourth-place Milwaukee Bucks (8 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). “I was standing there like what am I even doing, I should have been doing something. Bam came in and saved the day.”
Those type of incredible plays have become the norm for Adebayo, as he has established himself as one of the NBA’s best defenders. Only in his fifth NBA season, Adebayo, 24, has been selected for the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team in each of the last two seasons and is on track to receive more recognition on that end of the court this season.
Adebayo anchors a Heat defense that ranks sixth in the NBA, allowing 107.4 points per 100 possessions. The unit features other exceptional defenders such as Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker, but Spoelstra has repeatedly made it clear that Adebayo is what makes it a dynamic unit.
“I think every year in the last whatever years, I think he has deserved to be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year,” Spoelstra said. “He just makes you so dynamic defensively. There aren’t many guys in the league that can do what he does. Draymond Green, and the list probably stops there.”
Adebayo, who finished fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last season, is known on the defensive end for his unique versatility and ability to effectively switch onto every position on the court at 6-9 and 255 pounds. He has limited those he has defended this season to 41.7 percent shooting from the field, which is 5.4 percent worse than those players’ combined shooting percentage for the season.
Adebayo has also held those he has guarded to 0.71 points per possession in isolation situations (78th percentile in the NBA), and many of those opportunities have come against perimeter players on switches.
“He can do anything and everything defensively,” Spoelstra said. “His versatility defensively is all across the board, whether he has to protect the rim, whether he’s out switching on perimeters, whether he’s taking charges, whether he’s just mucking everything up as a weakside defender. He can do all of that.”
Since the Heat returned from the All-Star break, players defended by Adebayo in all situations have combined to shoot just 15 of 40 (37.5 percent) over the last three games.
Adebayo has also been used as weakside help defender more than usual recently, which is one of the reasons he has recorded 14 blocks in the last five games after blocking 19 shots in his first 32 appearances of the season.
“I think everybody has a sense of security whenever you know that Bam is somewhere around the paint,” Butler said. “Even if he doesn’t block the shot, he’s going to alter it. If they skip it, hes also going to run out there and close out. So whenever you have Bam out there and he’s everywhere all the time, it’s a gift and a curse because you’re always banking on him to be there. It’s like you know what, sometimes we have do our own job and we can’t just rely on Bam all the time.”
When asked about playing alongside a defender such as Adebayo, Heat guard Tyler Herro recalled a sequence from Saturday’s win against the San Antonio Spurs. Devin Vassell beat Herro on a catch-and-go drive to the basket, but Adebayo met Vassell at the edge of the paint and blocked his fadeaway jumper.
“I’m like, ‘I appreciate that,’” Herro said of the play. “’I’ll throw you a lob here and there, but I appreciate you coming up and making a play for me.’ But it’s just an honor to have him on our team. He covers up for so much.”
During the seven weeks Adebayo missed earlier this season because of a thumb injury that required surgery, the Heat posted the NBA’s 12th-best defensive rating from Dec. 1 through Jan. 15. But Adebayo’s presence elevates Miami from a slightly above average defensive team to an elite one.
With Adebayo on the court this season, the Heat has limited teams to 102.4 points per 100 possessions, which would rank first in the NBA among overall team defensive ratings. Miami has allowed 109 points per 100 possessions with Adebayo off the court, which would rank 10th among teams.
“I’m just happy to be out there, honestly,” said Adebayo, who is averaging 18.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists this season. “I got some of the best teammates, so I can gamble, I can go for crazy blocks, I can do all those things because my teammates got my back. They let me be great.”
But Adebayo’s coaches and teammates believe he makes them great.
“He’s really important to what we do and that’s why our defense has really jumped up,” Spoelstra said. “We were good in those seven weeks without him, but it’s gone to a different level with him.”
▪ The Heat ruled out Lowry (personal reasons), Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning), Victor Oladipo (G League) and Javonte Smart (G League) for Wednesday’s game against the Bucks. Morris did not travel with the team to Milwaukee.
Caleb Martin is listed as questionable with left Achilles soreness.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 1:21 PM.
