Heat’s Adebayo continues offensive surge with relentless paint attacks: ‘That’s my wheelhouse’
.JPG "Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) concentrates at the free throw line during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Los Angeles.")
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has built his NBA reputation around his elite defense, but his growth on the offensive end is also opening eyes this season.
After finishing with 30 or more points for the second game in a row in Monday’s 110-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena to push the Heat (20-18) two games above. 500 for the first time this season, Adebayo is averaging All-Star-level numbers with a career-high 21.5 points on 53.9 percent shooting from the field to go with 9.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his sixth NBA season. Adebayo, 25, has reached the 30-point mark in 15 games during his NBA career, and six of those games have come this season.
“It’s no shock,” Heat guard Victor Oladipo said when asked about Adebayo’s improvement on the offensive end. “I saw him this summer. I saw the work he put in, I saw his growth. It’s no shock to people who’ve seen his grind. So, it’s no shock. I’m not surprised he’s having the year he’s having.”
But what is a bit surprising is how often Adebayo is dictating the terms of engagement against opposing defenses by getting to his comfort spots on the court regardless of what coverage he’s facing on his way to averaging a career-high 15.6 shot attempts per game this season.
Monday’s display against the Clippers was another example of that. Whether Los Angeles was throwing 7-foot center Ivica Zubac on him in drop coverage or using a switchable smaller lineup that featured Nicolas Batum or Marcus Morris Sr. at center, Adebayo was dominant to record a game-high 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line, 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
“I think what he’s doing now probably better than he ever has in his career, he’s reading the defense and what’s called for on each possession,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat remaining in Los Angeles to continue its five-game trip — that it’s 2-1 on so far — on Wednesday against LeBron James and the Lakers (10 p.m., Bally Sports Sun and ESPN).
Early in the game, Adebayo got going by atttacking Zubac’s drop coverage. Adebayo caught the pocket passes from Heat guard Tyler Herro and put up what’s becoming his trademark high-release in-the-paint jumper from just inside the free-throw line with Zubac playing off of him to protect the rim.
Then the Clippers tried to play small, but Adebayo got the ball in the mid-post against the 6-8 and 230-pound Batum and the Heat cleared that part of the floor for him to go to work. Adebayo took advantage, using his combination of strength and athleticism to dribble his way into a running hook shot that went in.
Most of Adebayo’s baskets came against Zubac, though. Adebayo attacked him while he was in drop coverage, went at him in semi-transition and in isolation sets.
After Adebayo was already hot and in rhythm, he closed the game with four dunks in the fourth quarter. Two of them were tip-in dunks off offensive rebounds.
“I think our guards, Tyler more than anybody, is getting him the ball,” Spoelstra said. “So Bam’s scoring rate and finishing rate on assisted opportunities is exceptional. And he’s letting the execution and other guys help him get easy baskets. And then when you need him to go get one, once he sees a bunch of easy ones go, then he can get to a lot of different things. He’s Mr. Reliable.
”He’s kind of the Swiss Army Knife killer and he showed very good IQ with his reads and not necessarily forcing or trying to like post up or bully the switches. It was more done with precision and execution and the offensive rebounding efforts.”
There was one common theme when it came to Adebayo’s looks on Monday, with 18 of his 19 shots and 11 of his 12 makes coming from inside the paint. That has been a consistent trend for Adebayo, who has been more intentional about getting to his spots in the paint before putting up a shot.
The numbers confirm this, with 85.9 percent of Adebayo’s shot attempts this season coming from inside the paint compared to 82.9 percent last season and 77.8 percent in the 2020-21 season. Adebayo entered Tuesday ranked fourth in the NBA in total paint points with 526 this season behind only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
“One, it gets us a lot of paint touches. And two, that’s my wheelhouse,” Adebayo said of his success in the paint. “Coach says as long as it’s in the rectangle, not shoot whatever you want but it’s a guaranteed 65 percent or something crazy like that. So just getting to my spot.”
Adebayo’s efficiency is down from last season, when he shot 55.7 percent from the field, because he’s taking fewer shots at the rim and more non-rim paint shots this season. That kind of shot diet usually leads to more inefficient numbers.
But it’s also true that Adebayo’s efficiency is trending in the right direction. He’s shooting 57.3 percent from the field and 61.7 percent from inside the paint in Heat’s last 10 games.
“He’s just reading the possession and the scheme and what’s called for on that particular possession better than I think he’s ever done over the course of his career,” Spoelstra said. “He’s not like trying to go one-on-one and trying to force those kind of plays.”
The Heat usually doesn’t lose when Adebayo is a big part of the offense. Miami is 7-0 this season when he has scored 28 or more points.
So it’s good news for the Heat that Adebayo is playing a more assertive and aggressive style on the offensive end these days.
“Whatever the scheme is, he’s got an incredible touch at the dots and that’s been earned over hours and hours of player development,” Spoelstra said. “... He’s just getting a feel for what to do in a particular moment that all the great players eventually develop.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 2:06 PM.
