Heat’s Bam Adebayo adjusting to adjustments made against him. And what’s at stake Thursday
Miami Heat starting center Bam Adebayo is learning there’s always more to learn.
Adebayo, 25, entered his sixth NBA season determined to take on a bigger scoring role within the Heat’s offense and he has done that, entering Thursday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers averaging career highs in points (20.7 per game) and field-goal attempts (15.1 per game). But Adebayo has also learned that he still has plenty of room to grow as a scorer.
Adebayo entered the mid-February All-Star break averaging 21.6 points and 15.7 field-goal attempts per game while shooting 54.4 percent from the field in 54 games on his way to being selected for his second NBA All-Star Game. He also averaged the sixth-most paint points (15.5 per game) in the league prior to the break with the help of his smooth in-the-paint jumper.
But the scouting report has caught up, and more opponents are crowding Adebayo whenever he gets the ball near or inside the paint, and an extra defender often slides over when Adebayo is rolling to the basket to contest any potential paint opportunity.
As a result, Adebayo’s scoring and efficiency numbers have dipped a bit.
Adebayo has averaged 18.2 points and 13.3 field-goal attempts per game while shooting 52.4 percent from the field in his first 19 games since the break. He has also averaged 12.9 paint points per game during this stretch.
“Welcome to being game-planned against,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat set to close its final back-to-back of the season Friday against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. “That’s born out of respect and all the great players have to go through that. What you have to really do is dominate the moments in between as the defenses loosen up. The offensive glass, running the floor, getting three or four easy baskets behind the defense when they’re not paying attention to you on cuts, catch and gos, things of that nature, and then still get to your game, which he has opportunities to do that.”
Capitalizing on transition opportunities before opponents can set up their half-court defense has been an emphasis for Adebayo as he works to adjust to the adjustments teams have made against him.
“I feel like the biggest thing is getting into transition and going and finding spots,” Adebayo said. “Because in pick-and-rolls, they’re bringing a third player. So if the pocket pass happens, it has to be a quick spray and just working for those type of one-on-one situations.”
Adebayo has watched film with 20-year Heat veteran Udonis Haslem to try to solve this new coverage that teams are now repeatedly throwing at him.
“They’re bringing that guy over on his rolls and packing the paint,” Haslem said. “So for Bam, I’m trying to teach him how to score in transition and setting screens in transition while the weak-side defense is glued to their man. Once they get in the half court, they can set their defense. But once you get in transition, we got options where we can run and he can get himself easy buckets in transition. I’m just trying to teach him things to watch on film so before we even get into our half-court offense, we can pull a couple triggers and get him a couple easy ones.”
In half-court situations when teams are sending extra defenders into the paint, the right play for Adebayo after he gets the pocket pass is usually to find the open three-point shooter on the weak side of the action instead of forcing up a contested pull-up jumper or driving into traffic.
Adebayo understands that, but is passing the ball out to the perimeter playing into the defense’s hands considering the Heat’s three-point shooting struggles? Miami entered Thursday with the NBA’s fourth-worst team three-point percentage at 34.1 percent this season.
“As he’s being schemed against, a lot of times that is the correct play is to find the open guy,” Spoelstra said. “He’s been doing that really well and he has to continue to do that. But we need his assertiveness, so all the great players have to figure that out of how to do that in the plays that can’t be schemed against and those are those plays in between.”
Striking the right balance between making the right pass when multiple defenders are running at him while still remaining aggressive enough to put up enough shots as one of the focal points of the Heat’s offense isn’t easy.
“It’s always about balance with Bam because he’s always going to have the ball in his hands a lot and he’s always going to make plays for us,” Haslem said. “Every game is going to be about balance for him. It’s pass to shot ratio.”
Adebayo doesn’t mind making the pass out to a shooter if that’s what the defensive coverage dictates “because I trust my teammates.” But he admits he does sometimes find himself forcing up shots in such situations because he gets “caught up in trying to figure out ways to score and sometimes you might shoot it just to get a rhythm.”
Adebayo will continue to watch film until he finds consistent counters.
“The little thing I can do is go watch film and figure out how I can beat another scheme of how teams are playing me,” he said.
WHAT’S AT STAKE THURSDAY
With a win over the 76ers on Thursday, the Heat can clinch the Southeast Division title and assure itself that it will finish no worse than seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. But even then, the Heat would need to win its final two games and have the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets drop their final two games for Miami to jump into sixth and avoid the play-in tournament that features the seventh through 10th-place teams in each conference.
With a loss to the 76ers on Thursday, the Heat would be locked into the play-in tournament and could still finish anywhere from seventh to ninth place in the East.
INJURY REPORT
The Heat only ruled out rookie forward Nikola Jovic (back spasms) for Thursday’s game against the 76ers.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry is available to play in Philadelphia, but there’s uncertainty whether he’ll be available on the second night of the Heat’s final back-to-back of the season on Friday against the Wizards. Since returning from left knee soreness on March 11, Lowry has not played on both ends of a back-to-back.
Lowry missed the front end of the Heat’s back-to-back in Chicago on March 18 before playing the following night in Detroit and played on the front end of a back-to-back in Toronto on March 28 before sitting out the following night in New York.
“I have not even followed up with the trainers or with Kyle about that,” Spoelstra said following the Heat’s Thursday morning shootaround in Philadelphia. “They’ve been working on a plan. My focus is solely on tonight and I’ll figure out everything else after this game.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 1:21 PM.
