Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler ‘breathing life’ into rest of roster. And Nuggets impressed by Heat
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler do a lot for the Miami Heat. But making sure their teammates remain aggressive and confident are among their most important duties that sometimes gets overlooked.
“I think a lot of credit goes to those two guys who just get everybody involved,” said Caleb Martin, who entered Tuesday as the Heat’s fourth-leading scorer during this year’s playoffs with 12.6 points per game. “They could easily take every shot they wanted to now, with guys down, guys like Tyler [Herro] that are out.
“That just shows the belief they have in us. And asking where the confidence comes from, a lot of it stems from those two guys, just believing in us and getting us open looks and believing we’ll knock them down, whether we make or miss, continue to make the right plays.”
Adebayo and Butler entered Tuesday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at Kaseya Center averaging a combined 48 points, 15.9 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game while shooting 51.1 percent shooting from the field in this year’s playoffs. They’re usually the driving forces behind the Heat’s success.
But Adebayo and Butler frequently use part of their postgame media sessions to compliment and express confidence in their teammates, knowing they need others to step up around them to be a true championship contender.
“I love that more than anything,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I would feel like I could make a shot. With that confidence that Jimmy and Bam are infusing into everybody, they get it. They have so much playoff experience. We need a lot of guys contributing.
“Jimmy’s had some monster games. Bam has had some incredible games during this playoff run. But unless we’ve had these other guys chipping in, that’s not enough, and those guys are smart enough to fully understand that and they’re breathing life into those guys.”
So far, it’s working. Among the four teams that advanced to the conference finals this year, the Heat has the highest-scoring bench with 36.1 points per game in this year’s playoffs led by reserves Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson and Martin.
Along with instilling confidence in their supporting cast, Adebayo and Butler have served as exampled for those around them.
“We have seen them both when they get in their mode and how they find ways to continue to stay in it or get back into it night-in, night-out,” Heat guard Gabe Vincent said. “Watching them up close my first year in the bubble, seeing the way they competed during that run was huge for me. It was motivation for me. It was just inspiring to see them go out there and go that hard every night. Now playing, I know how exhausted they were, and doing it time and time again, it’s inspiring, and they will continue to lead us and we will continue to follow.”
Continue to follow with Adebayo and Butler empowering them to step forward.
“It’s hard not to gain confidence, gain rhythm, and want to make shots for those guys,” Martin said.
NUGGETS PUNCH TICKET
The Denver Nuggets already clinched their spot in the NBA Finals by completing the 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals on Monday night.
Should the Heat get past the Celtics in the East finals, the NBA Finals series between the Heat and Nuggets would begin June 1 in Denver.
“The Heat are playing at an unbelievably high level,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said on Monday night, looking ahead at the possibility of facing the Heat in the championship series. “Jimmy Butler, what he’s been doing ... is just historical in nature. And Erik Spoelstra ... obviously Spo is one of the best coaches in the league, who I have a tremendous amount of respect for as a coach, but also just as a friend.”
The Heat lost both regular-season matchups against the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets and has struggled against Denver in recent years. The Heat has dropped six straight games and 11 of its previous 13 meetings against the Nuggets dating back to the 2016-17 season.
COLE WORLD
It’s well-documented by now that Grammy Award-winning and multiplatinum selling rapper J. Cole helped facilitate the Heat’s signing of Martin in September 2021.
Shortly after Martin was waived in August 2021, Cole recommended Martin to longtime friend and Heat assistant coach Caron Butler.
Butler listened and invited Martin to take part in an open scrimmage in Miami. Martin impressed Heat brass enough to earn a two-way contract from the organization and the rest is history.
“It’s everything, man,” Martin said recently of having Cole’s support. “He’s got a million things going on. He can be doing a million things. But it also just shows you, it’s bigger than just basketball. That’s my homie, that’s my guy. He keeps up with every game. He’s watching just like my family is watching. I talk to him all the time. … I don’t look at him as J. Cole. That’s just the homie. It’s all love.”
Both J. Cole and Martin grew up in North Carolina and became close friends through the years while working out at the same gym.
“Jumping up and down,” Martin said of Cole’s reaction to some of his big performances during this year’s playoffs. “He’s hyped just like everybody else. It’s from a place of love with him and he doesn’t want no type of attention for it. He doesn’t like it, but he’s a guy that’s so out of the way and he wants everybody to have their moments.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ The NBA announced Tuesday that Butler has been fine $25,000 “for violating league rules governing media interview access.”
The fine stems from “Butler’s failure to participate in required media availability” following Sunday’s Game 3 win over the Celtics in the East finals.
▪ The Heat again is without guards Tyler Herro (right hand surgery) and Victor Oladipo (left knee surgery) for Game 4 of the East finals on Tuesday.
Heat starting forward Kevin Love is listed as probable after exiting Sunday’s Game 3 win early because of a lower left leg muscle strain.
The Celtics’ full rotation is expected to be available for Game 4 on Tuesday.
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 12:25 PM.
