A look at the three Spoelstra wants Adebayo to take for Heat: ‘I’m good with him shooting that’
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo’s performance in last month’s NBA All-Star Game was uneventful other than a pull-up above-the-break three-pointer he hit five minutes into the first quarter for his only points of the night. But for a player who doesn’t take or make many threes in the real games, that one shot in the All-Star Game was enough to draw some attention.
“Tell Spo (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra),” Adebayo joked after making that three-pointer in the showcase game. “Pull the clip up, show Spo.”
That moment probably didn’t serve as the catalyst for Adebayo’s recent three-point uptick, but it did provide a glimpse at a shot Adebayo has in his repertoire that he has turned to more frequently since the All-Star break.
Adebayo averaged 0.2 three-point attempts per game before the All-Star break this season and is averaging 0.5 three-point attempts per game after the break. End-of-quarter or end-of-shot clock situations have forced Adebayo to put up a few threes recently, but he’s also recently stepped into a few more within the flow of the offense.
While six of Adebayo’s 11 three-point attempts (54.5 percent) before All-Star Weekend were forced because of late-clock situations, only two of his five three-point attempts (40 percent) since the break have come at either the end of the shot clock or end of a quarter.
In fact, Adebayo stepped into a three within the flow of the offense and made it during Wednesday’s home loss to the Denver Nuggets before doing it again and hitting another three-pointer within the flow of the offense during Friday’s 108-95 road win over the Detroit Pistons to end a four-game skid and open a four-game trip. It marks just the second time that Adebayo has made a three in two consecutive games during his NBA career, with the other time coming in January 2021.
“Might as well,” Adebayo said when asked about getting more three-pointers up in recent weeks after recording 22 points and nine rebounds in Friday’s win in Detroit.
Not all three-pointers are created equal, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes Adebayo is shooting the right ones.
Adebayo’s three-pointer on Wednesday came with Nuggets center Nikola Jokic sagging way off of him. Adebayo took advantage to make the open above-the-break three-pointer.
Then on Friday, Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. flipped the ball back to the trailing Adebayo, who decisively stepped into a rhythm three before Pistons center Jalen Duren could contest the three-point make.
All 16 of Adebayo’s three-point attempts this season have been from above the break.
“It’s interesting. I had this discussion with him during the summer when he was working on his corner threes,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat remaining in Detroit to continue its trip with another matchup against the Pistons on Sunday (3 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). “I was cool with that. I want him to work on the three. But I told him that the three that would be more available would be the one at the top. That’s where he ends up being more often. The spacing typically really doesn’t make sense for our roster for him to be in the corner. There are other guys who are going to be in the corner.
“But he’s up top all the time and also I’ve watched him now for several months, that’s the one he’s most proficient on. So I’m good with him shooting that. If they’re playing way back, he’s a great decision maker. So that’s going to lead to a great action with somebody in a deep drop, which is a problem if Duncan is coming off or Jimmy or somebody like that. But if they’re going to totally lay off, I’ve seen him make that one enough. We’ll see where it goes.”
Adebayo’s three-point shooting percentage isn’t pretty, as he’s just 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from three-point range this season. But he’s a respectable 3 of 8 (37.5 percent) when not counting the rushed threes that have come at the end of the shot clock or quarter.
That small sample size represents career-highs for Adebayo.
The three three-point makes match Adebayo’s career-high for a season, as he also hit three threes during the 2018-19 season. The 16 three-point attempts are a new career-high for Adebayo, surpassing his previous career-high of 15 set during the 2018-19 season.
“Definitely in the flow,” Adebayo said of the above-the-break three that he can generate within the Heat’s offense as defenses sag off to clog the paint. “At this point, it’s about just shooting it, letting it ride. We always have our shooting competition — me, Orlando [Robinson] and [Thomas Bryant]. When I win, I feel more comfortable shooting it.”
Adebayo wants to make the three-point shot a bigger part of his game at some point during his career. While he’s made one three in each of the last two games, that time probably isn’t here yet.
But if defenses continue to leave him open at the top of the three-point line, Adebayo is making it known that he’s willing to take that shot.
“He’s knocking them down, I like that,” Heat forward Caleb Martin said with a smirk. “If he’s open, he can take it. He’s earned the right, obviously, to shoot that. He’s obviously getting more comfortable doing it, so I love it for him.”
SPEAKING OF THREES
With Heat sharpshoooter Duncan Robinson hitting four threes in Friday’s win over the Pistons, he sits at 999 three-point makes for his NBA career.
Robinson is one three-point make away from becoming the fastest player in NBA history to make 1,000 in his career.
If Robinson can reach that mark with a three-pointer on Sunday against the Pistons, he would accomplish it in 343 regular-season games. That would break the current record held by Buddy Hield, who made his 1,000th NBA three-pointer in his 350th regular-season game.
Robinson also set the league record for the fewest regular-season games needed to reach 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800 and 900 made threes. He’s also the franchise leader for the most career three-pointers made by a Heat player.
Robinson, who is shooting 40.1 percent on 7.1 three-point attempts per game this season, is one of only six players around the league who entered Saturday shooting better than 40 percent on more than seven three-point attempts per game this season. The others on that list are Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving, Utah’s Lauri Markkanen, Los Angeles’ Paul George and New Orleans’ CJ McCollum.
This story was originally published March 16, 2024 at 10:19 AM.
