Heat’s Bam Adebayo plans to continue to take and make threes: ‘It’s time for the tides to shift’
For those who have wondered what it would take to get Miami Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo to shoot threes, apparently all it took was a good night’s sleep.
“I literally woke up one day and was like, ‘I’m going to shoot threes today,’” Adebayo said.
So, a conversation with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t lead to Adebayo’s recent uptick in three-point attempts? The increase in double-teams that Adebayo is getting near the paint didn’t lead to more three-point shots?
“Nah, it’s really as simple as that,” Adebayo, 26, reiterated ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup against the New York Knicks at Kaseya Center. “It’s not anything to look into. I mean, I work on it all the time. I just felt like, ‘I’m going to shoot threes today.’ It’s as easy as that.”
Adebayo has made it look easy, too, entering Tuesday with a three-point attempt in nine straight appearances. He has made at least one three in seven of those nine games to shoot 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) from behind the arc during this stretch, with most opponents still giving him space to take the outside shot despite his recent success.
Before this nine-game span, Adebayo had shot just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) on threes through his first 54 appearances of the season. But with the help of this recent stretch, Adebayo has already set career highs in three-pointers made (10) and three-pointers attempted (30) in a season.
“When you start to see it routinely go in and you run off five in a row, four in a row, it starts to become habit,” Adebayo said of his three-point shot. “It starts to become routine and it starts to become who you are.”
But for a player who averaged just 0.1 three-point attempts per game through his first six NBA seasons and also averaged only 0.3 three-point attempts per game to begin this season prior to this nine-game surge, is this recent increase in three-point volume a blip or a trend that will continue?
Adebayo believes this is the start of a shift in his game. He plans to continue incorporating the three-pointer into his shot diet moving forward.
“It’s time for the tides to shift,” said Adebayo, who entered Tuesday ranked 11th in the NBA in total paint points scored this season. “This is one of my, I guess, glaring deficiencies that everybody just wants me to do. But for me, I practice it all the time.
“Also, it just adds to our team. That means the big has to guard me and obviously more points on the board, more three-point attempts go up. Then when you have space for guys like Jimmy [Butler] and Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] to work, obviously they’ll get their touches in the paint and spray-out threes.”
Unless Adebayo surprisingly continues to make 50 percent of his three-point attempts, the outside shot likely won’t change the complexion of the Heat’s offense right away. Defenses are still going to sag off of him in an effort to clog the paint, and Adebayo is still taking fewer than two three-pointers per game.
Adebayo, who entered Tuesday just 18 of 92 (19.6 percent) from three-point range during his NBA career, will have to prove he will take and can make threes at an efficient rate over a sustained stretch to force opponents to change their game plans.
“I think that will take some time before schemes change from other teams,” Spoelstra said. “Teams are always going to, right now, play off of him just because of all the other things it can create. The passing angles, the drives, the aggressiveness, all that stuff. But we’re probably going to look back at this four or five years from now and not even remember that these were those kinds of discussions.
“That’s the exciting thing about Bam. Every single year he just continues to add, and that’s a credit to his work ethic and having the right environment where he can explore new things within the context of the team.”
Heat guard Terry Rozier, who has assisted on four of Adebayo’s first 10 made threes this season, is among those who want Adebayo to take the outside shot if teams continue to leave him open.
“It’s a great shot for him, it’s a great shot for our team,” Rozier said. “If a team is not going to play him, he might as well take it. I know it’s only going to get better for the years to come. I’m pretty sure he’s going to get more comfortable and the attempts are going to go up. It’s only going to help our offense and make our offensive spacing even better because you have to play him inside and out.”
For now, most of Adebayo’s threes are coming from above the break, with 28 of his 30 three-point attempts coming from the top of the three-point line. He has made eight above-the-break threes and two corner threes this season.
If opponents continue to leave him open at the top of the three-point line, he plans to continue taking them and making them.
“That’s my sweet spot,” Adebayo said. “So keep leaving me open, I’ll keep knocking it down.”
LOVE NAMED FINALIST
Heat forward Kevin Love has been named as one of the six finalists for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award. One player was nominated from each NBA division.
Current NBA players will select the winner among the six finalists.
The annual honor recognizes the player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.
INJURY REPORT
The only Heat players ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Knicks are Tyler Herro (right foot medial tendinitis) and Josh Richardson (right shoulder surgery).
The Knicks remain without OG Anunoby (right elbow tendinopathy) and Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder) on Tuesday against the Heat.
Mitchell Robinson is listed as questionable for the Knicks with a sprained left ankle.
This story was originally published April 2, 2024 at 10:38 AM.
