Heat’s Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro going through ‘growing pains’ after the Jimmy Butler trade
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are two of the longest tenured Miami Heat players on the roster. But even Adebayo and Herro are going through an adjustment period after the departure of Jimmy Butler.
Instead of leading on and off the court alongside Butler as a trio, Adebayo and Herro are now a leading duo after the Heat traded the disgruntled Butler to the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 6.
“It’s growing pains for us,” Adebayo said. “This is the first situation that’s it has really been just me and Tyler. I mean, obviously, the addition of [Andrew Wiggins], but we’re still trying to get Wiggs comfortable to where he can be fully himself. Right now, we’re keeping it simple for him and just kind of getting out of his way. But for me and Tyler, it’s more so understanding that we know how hard it is to win in this league. You can never take that for granted.”
The last few weeks have served as a reminder of just how hard it is to win in the NBA, as the Heat entered Saturday night’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on a season-long six-game skid after falling to the Boston Celtics 103-91 on Friday at Kaseya Center.
The Heat also entered Saturday’s contest in Memphis eight games below the .500 mark for the first time since the 2016-17 season and just 4-13 since the trade of Butler became official last month. Miami acquired Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from the Warriors and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in return for Butler.
“I’m even keel,” Herro said. “I try not to get too high or not get too low for moments like this. But this is when this has to bring the best out of me and Bam specifically trying to lead this team and get this thing turned around.”
Adebayo, 27, is in his second season as the Heat’s captain and has spent the last few years growing into a leadership role. But Herro, 25, has emerged as a Heat leader while also being selected for his first NBA All-Star Game this season.
“With everything that has been going on, that part I’ve enjoyed watching — to see them grow into these roles,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo and Herro. “If you want to lead, these are the times. You have to be able to do it when the seas are a little bit rough, a little bit choppy.
“Anybody can lead when things are going great. Anybody can be a front-runner in those kinds of situations. But these guys, they’re about the right things. They want it so bad. They want everybody to play well and get this breakthrough. It starts with that and then everybody else filling in, as well. We say it all the time, it’s leadership at all levels. But those two guys have been around the longest. I think everybody is just kind of turning to them naturally.”
Some of Adebayo and Herro’s growing pains in the post-Butler era have come late in games. The Heat entered Saturday having been outscored by an NBA-worst 28.2 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter and an NBA-worst 33.5 points per 100 possessions in clutch situations (defined as a game that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter) since the start of February.
“I think Jimmy was really good at making the right play at the right time, whether it was for him or a teammate,” Herro said when discussing the Heat’s late-game issues. “So I think that’s just part of mine and Bam’s process of continuing to get better.”
Adebayo and Herro are working to get better on and off the court for the Heat amid the team’s struggles following the Butler trade.
“It has never been easy for us,” Adebayo said. “So for us, it’s keeping a positive mindset and keeping the locker room together and just making sure that outside noise doesn’t start to sneak in.”
THE DAVION SPARK
After starting in his first 14 appearances with the Heat following his trade to Miami in early February, Mitchell was used as a reserve in Friday’s loss to the Celtics. But Mitchell still played most of the game.
Mitchell earned that playing time through his hustle and defense, finishing Friday’s defeat with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting on threes, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal in 35 minutes. He played the final 17:29 of the game, matching up against Celtics guard Payton Pritchard for most of the night.
“He made all of us watch him, right? He has that kind of gift. Those kinds of abilities,” Spoelstra said of Mitchell. “He’s really dynamic, the way he can move laterally. And we just want to unlock all of that. The more he can just be a pest and piss everybody off, which he was doing tonight. Taking on all the big matchups, just making great efforts, we’re going to need that a bunch going down the stretch. But I was really pleased with his play.”
