How highly do opposing NBA coaches regard Adebayo? Consider this. And 76ers catch a break
Some Miami Heat notes on a Tuesday, the players’ final day at home before busing to Orlando on Wednesday:
▪ The respect Bam Adebayo enjoys among opposing coaches cannot be underestimated. In a poll taken by The Athletic, 33 NBA head coaches and assistant coaches were asked various questions about the league’s top defenders, including who should be on the All-Defense teams.
Adebayo received two first-team All-Defense votes and 12 second-team votes.
He finished with 14 total points, tied with Houston’s P.J. Tucker for ninth among all NBA players behind Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marcus Smart, Kawhi Leonard, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, Patrick Beverley and Eric Bledsoe.
Of the 33 coaches who were asked who should be Defensive Player of the Year, Adebayo got one second-place vote and one third-place vote.
“In a year or two, he’s going to be at the top of this list,” one coach told The Athletic. Gobert got the most votes in that category.
Meanwhile, in a piece exploring all third-year players, ESPN’s Kim Pelton and Mike Schmitz both rank Adebayo fourth best in that group, behind only Jayson Tatum, Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell, and ahead of De’Aaron Fox, Lonzo Ball, John Collins and others.
▪ The 76ers and Pacers have an easier seeding schedule than the fourth-seeded Heat, which leads No. 5 Indiana and No. 6 Philadelphia by two games in the standings. And the 76ers caught another break Tuesday when Wizards guard Bradley Beal announced he won’t participate in the NBA’s restart because of a shoulder injury. He joins skilled shooting big man Davis Bertans as Wizards skipping the restart, along with point guard John Wall, who has been out all season with an Achilles injury.
That means Philadelphia’s first three games will be against teams missing arguably their best player: Indiana (Victor Oladipo), the Spurs (LaMarcus Aldridge) and the Wizards (Beal). Philadelphia also plays Orlando, Portland, Phoenix, Toronto and Houston.
The Pacers play the Wizards in their second game, after opening with Philadelphia.
Miami gets the benefit of playing the Pacers twice without Oladipo. Among the Heat, 76ers and Pacers, Miami has the most games against definite playoff teams (seven); Phoenix is the Heat’s other game.
▪ Count TNT’s Charles Barkley among those who believes the NBA probably won’t be able to complete its season because of COVID-19.
“I don’t think we got any chance of finishing this thing,” Barkley said on his and Ernie Johnson’s podcast, The Steam Room.
“That hurts because I know a lot of people that would lose their jobs and would be affected going forward. The way this thing is spiking and obviously Florida is the worst spot in the world right now and we are taking 22 NBA teams to the hot spot. We’re taking the WNBA, MLS soccer is going on down there.
“I just don’t see how we can go three months — the chances of us going three months and not having an outbreak — I just think that is impossible.”
▪ Players are permitted to place social justice messages above the numbers on the backs of jerseys when the league resumes play July 30, and Heat center Meyers Leonard said Monday: “I do plan on participating. I do not know what I plan on putting on the back of my jersey yet. But I do plan on participating.”
On Tuesday, Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports reported Leonard chose “Equality” as the message he will wear on the back of his jersey for the restart.
According to ESPN’s Marc Spears, the list of the suggested social messages that were agreed upon by the NBPA and the NBA and then made available to players via email, per the source, are: Black Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Vote; I Can’t Breathe; Justice; Peace; Equality; Freedom; Enough; Power to the People; Justice Now; Say Her Name; Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can); Liberation; See Us; Hear Us; Respect Us; Love Us; Listen; Listen to Us; Stand Up; Ally; Anti-Racist; I Am A Man; Speak Up; How Many More; Group Economics; Education Reform; and Mentor.
The messages will be displayed above the number during the first four days of the season restart. Players who choose not to have a social justice message on their jerseys instead will have their last name in that place.
After the first four nights, a player can simply go back to their last name. If they choose to continue showing a social message, their name would go below the number, per ESPN.
▪ Former Heat star Dwyane Wade resumes his job as a TNT studio analyst with an appearance on Tuesday’s 8 p.m. program previewing the restart of the season.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 4:59 PM.
