Yurtseven hopes for eventual pair with Adebayo: “Me and Bam is going to be a scary sight”
For two years when the Heat careers of Hassan Whiteside and Bam Adebayo intersected, Heat players spoke about the untapped potential of that pairing. Ultimately, it never stood a chance of being a thing.
Erik Spoelstra, concerned about the lack of offensive spacing with that pairing, played them only 66 minutes together, with generally poor results.
But in Omer Yurtseven, the Heat has another rebound-gobbling 7-footer who could be deemed a better fit alongside Adebayo than Whiteside ever was.
At least Yurtseven hopes so. While making clear that he will accept any role and any lineup, Yurtseven admitted recently that he very much hopes that the Heat eventually will consider giving him more extensive minutes alongside Adebayo.
“That would be amazing,” Yurtseven said. “Me and Bam is going to be a scary sight - on the boards, on offense because he can pass, I can pass. I can create lanes for him and he can kind of pull the defense toward his drives and I can be open outside. That will create a great in and outside balance between the two of us. That sounds like a great combo of bigs to have.”
For now, there’s no compelling need to experiment, because PJ Tucker - who’s having a very good year - plays extensive minutes with Adebayo. And Dwayne Dedmon is playing ahead of Yurtseven off the bench.
Spoelstra so far has played Adebayo and Yurtseven just seven minutes together, and Miami has been outscored by four points in those minutes. But an Adebayo/Yurtseven combo could work eventually, because Yurtseven is a far better perimeter shooter and far better passer than Whiteside.
Would showing Spoelstra that he can consistently make three pointers help convince the coach to play him with Adebayo?
“I think it would only help,” Yurtseven said. “Him having confidence in my outside shot would definitely help.”
Yurtseven -- who is fifth in the league in rebounds per 36 minutes at 15.1 -- said he has been working on his 3-point shot and that he makes the majority of them in practice.
“Once I’m loose and when I get my touch after the first five, six shots, I’m making most of them,” he said.
After converting 26 of 61 threes (42.6 percent) at North Carolina State and Georgetown, Yurtseven lofted 20,000 shots per month for eight consecutive months after he left college, then shot 38.1 percent on threes with the G-League’s Oklahoma City Blue last season.
He’s 1 for 7 on three-pointers with the Heat.
“Consistent three point shooting would be helpful,” he said. “Especially when we’re in the zone, I realized I stay in the corner. If I’m reliable there, it’s going to keep the defense honest and create that space inside. I realized that a lot of teams play the splits differently.
“Our team has such good shooters that they overreact one way or the other and that passing game is what I’m pretty good at. That came out organically that I can pass. When I caught my rhythm, I got my shot around the rim back, so that was a big help when we need it.”
He said he hasn’t talked with Spoelstra about whether he has the green light to shoot threes.
“The [first NBA] three I got in Portland wasn’t schemed,” he said. “It was [Jusuf] Nurkic was sagging all the way inside to help on a cut. I was wide open outside so I said, ‘I can make this.’”
He said “it’s not easy at all” transitioning from starting 10 consecutive games - and producing double figure rebounds in 14 games in a row - to playing just nine minutes over the next seven games before entering the NBA’s Health and Safety protocols. He returned to the team on Saturday in Charlotte.
“That hunger is still there,” he said. “That fire is still there. You try to put it into the work in the weight room and on the court because you have that engine that wants to go. You have to channel it to something constructive and productive.”
He said most friends understand why he has gone from a double-double machine to a spare part.
“And if they don’t, friends ask ‘Hey, what happened? Are you all right? Are you injured or something?” I just tell them ‘I’m ready. And now that Bam is back, our roles are kind of split differently.’ All the coaches have been telling me stay ready and that’s all I could do.”
Feedback from his peers has been heartening.
Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton told him, ‘You’re like [Denver All Star center Nikola] Jokic. I’m going to start calling you Jokic.’
“Gary Harris with the Magic said, ‘keep that boy out of the weight room’ because I was screening too hard or pushing him around too hard. It feels good to hear that, it feels great, because all of your work and the recognition gives you that encouragement, that motivation, to know I’m not 100 percent yet. I haven’t shown my full arsenal yet. That’s exciting. It will be a scary sight.”
