Tag Archive for: Bam Adebayo

Miami Heat need to lockdown the paint against Spurs

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The Miami Heat need to clean up their play inside the paint.

The Miami Heat are getting ready to take on the San Antonio Spurs. In doing so, they are looking to snap a two-game losing skid. San Antonio will not be an easy test.  Miami needs to clean up one major aspect of their game: points in the paint.

Against the Knicks on Sunday, they struggled mightily with this. Miami gave up 72 points in the paint, compared to only 46 for the Heat. New York’s big men feasted on inside scoring. Taj Gibson and Julius Randle had 14 and 26 points respectively. Miami could just not seem to stop the inside presence New York had.

San Antonio could provide easier challenge for Miami Heat

Against San Antonio on Wednesday, stopping points in the paint needs to be a priority. San Antonio is not a team that scores in volume in the paint. They average 44.4 points per contest from inside. They are tied with two other teams with that number. One of those teams is the New York Knicks.

Bam Adebayo and Myers Leonard are two players that have the potential to stop this. They will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 points on four-of-10 shooting against the Raptors on Sunday. He should be the primary paint presence for San Antonio. Throughout his career, he has established himself as a player that can lower his shoulder and get whatever he wants inside. The Miami Heat will have their hands full with Aldridge.

Miami should focus on playing the paint tightly and not allowing drives in the lane. Stopping the big man is only one half of the problem. The other half is eliminating easy drives to the basket. If Miami can take care of those things, that will put them in a better position to succeed.

The lack of limiting inside baskets is a problem that Miami has been having, and they can rectify it against San Antonio. They need to, or else it could be another long evening.

 

Winslow, Butler Practice for Miami Heat, Will Travel

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For all their success this year, the Miami Heat have yet to accomplish one important goal . . . fielding a healthy roster.  The Heat came into the season missing their newly signed superstar, Jimmy Butler, due to the birth of his first child.  And there were the self-inflicted setbacks, most notably from high-paid reserves Dion Waiters and James Johnson.

But most concerning has been the rash of injuries that has plagued the Heat’s back court rotation of Justise Winslow and Goran Dragic.  The injuries to both of Miami’s point guards has led to an increased burden on Butler and a “playoff-style” rotation of 8 or 9 players that has seemingly shown in weary legs at the end of road games and back to back scenarios.  Even with Dragic’s recent return and stellar play, the shortened rotation has still been in place thanks to the uneven play of forwards Kelly Olynyk and Chris Silva.

Reinforcements, however, look to be on the way with a breakout game from Johnson Sunday night against the Blazers.  Johnson’s size, playmaking ability and defense were on display for the first time in months as he finally received the nod from Coach Erik Spoelstra with Butler taking the night off.  “We stay ready around here,” replied Johnson when asked how he was able to shake off the rust of weeks on the bench to impact the game in such a fashion.

And it would seem that the return of Winslow may be on the horizon as he was upgraded to questionable on Sunday night, even though he didn’t play.  Monday Winslow was seen swimming with dolphins and teammate Bam Adebayo and Tuesday Spoelstra told media that he practiced with the team and was travelling to Indiana for Wednesday’s game against the Pacers, a positive sign.

Butler practiced with the team as well, which is a good signal that he will be available as well on Wednesday night.  So a fully healthy Heat squad is finally a real possibility in the coming days which should be a welcome sign to Spoelstra and his staff, as well as present new rotation challenges.  But after weeks of riding an 8-man rotation, those are great challenges to have.

Attrition may Have Uncovered Potent Lineup for Heat

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A potent lineup for the Heat may have revealed itself.

The Miami Heat have somehow managed to maintain course despite crucial injuries to Justise Winslow and Goran Dragic.

 

Miami has started to show some vulnerability, as evidenced by their first truly bad loss of the year at Memphis.

Jimmy Butler needs a break.

However the team once again found enough gas Wednesday to end Philadelphia’s undefeated run at home.  The common denominators for most Heat lineups lately have been Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kendrick Nunn.  That trio has been in the top three lineups for Miami in terms of minutes per game, with Duncan Robinson and Meyers Leonard rounding things out.

Switching to Airplane Mode

One intriguing combination has been to bring in Derrick Jones Jr. for Meyers Leonard early and late.  Leonard typically opens each half but has not been utilized much, if at all down the stretch.  Jones, Jr. has been seeing a huge increase in minutes recently due to several factors, including the razor thin rotation Erik Spoelstra has to work with.  That faith has been rewarded as Jones continues to carve out a more significant role.  Over the last seven games, DJJ is averaging nearly 30 minutes per game and is starting to feel it from downtown.  He is 6-for-13 in his last four games and has scored in double figures three times in that span, while his defense has also made a huge impact.

 

The lineup featuring Butler/Jones, Jr./Adebayo/Robinson/Nunn has been used in just three games going into Wednesday.  Yet in that limited sample the numbers have been encouraging and perhaps worth a look.  Rebounding is a legitimate concern without a second traditional big however, time will tell how the scales balance in that aspect.

 

Butler has been all that Heat fans could have hoped for but is exerting a ton out there. He struggled in his latest return to Philadelphia and is logging a Thibodeau-ian amount of minutes lately.  Butler is playing almost 39 minutes per contest in December which is nearly six minutes more than his career average. His 26.3 usage rate this season would be the second highest total of his career if maintained.

While DJJ has been a key cog in the wheel, the emergence of Adebayo is what has held things together.  The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week has continued to carry the load on both ends.  Adebayo is the anchor, not only on defense but from the high post where his skill set shines.  Bam is averaging 18/11/5  in December and his ability to finish on the pick-and-roll, or run things from the top, has kept defenses off balance.

Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson have been inconsistent but when they are on, they give this group the scoring from the perimeter it needs.  Nunn erupted for 26 points at Philadelphia and has hit half his three-point attempts on this road trip. If he can start making the easy plays and distribute the ball, expect another nice progression from the rookie.  Meanwhile, Robinson has been feast-or-famine, but when he’s eating the whole offense changes.  He has become a comfortable second option on the perimeter when the initial action doesn’t hit, while doing just enough on defense.  Robinson is shooting over 47% from deep this month and is getting almost six minutes more per game.

The lineup is shooting 59.6% overall and 52% from deep, while averaging a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.  On the opposite end they are holding opponents to just 40% shooting, including 26.5% from beyond the arc.  Conversely, they are 6.5 points better overall than the opponent so far.  Perhaps that is why they were the “Five on the Floor” to close the game out in Philadelphia.

When Dragic (and Winslow?) return, it will likely shake up the backcourt rotation once again.

For now, we may be seeing this group again when it counts.

Heat’s Bam Adebayo Wins East Player of the Week

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Bam Adebayo took home his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for games played Dec. 9th to Dec. 15th.

His stat line included his first two career triple doubles, and the Miami Heat went 2-1 in that span.

 

Lebron James was his counterpart in the Western Conference this past week, and showed his respect to the 22-year old Adebayo via Twitter.

 

James earned the honor in part to the Lakers victory over Miami last week, Adebayo follows Jimmy Butler as back-to-back winners of the award.

In case you were wondering, it has been a little while since the Heat had consecutive winners.

Adebayo has stepped into the spotlight with his usual workmanlike effort and is quickly gaining momentum as a Most Improved Player candidate.

Perhaps even greater honors could be in store.

With the arrival of Jimmy Butler Miami acquired the alpha they were desperately seeking.

What many outside observers may not have realized, there was another star quietly blossoming.

All Adebayo needed was the opportunity to show why he was coveted by Pat Riley and the Heat organization.

Now that the time has arrived, Adebayo is seizing the moment to enter the upper echelon of NBA big men.

We knew it all along.

Now the rest of the NBA world is finally catching up.

Follow us on Twitter for the most complete Miami Heat coverage anywhere @5ReasonsSports.

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Launching Pad: Derrick’s Defense, Butler’s Bullying, Struggling Shooters

Jimmy Buckets Doesn’t Hold Back on IG

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All signs pointed to Miami losing their first home game last night after young Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, hit Alex Len for an easy dunk to put them up 6.

Most considered this a dagger especially Young, which was considerable cockiness for a guy on a team that rarely wins.

This was followed by Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler hitting three’s on back to back possessions to send the game to overtime. Miami pulled away in overtime and ended up winning by 14. Shortly after the game, Jimmy Butler proceeded to clown the Hawks young rising star Trae Young with an Instagram video saying “this man @traeyoung is a teller of the future. he was right. game WAS over!” 

 

The comments were full of notable NBA players such as Dwade, Joel Embiid, Klay Thompson just to name a few cracking up over the post of Young prematurely calling game.  Young didn’t take the post to harsh poking fun at himself with a response on twitter laughing at his mistake and Butler’s post. 

 

 

To make things even better, Jimmy wasn’t the only person actively trolling last night either. Bam Adebayo said during his postgame press conference last night “We got shooters” a direct shot at his former teammate Hassan Whiteside. Bam couldn’t help but burst into laughter right after he said it after one of the best performances of his career posting his first triple-double. 

 

This team has been so exciting on and off the court, and it’s great to have an energy around the team we haven’t felt since the Big 3 era down here. 

Miami Heat Defeat Wizards Behind Butler Triple Double

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The Miami HEAT came into Friday night’s matchup with the Washington Wizards off of a 2-1 road trip highlighted by an OT win against the Toronto Raptors.  After another road back to back loss against one of the league’s top teams, a home tilt against the sub .500 Wizards felt like a welcome respite.

Before the game Wizards coach Scott Brooks had high praise for Bam Adebayo and the Heat coaching staff saying, “(Bam) is a bonafide star big in this league.” As a thank you for the kind words, Adebayo scored a quick 10 pts in the first quarter, including a couple of butter smooth jumpers that other teams have been daring him to take.

Adebayo got some help in the 2nd quarter as Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro came to life. Despite their efforts, the Heat trailed going into the half for only the second time this season due to an uncharacteristically poor defensive effort.  The Heat struggled to contain Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans in particular, with Bertans going 4 for 7 from beyond the arc in the 2nd quarter. Kendrick Nunn continued his recent struggles with only 3 points in the first half and a couple of sloppy sequences.

The 2nd half defense was far better than the first as the Wizards – one of the most potent offenses in the league – only managed to score 38 points.  Offensively, the trio of Butler, Adebayo and Herro continued their scoring barrage but the Heat struggled to increase or even maintain a lead going into the 4th.

So with a tight game and the clock winding down, the Heat turned to their closer.  Butler was brought to Miami for a myriad of reasons, but foremost amongst them was to give Coach Erik Spoelstra the kind of closer the team hasn’t seen since Dwyane Wade left for the Chicago Bulls.

With just over a minute left and the Heat leading 108-103, Butler had seen enough. He calmly stepped into a 25 ft 3 point shot that iced the game and gave the Heat a win. In typical Butler fashion, he stomped his way to the Heat bench after the Wizards called timeout and shared some “colorful” words with his teammates.  The kind of aggressive action that may have rubbed some of his past franchises the wrong way, is embraced in Miami, if not encouraged.

Miami went on to win by a score of 112-103 as Butler finished with a triple double (28-11-11) to remain undefeated at home. Adebayo chipped in a double double (24 pts and 14 rebs), while Herro added 22 pts of his own.

But the night belonged to Butler who shared some words with this former coach Tom Thibodeau on his way off the floor.  Thibs was all smiles as he watched his former superstar close out an opponent in familiar fashion. Seemingly happy for Jimmy, as he has finally found an NBA home.

 

Miami Heat edit

Home is Where the Heat is: Why Miami Needs Home Cooking

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The Miami Heat (15-6) return home Friday against Washington after finishing their three game road trip with two solid wins.

Those two wins against the Nets and Raptors showed Miami could compete with anyone away from the American Airlines Arena.

Now the Heat return home where they are 8-0 and have once again solidified their home court advantage.

This bodes well for a Heat squad that either narrowly missed the playoffs or had less than ideal postseason seeding in recent years.

Taking a look back at some of those past seasons may not be an indicator of future success, but it can provide some context on the importance of holding serve on your home floor.

The 2010-11 Heat team featuring the “Big 3”  lost in the NBA Finals to Dallas and finished 29-12 at home and 58-24 overall, the road success was equally as important that season.

Miami had winning streaks of 12, 9, and 8 games that season, but did have a four game home losing streak as well. They stepped it up on their home floor in the NBA playoffs with a 9-2 home record, winning all home games in the first three rounds before collapsing and losing two out of three to Dallas in the NBA Finals -including Game 6 to end it.

In the 2011-12 season the Heat were once again strong on their home court en route to their second NBA title, finishing with a 28-13 home mark. This team was less streaky than the previous year with a long winning streak of nine games, the Heat would have several five game runs as well.

 

Miami would elevate their play at home during the playoffs, only dropping two games. The Heat were down 3-2 to Boston in the Eastern Conference before a season saving win at the TD Center in Game 6 would set up a closeout game at home. In Game 7 Miami wore down Boston 101-88 at home and earned their second straight finals trip. Having home court in that series made a huge difference.

Miami would match up with a young Oklahoma City team featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in the NBA Finals. After dropping the opening game on the road, Miami would put their foot down and swept the next four including the last three at home.

The 2012-13 team took that earlier success to new heights on the way to back-to-back titles and they obliterated opponents at home, finishing with a 37-5 record.

During that campaign the Heat opened with a 9-0 home mark, and won 16 straight at home during their epic 27-game run overall.

That season would also end with two of the most iconic home games in Heat history.

 

Miami was down 3-2 in that series against San Antonio and on life support coming back to Miami after losing twice in the Lone Star State. Lebron James would silence the critics on his home court with a triple double (32/10/11) in Game 6, followed by dropping 37 points in Game 7.

In the last season of the Big 3 era, 2013-14, Miami would again finish with a stellar home record of 31-10. They won five straight games at home twice, and also notched a nine game run during the regular season. It seemed like the Heat were poised to win their third consecutive title once the playoffs started, Miami won all eight home games in the first three rounds on their way to a Finals rematch with San Antonio.

Home Court Taketh Away

That series would be different in one huge regard as the Spurs possessed home court, opening with a 110-95 win in San Antonio. Miami would bounce back in Game 2 and send it back to the 305, however the offense would fall apart in spectacular fashion.

The Heat would lose Game 3 111-92 and Game 4 107-86, their lowest point total of the postseason. This collapse would be too much to overcome as San Antonio would exact revenge in Game 5 on their home court 104-87 and emphatically closing the championship window for that Heat team. James would subsequently depart back to Cleveland, and a middling era of Miami Heat basketball would ensue.

Miami would miss the playoffs in the 2014-15 season and had a losing record (20-21) at home, finishing 37-45 overall and missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. In the five years after losing in the finals to San Antonio, Miami missed the playoffs in three of them. In 2016 they finished 41-41 overall and just 23-18 at home, narrowly missing out on extra basketball.

Last year the Heat again missed the playoffs and played losing basketball at home, finishing 19-22 at American Airlines Arena. In a mediocre Eastern Conference outside the top group, Miami was poised for a spot in the postseason but could not get it done at home. They lost six straight home games twice and closed out the year losing five of six overall.

Needless to say, this year’s team looks much different than recent versions. The additions of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, along with the huge advancement of Bam Adebayo has altered the course of the franchise on a dime.

With suffocating defense and timely offense, the 2019 Miami Heat are beating the teams they should.

Whether on the road or at home, they seem less susceptible to extended stretches of inconsistency this year.

While past accomplishments may not affect the present – given the history and impact of the home record, this version of the Miami Heat is on the right trajectory.

Miami Heat: Rebounding will be crucial against Raptors

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The Miami Heat are set to battle the Toronto Raptors in a battle of the second and third-seeded teams in the Eastern Conference. There are certainly many storylines to watch in this game, as both teams have talent and stars at several positions. With what looks like an even matchup on paper, the margin for error shrinks. This is something that could work to the Miami Heat’s advantage in one area in particular: rebounding.

Toronto has given up the second-most rebounds in the NBA. With 48.5 per game allowed on the season, they trail only the Chicago Bulls in that category. The 13.2 offensive rebounds are the most-allowed in the NBA and they’re tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 17th in most defensive rebounds with 35.4.

The Miami Heat have certainly done their part in keeping opponents off the glass. They allow the least amount of defensive rebounds per game with 31.2 per contest. They also only allow 9.3 rebounds per contest on the offensive glass.

For what it’s worth, the Miami Heat are 20th in the NBA 44.6 rebounds per game. They average nine rebounds on the offensive glass and 35.6 rebounds defensively.

Opportunities for second-chance points for Miami Heat

The lack of rebounding on the part of Toronto and Miami’s willingness to crash the offensive glass may work out in their favor. This may lead to second-chance points: a category that Miami needs to be better in. They rank 21st in the NBA with 12.4 second-chance points per game.

Miami put together a good rebounding game on Sunday against Brooklyn.  Outrebounding the nets 62-56, they certainly were able to win the battle on the glass. Winning that same battle will be important for Miami on Tuesday night. This Toronto team is extremely talented, especially on the perimeter. Bam Adebayo had 16 rebounds on Sunday night,leading the way for Miami. He leads the team in rebounds and 10.6 per game on the season. Expect him to play a crucial role on Tuesday night.

This will be a great test for the Miami Heat and a win against the Raptors will add another impressive notch to their 2019 season. But in order to do that, they have to rebound.

Full boat for Miami Heat: Blessing or problem?

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The untold national story of the Miami Heat’s 13-5 start is how much they’ve done with less.

When training camp started, it was assumed by many that Justise Winslow, James Johnson, Dion Waiters and even Derrick Jones Jr. would be integral parts of the rotation. After all, those are two of the team’s highest paid players, the projected starting point guard and a prospect the Heat have compared to first round value.

But Winslow missed three weeks with a concussion. Johnson wasn’t in Heat shape to start camp and has fallen out of favor. Jones has had an assortment of maladies. And Waiters? Well, you know.

Now, though, all are back.

That gives the Heat 15 available players as they face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at the start of a compelling 3-game Eastern road swing.

So how will this shake out?

Start with the starting lineup. Since Winslow returned, Erik Spoelstra has inserted sixth man Goran Dragic in his place anyway. But the Heat are committed to Dragic as bench stalwart. So you’d guess Winslow gets back in the lineup, now that his minutes are up, to start to build offensive chemistry with Jimmy Butler — arguably the most important objective for this team in the short term.

But who is the guard between them? Still Kendrick Nunn? Duncan Robinson, who played so well as part of the five-man opening group with Winslow out? Or is this the time to insert Tyler Herro, the Bucket Brother who has undeniable chemistry with Butler?

That, of course, will affect the bench. Assuming Dragic goes back there, does he pair better with Herro or Nunn? And what about the frontcourt? Kelly Olynyk has found his game of late. Does he replace Meyers Leonard in the starting lineup? What becomes of two-way surprise Chris Silva? In some games, the Heat have needed his energy. They’re not worried about his service time clock. Send him to the G-League for a week as Jones and Johnson get some run? Or stay with what’s working?

You’d always rather have more talent than less.

But some of Spoelstra’s decisions have been made for him so far, by circumstance.

Now, as even he has said, the decisions will get more difficult.

His motto: Force me to watch you, force me to play you, force me to make a tough choice.

Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo’s contributions proving invaluable

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The Miami Heat are lucky to have him on the roster,

Bam Adebayo is having himself a heck of a year. The Miami Heat won again on Saturday night by a 109-94 score thanks to his contributions. His knack for getting boards and scoring points efficiently has been a theme throughout the entire season.

In Saturday’s game, he recorded 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He also had a +7 plus minus rating. This is now his fifth game in a row scoring at least 10 points. This is also his third game in a row grabbing at least 14 rebounds. He was a huge reason why they were able to beat the Pelicans on Saturday.

His efforts are showing up on the stat sheet. His 10.3 rebounds are the most he has had to this point in his career.

Impact on Miami Heat has been felt

This season, he has really turned himself into a complete and balanced player. He always had the potential to be one, and it is meshing well with what the Heat are trying to do right now. The way I see it, his scoring is a secondary matter. The fact that he is attacking the boards is perhaps his best asset. Miami definitely has enough scoring on the roster. They have been needing to find a player that can consistently rebound. Adebayo Has shown that he can do that regularly this season.

Particularly in today’s NBA, rebounding is crucial. That leads to second-chance opportunities and high-percentage shots. Adebayo has done a great job this season of getting both second chances and opportunities to keep plays alive. He is exactly the type of big man Miami needs this season. With such a potent offense, allowing guys like Butler Nunn, and Herro to get second looks is key.

It will be interesting to see if he can keep up this level of play throughout the rest of the season. He has been putting up impressive numbers, and his ability to rebound effectively is a lost art in today’s NBA. I can’t wait to see how he performs over the course of the next couple of games. Perhaps even more important, I will be interested to see if he can sustain this for the rest of the season. If he can, the Miami Heat will give opponents another thing  to worry about when game-planning