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NBA: Off-season weakness each star should have worked on

By Josh Cornelissen

Mar 22, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) chats with Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) during the first half of an NBA game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) chats with Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) during the first half of an NBA game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images /

19. Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat – Protecting the ball

The Miami Heat are a proud franchise with an intense organizational culture, and they pursue any avenue necessary to continue winning. Their roster is a combination of traded-for stars, free agent signings and undrafted picks they developed through their G League franchise, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. At the center of it all is their homegrown star, Bam Adebayo.

The undersized center has developed into a two-way impact force, with the versatility and instincts on defense to protect the rim and move out in space. He was the rare player to be a significant positive on both ends of the court last season. Offensively he has slowly taken on more of a scoring burden, averaging a career-high 12.5 field goal attempts per game last season en route to 18.7 points per game.

While there is still room for Adebayo to grow as a scorer, his most important weakness to address is protecting the ball. Adebayo coughed up the ball 2.6 times per game last season, and his career turnover percentage of 16.1 percent is sixth-worst since he entered the league, and worst among players with a major offensive role.

Adebayo is a smart passer, and averaged 5.4 assists per game last season. Working as an offensive hub he will rack up a certain number of turnovers. Even so, cutting out the offensive fouls, the sloppy passes and the doomed drives into traffic will reclaim possessions for the Heat and help to elevate his overall impact even further.