Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo is becoming a legitimate force

The recent career-best play of Bam Adebayo has the Miami Heat wondering just how much more he has to unleash moving forward.

Heading into this season, Bam Adebayo wanted more. Yes, he was already a three-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and a one-time selection as an All-Star in 2020. But it was at the offensive end that Adebayo truly wanted to make his impact felt. Over his previous three seasons, Adebayo had averaged 17.8 points in 192 appearances on 12.1 field goal attempts per game. With Miami Heat president Pat Riley stating that he wanted him to raise that mark to 15 attempts per game, Adebayo thought he could do better: “I want close to 18 shots a game.”

In the early going of this season, these ambitions were not quite going according to plan. Through the opening six games, Adebayo averaged just 11.7 attempts per game as the Heat began slowing out of the blocks, adjusting not only to the departure of PJ Tucker in the offseason but also to the insertion of Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro as a permanent starter. But since then, Adebayo has taken off.

In his past 15 games, the 25-year-old has ramped up his assertiveness to 16.3 attempts while averaging 22.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. But it was during the recent absence of Jimmy Butler that we saw Adebayo truly transform into the player most Heat observers thought he could become.

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Bam Adebayo is dominating on both sides of the ball for the Miami Heat.

Over his past eight games, Adebayo has averaged 25.0 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 53.5 percent from the field on 18.0 attempts per game, his stated ambition entering the year. This impact on both ends of the floor has not gone unnoticed by head coach Erik Spoelstra, who commented recently on Adebayo’s overall importance to the team:

"“Understanding how to read defenses and what’s necessary for this team, and when to be assertive, when to create for others, when to set screens for guys. Look, I’ve never coached really somebody where there’s been so many different responsibilities.”"

Incredibly, the 6’9″ Adebayo has taken things even further offensively when breaking down his contributions over the past week. Over these last four games, the former Kentucky No. 14 overall pick has averaged 30.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 60.8 percent from the field and 96.0 percent from the free throw line. Per Stathead, only Larry Bird and LeBron James have also recorded these numbers over a four-game span.

For the season, Adebayo is now averaging a career-high 21.0 points per game, with his excellent 86.7 percent return from the free throw line on 5.4 attempts also representing a career-high. Just as importantly, Adebayo’s aggressiveness on offense has also translated into winning.

For the season, when Adebayo has taken at least 15 shot attempts, the Heat have a 9-4 record. When it’s 14 or fewer shots, they have a 2-6 record. With Jimmy Butler back on board after missing seven games for their latest win, undoubtedly their best for the season against the Boston Celtics on the road, doubts were always going to surface as to whether Adebayo would continue to be aggressive and demonstrate the growth he’s recently demonstrated.

Those doubts were quickly dispelled, with Adebayo leading the way with 28 points, with the quarter of Butler, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, and Adebayo all eclipsing 20 points for the first time this season in the same game.

Looking ahead, the Miami Heat will finish their current four-game road trip Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies before playing eight of their next 11 games back in South Florida. And if there is one thing for certain moving forward, it’s that the Miami Heat couldn’t be happier with what this version of Bam Adebayo is bringing to the table each game.