While Jimmy Butler still occasionally clutches up for the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo has been the one taking center stage. Coach Erik Spoelstra unlocked the big man in so many ways in the past season and it is starting to pay dividends. One notable player who has been taking notice of this is Stephen Curry. The legendary shooter saw how great he was firsthand when the Golden State Warriors had to deal with the Miami Heat.
Stephen Curry played for 31 minutes and of that time in the court Bam Adebayo was trying to keep his Heat afloat. The Warriors legend dropped nothing but praise for him, via Brady Hawk of Five Reasons Sports.
“He's versatile, long, he moves his feet, and he's obviously a great rim protector. There's a reason they've been in the finals twice. Obviously because of what Jimmy is able to do and the guys around him. But, Bam is a huge part of connecting the game on both ends,” the Warriors legend declared.
On this night especially, Bam Adebayo put up big numbers for the Heat to even stay in contention. Despite not being able to score in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, the big man's efforts did not go unrecognized.
“He's obviously a great weapon on the offensive end. He puts pressure on the rim and he's got a midrange, he hit a three tonight. They run a lot of actions around him. You add that to the defensive presence, that's why he's an All-Star, that's why he is who he is,” Stephen Curry concluded.
He is not at all wrong. Bam Adebayo shot 10 for 21 on the field and sank three out of his four free throw attempts for 24 points. He also managed to grab nine total rebounds and dish out five assists when the Warriors double-teamed him.
The Heat go cold
Everyone around Adebayo was trying to blaze it up. Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Terry Rozier combined for 38 points. Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith also helped with 15 and 10 points respectively. However, this effort was to no avail.
The Warriors had a lot of players who caught fire in the middle of the game and prevented the Heat from mounting a comeback. Klay Thompson led the barrage with 28 points. Stephen Curry, Jonathan Kuminga, and Andrew Wiggins contributed 52 total points to the Warriors offense as well. This offensive output was mixed with limiting Coach Erik Spoelstra's squad to a horrid 24.2% three-point shooting.
The Heat also lost the rebounding battle by a lot. They only managed to close out possessions with a rebound 28 times. This was eclipsed by the Warriors who grabbed 36 of them while also stealing seven offensive rebounds.
While the postseason is coming and the Heat hits the gas pedal then, these late-game woes are starting to become terrible to watch. They are also slowly slipping down the standings after only winning four out of their last 10 games. An All-Star might be in their front court but the entries in the win column have become scarce as of late.
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