It has been a rough past few weeks for the Miami Heat as they were on a seven-game losing streak which matched the 2007-2008 season where that team only had 15 wins that year. However, they come back with a force Wednesday night and defeated the Sacramento Kings inside the Kaseya Center, 115-106, led by a collective effort.
Heat star Jimmy Butler was on one with his 31 points, but Bam Adebayo came out of a major slump he was on during the skid and scored 16 points, collected 11 rebounds, and recorded four assists. He would start 0-4 in the game, but heated up afterwards saying to ClutchPoints that a key for him was getting into rhythm.
“It's rhythm. You don't know until it happens,” Adebayo said. “I started off slow, but then as the time went on, got war, got into the game, and my teammates found me and got me the basketball.”
When on a losing streak lasting seven games, one has to feel the anxiety and pressure a player feels during that time. However, Adebayo said after the game that he feels more so “gratitude” than emoting a sigh of relief after finally getting a victory.
“No exhale, just gratitude,” Adebayo said to the media in the locker room after the game. “Everybody held each other accountable and we went out there and did we have to do to get the W.”
Adebayo credits Tuesday's meeting as motivating Heat for Kings game
There are a bevy of reasons why the Heat came out of the matchup against the Kings with a victory, but attributing it to the widely reported team meeting Tuesday is where one should start. Instead of a typical practice, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and the staff instead decided to do a film session where it was described as a “vulnerable” time where “things were said that needed to be said.” Adebayo credited the meeting after the win as helping with Miami's “communication.”
“100 percent,” when asked if the team meeting impacted their performance. “We were really working on our communication and I feel like we did a great job of that tonight. Really communicating, really talking through things. We had eye-to-eye communication.”
Adebayo stressing “the whole game to let our defense be our offense”
There is no doubt that besides the film session being used to prepare for their upcoming matchup, it was also used as a time for the coaches and players to be candid in what they want to see out of each other. The message was clear as Adebayo said he saw that communication when the Kings went on runs during the game, but the Heat didn't budge.
“We just needed to bounce back,” Adebayo said. “That's when you get into that huddle and everybody is really locked in and understand that we really have to get defensive stops. I was preaching the whole game to let our defense be our offense.”
Spoelstra says “not to take things for granted” in NBA
Going back to the gratitude saying from Adebayo, it was a common trend from every player that spoke after the win that there is a sense focusing on the high energy of the team that was lost the past few weeks. Even Spoelstra said that they might be the only team in the association with a seven-game winning and losing streak as they should to never take things for granted.
“The group poured a lot in the last 24 hours. Poured into this process, poured into each other, poured into the solutions. I commend the group because in this day and age and in pro sports, it is tough to do that,” Spoelstra said. “The noise gets louder and everybody gets distracted and we just kind of circled the wagons and just got in the locker room and just started to work through solutions for one day, but it sure feels a lot better. We're probably the only team that had a seven game winning streak and seven game losing streak and what it does more than anything, and when I told the guys in the locker room is it just definitely teaches you not to take things for granted in this league. It is hard to win. And probably in particular, this season.”
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