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As the Miami Heat face the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in the second game of a back-to-back, there are mere hours left until Thursday's trade deadline. With Heat star Jimmy Butler the face of trade talks, that situation has been surrounding the team as Bam Adebayo has been the calming voice in the locker room in an effort to quiet all the noise.
While Miami lost in disappointing fashion to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night, the team is still in flux as it is uncertain if Butler will remain on the team or if anybody else will be moved by the deadline. Adebayo would grade himself in terms of how he's handled the responsibility of keeping the team focused according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I feel like I’ve handled it well,” Adebayo said. “If I grade myself, it’s 50-50, honestly. It’s just handling it where everybody understands we can still win through this. We’ve grown as players when it comes to certain situations, we’ve actually grown as men. So being able to focus and understand that games still got to get played. The schedule doesn’t change.”
The Heat's captain is in the midst of a nice stretch for himself as he's logged his fourth straight game scoring at least 20 points with himself at the power forward position since rookie center Kel'el Ware has entered the starting lineup. He's averaged 16.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the field.
Bam Adebayo on the mindset of the Heat amidst Jimmy Butler drama
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Butler is amid his third suspension with the latest being indefinite as it's a minimum of five games which lasts just beyond the Feb. 6 trade deadline. As Adebayo has spoken about handling the team amidst an unusual time for the franchise, the 27-year-old would say that with everything going on, there are still games to be played.
“No matter what’s going on, the schedule is going to happen and we got to go out there and play,” Adebayo said. “I feel like, to me, I’ve emphasized that being the biggest thing. We still got to play games. We can’t sit around and do what everybody else is doing, thinking about it and worrying about it. No, we have to go out here and hoop. That’s what our coach expects us to do. That’s what this organization, the fans, they expect us to go out there and still play basketball no matter what we’re going through.”
There is no doubt that Adebayo has grown into a leader after Udonis Haslem retired which garnered the attention of head coach Erik Spoelstra as he's seen the growth in leadership skills from his star.
“Leadership sometimes is something that you’re asked to do when you’re not necessarily ready to do it. Then sometimes it’s a calling,” Spoelstra said. “So this has been both for him. We asked him to do more as a leader. He embraced how uncomfortable that is. I tell him all the time, leadership sucks. Get used to it because there’s a lot of gratification from it when you can influence in a proper way and a positive way. And he just continues to grow.”
Miami is 24-24 as they look to get back in the win column against the 76ers.
