The Miami Heat had been rolling as the month of March began, but they suddenly have found themselves as losers in their past two games, with their latest loss coming on Saturday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 107-100. This was a particularly rough game for Bam Adebayo, which head coach Erik Spoelstra addressed after the game.
Adebayo did not have a good game against the Thunder (5 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 1/9 FGM), and you can make an argument that his horrific outing lost the game for his team. While many fans were upset with Adebayo, Spoelstra admitted that these sorts of outings happen from time to time, and it didn't sound like he was worried about it all that much.
Via Brady Hawk:
“Spo on Bam: ‘Sometimes these things happen….They were committed to take the ball out of his hands, particularly out of the post. The PnR’s they were switching so we couldn’t necessarily get him the ball in his sweet spots. So he wasn’t able to get some easy relief points.'”
Erik Spoelstra, Heat hoping Bam Adebayo can overcome this poor game
Generally speaking, Adebayo has been his dominant self once again this season (19.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4 APG, 50.8 FG%), but every once in a while games like this one flare up that cause fans to panic. Even the best of the best have nights where nothing can go right for them, and according to Spoelstra, that seems to be precisely what happened to Adebayo against the Thunder.
Given how consistent he has been on the year, chances are these struggles won't carry over for Adebayo, although it is worth noting that he didn't exactly look great in their loss to the Dallas Mavericks from the night before either. It's clear that Adebayo playing well is crucial for the Heat, but even after this ugly performance, Spoelstra isn't worried about his star big man at all.
Follow Us
Subscribe