MIAMI – With the Miami Heat coming off a sweep to the Cleveland Cavaliers, there's no one blaming themselves more than Bam Adebayo. As Adebayo has served as the Heat's captain since the retirement of Udonis Haslem, he spoke about being in the role during the soul-crushing series against the Cavs.

Besides the 55-point loss in Monday's Game 4 being the most lopsided in Miami playoff history, beating Game 3's 37 points, the team is also the first in NBA history to lose back-to-back games in the postseason by 30 points or more. Adebayo would speak about the frustration of seeing the team's results while being captain, even saying he “didn't do well” at preparing the readiness of the unit.

“It comes with the territory. Sometimes I understand that you can only control what you can control,” Adebayo said after scoring 13 points and collecting 12 rebounds. “For me, it's controlling the locker room, and that's trying to get guys ready for basketball games, which obviously I didn't do well at, especially this last game. So you know, going into the summer, a lot to think about and how I can bounce back from this.”

Bam Adebayo says Heat will be “fueled” heading into offseason

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) drives to the basket past Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) in the second quarter during game four for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center.
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The hope after the humbling loss is that the Heat can be fueled by the immense disappointment and head into the offseason with a mission to improve. While Adebayo has also teased Miami making changes, Adebayo would tell ClutchPoints that there was no quit with the team, as proven by bouncing back from the 10-game skid in the regular season.

“Definitely fuel us from that standpoint, we could let go of this rope a long time ago,” Adebayo said. “We could have quit during the 10-game losing streak and just coughed up the season…but we were obsessed with trying to dig ourselves out of the hole and to push ourselves to a point where you give yourself a chance. That's all you can ask for, from my point of view, with the younger guys watching, them understanding that you never know what can happen in this league. You put a little faith and obsession into it.”

At any rate, the team still finishes being swept, leading to the team's second straight first-round playoff exit as the Heat finished 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 37-45 record.