MIAMI – Though the Miami Heat got a big win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, 126-108, the team would look different with the absence of their captain in Bam Adebayo. As the Heat star suffers from a toe injury that is keeping him out for Saturday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, his impact on the team's new up-tempo offense is key.

For many seasons in Miami, Adebayo has been one of the main engines for the team's offense as his versatility has made him a dynamic playmaker for his position.  This season, he's been even more vital in leading the charge of the new offensive philosophy, which has been working with the team, recording 106.28 possessions per 48 minutes, which leads the league.

Also resulting in 122.8 points per game, fifth in the NBA, Adebayo has been crucial to the new look, but with him out for the time being, they'll have to adapt. Norman Powell would say to ClutchPoints that Adebayo “balances” out the offense, even though the principles are the same with him absent.

“I think it balances us out a little bit more having Bam [Adebayo] on the floor, because he's so versatile,” Powell said. “We give him the ball at the top to key. He can attack, he can make plays for others, he can be in the corner, you can put him in different spots. When he's out, we're kind of in that, like five out, four outs, kind of offense. And it takes more body movement, ball movement, for us to find openings and gaps to drive.”

“But obviously, when you have a versatile big like that, you can post them up and still play out of that,” Powell continued. “You can have them in the corner, up top, especially in transition. So there's a different feel.”

Heat's Bam Adebayo fits new offense “perfectly”

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Heat center/forward Bam Adebayo (13) moves the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena with the Nuggets logo in the background
Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

As Adebayo suffered the toe injury in the Heat's loss to the Denver Nuggets last Wednesday, the starters on Friday still had Kel'el Ware at center, but had Norman Powell, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins, and Davion Mitchell to make a smaller lineup. With the team already lowering the amount of pick-and-rolls this season due to the faster pace, the offense was even more free-flowing with him off the floor.

What resulted was a win that had Miami score 53 points in the first quarter, the most in any period in franchise history, but regressed drastically to 19 in the second frame. Closing out strong with the win, there will be an adjustment period with Adebayo off the floor, though head coach Erik Spoelstra would say that the new offense has its benefits in that not many “habits” need to change with him out.

“There's a lot more habits where we don't have to change necessarily what we're doing,” Spoelstra said. “But I think even what we're doing, I think it just really complements Bam's versatility even more so, you know. I think the stuff that he can do off the catch off closeouts in random situations. I think it just fits his game perfectly.”

So far this season in eight games, Adebayo is averaging 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 34 percent from beyond the arc. It remains to be seen when Adebayo will return for the Heat, but the next opportunity for him to return would be Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.