His points curve continues to climb. Season after season, Bam Adebayo scores a little more and takes more and more responsibility in the Heat’s offensive schemes, while he was more confined to defensive tasks at the start of his career. A player would like to be inspired by this trajectory, which brought the Heat pivot to the All-Star Game twice: Nick Claxton.
“ I try to follow the same steps. That’s how we play. During the offseason, you work on your weaknesses and continue to make progress », briefly describes, for the New York Postthe Nets center whose team hosts Bam Adebayo’s Heat next night.
The comparison between the two interiors is unclear at the moment. They have in common the fact of having a big impact in the racket of their respective team. Very active on the rebound and capable of changing in defense, they embody a defensive deterrent near the circle, especially in the case of Claxton, 3rd best blocker – unofficial, because he has missed too many matches to be in the official rankings – in the league with 2.7 blocks per match.
Soon a 3-point shot?
But the Florida pivot has passed more than one milestone on the other side of the field. “ The progress he’s made throughout his career, the fact that he was one of the first to focus on defense before broadening his field of action… It’s always fun to face a talented interior », Enthuses his Nets counterpart who cannot yet say the same about his own offensive development.
The latter scores the majority of his points near the circle where Adebayo, in addition to being very good at getting the ball up and creating the play, has developed a reliable shot from the periphery. “ My 3-point shot is coming too. I’m waiting to be able to do it. I want to find my cruising speed at mid-range and make a few 3-pointers every now and then, that’s for sure. », announces Claxton who displays a career 2/14 in this area, the same low percentage (14%) as his model (9/64).
Such an evolution in his game would change the offensive configuration of the Nets, who also have to deal with a mute Ben Simmons outside the racket. “ Clax has the ability to do a lot of things similar to Bam, whether it’s pushing in transition or making an impact near the rim. There is clearly a fondness for Bam, his game and what he does for this team every night », admits Jacque Vaughn without going any further in the comparison.
| Nicholas Claxton | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2019-20 | BRK | 15 | 13 | 56.3 | 14.3 | 52.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 4.4 |
| 2020-21 | BRK | 32 | 19 | 62.1 | 20.0 | 48.4 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 6.6 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 47 | 21 | 67.4 | 0.0 | 58.1 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 5.6 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 8.7 |
| 2022-23 | BRK | 76 | 30 | 70.5 | 0.0 | 54.1 | 2.4 | 6.8 | 9.2 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 12.6 |
| 2023-24 | BRK | 6 | 27 | 66.0 | 0.0 | 58.3 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 12.2 |
| Total | 176 | 24 | 67.8 | 14.3 | 54.1 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 9.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
