It was almost three years ago, but the sequence was particularly striking. In the middle of the match against Golden State, the tone rose between Erik Spoelstra and his leader Jimmy Butler, so much so that the two had to be separated during timeout! This Saturday's episode during the Miami – Phoenix was much less intense, but nevertheless reveals the competitive spirit that reigns within the Florida team.
This time it is Bam Adebayo who got heated with Erik Spoelstra when his coach gave an instruction in the middle of the action which could have misled his teammates. The Florida pivot explained this after the meeting, defending himself against the fact that the intervention of Erik Spoelstra, who asked to switch to zone defense at the time of a throw-in, was really not appropriate at this moment of action.
“In these situations, Spo always comes at us, accusing us of taking shortcuts, and this was one of those situations. They were about to take a throw-in, and he yelled “Two”, which means we have to go into zone. I told him, 'You can't do that in the middle of an action.' It just doesn't help us.”, explained Bam Adebayo. “Besides, I took a foul for that. So this is one of those situations where I barked at him to tell him to stop. He learned from that moment. Maybe he’ll do it again, maybe not.”
The vocal leader of the group
Erik Spoelstra, for his part, took advantage of his time at a press conference to defuse the situation, he who knows the importance of Bam Adebayo in the Heat's current good series (seven victories in the last ten games). The technician even made amends, recognizing that he had made a mistake at the time.
Above all, he appreciated seeing his leader so invested, to the point of going beyond what is usually a red line.
“On every similar throw-in situation they did, he was the one who organized everyone. I tried to zone everyone at one point, and I messed up, I asked it too late.”he admitted. “And so he yells at me. I love it. I want him to take control of the defense. He's our voice, he's the one speaking on all the covers, in all the gatherings, making sure everyone understood what we were putting in place and what adjustments we were making. When he’s like that, he’s truly a leader of a special caliber.”
Again author of a big performance that evening, with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, he did it again in “back-to-back” last night with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists to contribute to Miami's victory against the Cavs of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, all while finishing with the best +/- of the meeting (+20).
This time, it was with Terry Rozier that he clashed over a rebound that both players wanted to take and which ended up as a lost ball. A new episode that highlights the Heat's appetite.
“Bam plays winning basketball. I don't know how many games that's been, but it's maybe his fifth or sixth where he's pretty much had a triple-double in every game.”added Erik Spoelstra on Saturday. “He can impact a game in so many ways. And that’s what I saw in terms of leadership in the third quarter of that game.”
| Bam Adebayo | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | MIA | 69 | 20 | 51.2 | 0.0 | 72.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 6.9 |
| 2018-19 | MIA | 82 | 23 | 57.6 | 20.0 | 73.5 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 72 | 34 | 55.7 | 14.3 | 69.1 | 2.4 | 7.8 | 10.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 15.9 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 64 | 34 | 57.0 | 25.0 | 79.9 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 18.7 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 56 | 33 | 55.7 | 0.0 | 75.3 | 2.4 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 19.1 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 75 | 35 | 54.0 | 8.3 | 80.6 | 2.5 | 6.7 | 9.2 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 20.4 |
| 2023-24 | MIA | 71 | 34 | 52.1 | 35.7 | 75.5 | 2.2 | 8.1 | 10.4 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 19.3 |
| 2024-25 | MIA | 22 | 35 | 43.9 | 33.3 | 72.4 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 16.0 |
| Total | 511 | 30 | 54.1 | 26.3 | 75.4 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 8.8 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 15.4 | |
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.
