Bam Adebayo's Blunt Response To If Miami Heat Had Added Motivation Vs. Jimmy Butler

After the Miami Heat's 112-86 routing of the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, Heat players and coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the performance that spoiled Jimmy Butler's return to Miami.

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo look on during last night's game between the Heat and the Warriors. / Rich Storry - Getty Images

After the Miami Heat's 112-86 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, Heat players and coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the performance that spoiled Jimmy Butler's return to Miami.

Bam Adebayo responded to a question about whether or not there was extra motivation for the game, with the return of his teammate who he went to two NBA Finals with. "Two games ago, we lost 10 straight. And to have that breakthrough, you know, that's the energy that you need. It's not against anybody at this point. We're just, we're scrapping for wins. It doesn't matter about who we're playing against."

"The guy's been through the trenches with us," Adebayo said. "So, it's the utmost respect to him. I'm just glad we got the win."

"I mean, at this point in the season, regardless of who comes in here, we got to play with that energy, that effort, that type of focus coming in with 10 games left, I think, now, so being able to finish this season strong is key," Tyler Herro said. "And I thought we came out with the right intention of fighting hard, competing hard, and just leaving it all out there on the floor."

When asked if there was any conversation with his former co-star prior to the game, Herro, who scored 20 points and dished out seven assists, responded succinctly: "No. No, no, no, no."

Andrew Wiggins was also playing against his former team after being with them since 2019. He was asked if he sensed any extra motivation from his teammates ahead of the game. "For sure," the 2022 champion said. "I mean, you can sense it on both sides. Obviously when you play a former teammate or former team, there's always, you know, extra little motivation."

Spoelstra, very familiar with former Heat stars returning to Miami under tense circumstances, remarked on the environment in the Kaseya Center. "The energy in the building was great. You know, if you're a competitor, you love this, this kind of environment. We didn't do any kind of extra motivational speech, you know, leading up into this. It was more about us just staying the course with our process."

Adebayo, who scored 27 points and anchored the team's stellar defensive effort, was asked if last night's performance was him leading by example. "Yeah. It was a lot of outside emotion around this game," Adebayo said. "I'm not gonna say for us cause like I said before, we're, we're scrapping for wins, but it was a lot of outside emotion around it. And to go out there and have that type of performance is just, you give guys a vision. You give guys belief, you know, you want guys to play to a higher level and they did tonight."

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at toledoalexander22@gmail.com. Twitter: @tropicalblanket