Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo Has To Perform Better Offensively Against Boston Celtics
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo is the X-factor offensively against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love have played their roles as key contributors in big moments in the shadows of Jimmy Butler. Gabe Vincent struggled recently but has still been solid as the starting point guard.
But in order for the Heat to advance, Adebayo needs to perform better than he did in last year's matchup and more like the player who earned his second All-Star berth this season.
He averaged just 15 points, scoring single digits in three games. He also attempted six or fewer shots in four times. Without Tyler Herro this time around, Adebayo needs more aggression to take the pressure off Butler.
In other words, no more performance like Game 2 against the New York Knicks in the semifinals when Adebayo had 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting in Butler's absence. .
“I just got to play better,” Adebayo said after that game. “I feel like this game was on me, and I lost it for us. I’ve got to be better. I played terrible, I put this one on me.”
He is trending in the right direction throughout the postseason, but consistency is the key. Strong play from Adebayo is a must to counter Celtics stars Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics' depth.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
