Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo Knows He Needs To Play Better To Close Out Boston Celtics

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo had 10 points against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night.

If the Miami Heat want to close out the series against the Boston Celtics Thursday night, many things need to change from their performance in Game 4. 

One of those factors is the contribution from Bam Adebayo, who had just 10 points with four personal fouls and four turnovers in the blowout loss.

“I mean yeah,” Adebayo said. “I had four turnovers, only shot the ball seven times, and missed two back-to-back free throws. So for me, next game I gotta be better.”

Adebayo has been criticized for some of his lackluster performances in the postseason, and Tuesday was no exception. Jimmy Butler had 29 points, with Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin combining for 33. Adebayo is supposed to be a part of the high-scoring unit, but he only attempted seven shots in Game 4. 10 points is the lowest he’s scored in the playoffs, but it was the fourth time he’s attempted 10 field goals or less. Last conference finals, Adebayo’s lack of aggressive play led to Butler’s isolated superstar performances, which ended up being the downfall of Miami.

Adebayo knows he can’t allow that to happen again, or the Heat may become the first team in league history to blow a 3-0 lead. Thankfully, he has bounced back from lackluster games this postseason, averaging 17.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in games after losses.

“We need to come out and set the tone,” Adebayo said. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing. Set the tone, seek our identity and play more detailed basketball.”

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.