There were some positives to be gleaned from the effort the Miami Heat put up against the Knicks on Sunday, which ultimately resulted in a 132-125 loss. Kel’el Ware shone with 28 points, on 11-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-7 from the 3-point line, plus 19 rebounds. The Heat were sharp in the first half, building a 10-point lead, before the Knicks erased it. And Jaime Jaquez continued to roll off the bench, scoring 23 points in 34 minutes.
But the big and concerning question for the Heat is a familiar one–where was Bam Adebayo? He played 33 minutes, but scored only 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting. The Heat have now lost seven of their last eight games, and over his last six games, Adebayo has especially been struggling: 14.3 points, 43.8% shooting, 6.7% 3-point shooting.
Adebayo is the team’s best, and at $37 million this year, most expensive player. But as has become too common for this team this season, he is not giving Miami enough bang for its bucks.–and he knows the blame lies with him.
Bam Adebayo: ‘I Got to Figure It Out’
Adding to that frustration is the fact that Adebayo addressed his lack of production just before the loss to the Knicks.
“I got to figure it out,” said Adebayo. “I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m accepting accountability. I’ve got to be better. I’m letting my team down, and it’s going to shift. Like I said, it’s going to shift. I’ve been through these times before. A lot of guys go through it. We’ll figure it out.”
The Heat are 15-14 now, though, after a 13-6 start and no shift has quite happened yet. Said Adebayo: “You got to find that breakthrough moment. We started off hot early in the season, but you get these shifts throughout the season where it feels like everything’s not going your way. We got to find that breakthrough moment.”
Miami Heat Facing Tough Stretch as Losses Mount
It would be helpful if that moment comes to pass soon. The Heat have a tough stretch of games against East playoff contenders, with the Hawks, Raptors and Pistons up next. They get the Pacers, but the Nuggets come after that. Their next five opponents are a combined 80-53.
Overall, Adebayo is averaging 18.3 points for the season, shooting a career-low 46.9% on the season, in large part because he is attempting a career-high 4.5 3-pointers and making only 32.0% of them.
Obviously, shooting the 3 is a skill just about every player in the league needs. But for Adebayo, an abundance of 3s is worrisome–he is still a strong player at the rim, but is taking a career-low 15.7% of his shots from within three feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
In his career, Adebayo averages 34.2% of his shots at the rim. Getting more of those looks could be a step toward rebooting this wayward season.
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