Adebayo’s goals on offense falling short in early going
SACRAMENTO
Bam Adebayo wasn’t the only person who set goals this season for Bam Adebayo.
So did his teammate, friend and mentor, Udonis Haslem.
While Adebayo disclosed publicly last month that he plans to increase his shot attempts per game from 13 to close to 18 — something that now seems unrealistic — Haslem also conveyed what he would like to see from the Heat’s versatile big man.
Haslem’s message was delivered privately during the offseason, and he shared it in a conversation with The Miami Herald. Shot attempts weren’t on the list.
“My conversation with Bam,” Haslem said, “is: ‘You have to lead us in rebounding. You have to be tops up there with Jimmy [Butler] in scoring if not the leader, but you have to be right there next to him.
“And you have to make sure we win basketball games. And personally, you have to be an All Star.’ ”
So far? Entering Saturday’s game at Sacramento, Adebayo led the Heat in rebounding at 8.3 per game, down from 10.1 last season.
He entered the Kings game averaging 16.5 points, behind Butler’s 22.7 (and Tyler Herro’s 17.5) and below Adebayo’s career-high 19.1 average last season.
And there hasn’t been enough winning — two victories in six games — for anybody’s liking. And his numbers, while very early in the season, wouldn’t put him in the All-Star mix.
A few things have become clear during the early stages of this season:
● Averaging close to 18 shots per game is probably not realistic, in part because the Heat has added a high-volume scorer (Herro) to its starting lineup.
Adebayo’s field-goal attempts actually have decreased from 13 per game last season to 11.7 so far this season, which is third on the team behind Butler and Herro, who are both attempting 14.5 per game.
● The shooting struggles in the first four games — when Adebayo shot 21 for 46 (45.6 percent) and averaged just 13.7 points — were seemingly an anomaly, not any cause for concern.
He played very well offensively in the first two games of this road trip, scoring 18 (6 for 11 shooting) against Portland and 26 (10 for 13 shooting) against Golden State.
A career 55.8 percent shooter, Adabayo said his opening-week offensive struggles were frustrating — “you know how rough that is?” — because he worked on his offensive game relentlessly this past offseason.
“I work on my floater all the time,” he said. “I’ve been working on my jumper endlessly throughout the offseason. Shots were starting to fall” this week.
● The notion of Adebayo becoming an occasional three-point shooter hasn’t yet materialized.
Adebayo hit three-pointers in the team’s scrimmage and first preseason game, raising hopes that it might be incorporated into his game.
But he has attempted only two in six games and missed both, making him 7 for 52 in his career.
He said the decision to become a better threepoint shooter was his own, not something the team encouraged.
“It was all me,” he said. “You see flaws in your game. It’s not easy to figure out what you need to work on.”
● He needs to reduce the turnovers. He has 24 in six games; his 4.0 average per game is well above his 2.1 career mark.
● The defense remains sterling. He’s holding the player he’s guarding to 43.2 percent shooting, less than the 45 percent those players shoot overall.
As perspective, consider the shooting percentage allowed this season against All-Star centers Joel Embiid (47.4), Rudy Gobert (48.6) and Nikola Jokic (50.5).
Last season, players defended by Adebayo shot 42.8 percent against him.
“He was basically doing everything for us defensively” against Golden State, Spoelstra said. “He was chasing around their perimeters.”
Adebayo — who was an All Star in 2020 — would love to win Defensive Player of the Year, but Haslem didn’t mention that to Adebayo as a goal for this reason:
“I would love for him to be that,” Haslem said. “But that’s always going to be a conversation with a lot of people that he might not have control of. Those [aforementioned four goals] are things he can control and he needs to control those things.”
Haslem has seen offensive growth from Adebayo the past few months.
“The thing about Bam is he’s always had rare moves,” Haslem said. “He can put the ball on the floor. He can score with either hand. He can shoot the jumper. It’s the timing of it, when to do it, when to get guys involved, at what point to be aggressive, at what point to take my foot off.
“Those are things that are more mental than anything. It’s not a skill set or talent. It’s the mental aspect he has to approach. What’s his ratio of attacking and facilitating? I told Bam he has to start looking at the game within the game. Times are going to change when to be aggressive and when to get guys involved, depending on how the game is going. Bam is in a unique position where even though he has the ability to score, we also depend on him to facilitate a lot.”
Adebayo said that Pat Riley never told him directly to become more aggressive offensively, but that he received the message simply from Riley’s postseason press conference.
He was aggressive and efficient in Portland and Golden State, yet took only 11 and 13 shots. But that doesn’t tell the full story. He drove to the basket and forced contact, getting to the line for seven free throws (and six makes) against Portland and eight times (with six conversions) against Golden State.
So the man who hoped to attempt close to 18 shots a game has attempted no more than 15 in any of the Heat’s first six games. And with Herro in the starting lineup, the notion of Adebayo shooting more might not become a reality.
But even without reaching that benchmark, the start of this trip reminded everyone of his value. And that value is even more notable when he’s not on the court.
The Heat entered Saturday outscoring teams by 20 with Adebayo in the game, but minus-32 when he’s on the bench.