Adebayo got a wake-up call regarding 3-pointers, and he plans to keep firing
For those who have wondered what it would take to get Heat center Bam Adebayo to shoot threes, apparently all it took was a good night’s sleep.
“I literally woke up one day and was like, ‘I’m going to shoot threes today,’” Adebayo said.
So, a conversation with coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t lead to Adebayo’s recent uptick in threepoint attempts? It wasn’t the increase in doubleteams Adebayo is getting near the paint?
“Nah, it’s really as simple as that,” Adebayo reiterated ahead of Tuesday night’s home game against the New York
Knicks. “It’s not anything to look into. I mean, I work on it all the time. I just felt like, ‘I’m going to shoot threes today.’”
Adebayo has made it look easy, too, entering Tuesday with a threepoint attempt in nine straight appearances. He has made at least one three-pointer in seven of those nine games to shoot 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) from behind the arc during this stretch, with most opponents giving him space to take the outside shot despite his recent success.
Before this nine-game span, Adebayo had shot just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) on threes in his first 54 appearances of the season. But with the help of this recent stretch, Adebayo, 26, has already set career highs in three-pointers made (10) and threepointers attempted (30) in a season.
“When you start to see it routinely go in and you run off five in a row, four in a row, it starts to become habit,” Adebayo said. “It starts to become routine and it starts to become who you are.”
But for a player who averaged just 0.1 threepoint attempts per game through his first six NBA seasons and only 0.3 threepoint attempts per game this season prior to his nine-game surge, is this recent increase a blip or a trend that will continue?
Adebayo believes this is the start of a shift in his game. He plans to continue incorporating the threepointer into his shot diet.
“It’s time for the tides to shift,” said Adebayo,
For results of Tuesday’s late Knicks-Heat game, go to
who entered Tuesday ranked 11th in the NBA in total paint points this season and was averaging 19.8 points overall. “This is one of my, I guess, glaring deficiencies that everybody just wants me to do. But for me, I practice it all the time.
“Also, it just adds to our team. That means the big has to guard me ... Then when you have space for guys like Jimmy [Butler] and Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] to work.”
Unless Adebayo surprisingly continues to make 50 percent of his threepoint attempts, the outside shot likely won’t change the complexion of the Heat’s offense right away. Defenses are still going to sag off of him in an effort to clog the paint, and Adebayo is still taking fewer than two threepointers per game.
Adebayo, who entered Tuesday just 18 of 92 (19.6 percent) from three-point range in his NBA career, will have to prove he will take and can make threes at an efficient rate over a sustained stretch to force opponents to change their game plans.
“I think that will take some time before schemes change from other teams,” Spoelstra said. “Teams are always going to, right now, play off of him just because of all the other things it can create. The passing angles, the drives, the aggressiveness, all that stuff. But we’re probably going to look back at this four or five years from now and not even remember that these were those kinds of discussions.
“That’s the exciting thing about Bam. Every single year he just continues to add, and that’s a credit to his work ethic and having the right environment where he can explore new things within the context of the team.”
For now, most of Adebayo’s threes are coming from above the break, with 28 of his 30 attempts coming from the top of the three-point line. He has made eight above-thebreak threes and two corner threes this season.
If opponents continue to leave him open at the top of the three-point line, he plans to continue taking and making them.
“That’s my sweet spot,” Adebayo said. “So keep leaving me open, I’ll keep knocking it down.”
ETC.
The Heat’s Kevin Love was named one of six finalists for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award. One player was nominated from each division. Current players will pick the winner.
The only Heat players ruled out for Tuesday’s
For summaries, complete standings and results go to the eEdition at MiamiHerald.com.
Atlantic
y-Boston New York Philadelphia Brooklyn Toronto Southeast
Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington Central
Milwaukee Cleveland Indiana Chicago Detroit
Southwest
Dallas
New Orleans Houston Memphis San Antonio Northwest
x-Okla. City x-Denver x-Minnesota Utah Portland Pacific
L.A. Clippers Phoenix Sacramento L.A. Lakers Golden State
x-clinched playoff spot;
WEDNESDAY
Portland at Charlotte, 7
L.A. Lakers at Washington, 7 Detroit at Atlanta, 7:30 Oklahoma City at Boston, 7:30 Indiana at Brooklyn, 7:30 Memphis at Milwaukee, 8 Toronto at Minnesota, 8 Orlando at New Orleans, 8 Cleveland at Phoenix, 10
TUESDAY
New York at Miami
L.A. Lakers at Toronto Milwaukee at Washington Oklahoma City at Philadelphia Houston at Minnesota
San Antonio at Denver Cleveland at Utah
Dallas at Golden State
L.A. Clippers at Sacramento
MONDAY
Boston 118, Charlotte 104 Memphis 110, Detroit 108 Indiana 133, Brooklyn 111 Orlando 104, Portland 103 Atlanta 113, Chicago 101 Phoenix 124, New Orleans 111
y-clinched game against the Knicks were Tyler Herro (foot) and Josh Richardson (shoulder surgery). The Knicks remained without OG Anunoby (elbow) and Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder). Mitchell Robinson (ankle) was listed as questionable.
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
division