Bam Adebayo, a center for the Miami Heat, is among the elite players who will play in this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game. He played brilliantly for the majority of the season to earn this honor.
Many of the advantages Adebayo offers the Heat cannot be quantified by numbers found in the box score. As their anchor, his defensive versatility is essential to head coach Erik Spoelstra’s offensive scheme.
Adebayo, who can cover all five positions, is possibly the most crucial member of Miami’s defense. He grabs 8.3 defensive rebounds and averages 1.1 steals and one block per game, making things difficult for anyone he faces up against.
He still serves as the Heat’s offensive focal point. In addition to his average of 20.2 points and 4.2 assists, he averages 2.3 offensive rebounds per game, which gives the team additional possessions. His usage rate is a career-high 25.2 percent, which indicates that Spoelstra is giving him more freedom with the ball.
Along with Adebayo, only four players in the NBA are averaging more than 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal per game this season: Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic. Adebayo has earned his nomination as an All-Star, so it’s a great company to be in.
But one thing in particular stands out in the statistics, and it’s keeping him from reaching the upper echelons of the game. In the 2023–24 season, Adebayo has been essentially ineffective as a scorer from outside of the painted area.
Has made 57.1% of his shots in the paint and only has a 31.3% effective field goal percentage when shooting from outside the paint. Behind only Ausar Thompson and Giannis Antetokounmpo, that is the third-largest differential among 192 players with at least 100 field goal attempts both inside and outside the paint, according to John Schuhmann of NBA.com.
If Adebayo’s shooting percentage doesn’t improve after the All-Star break, it will be a career-low. Right now, he is shooting 51 percent for the season. Given his 1-for-11 3-point shooting record and the numbers Schuhmann shared, he poses no threat from the perimeter.
The coaching edge that Spoelstra provides to the Heat makes them a strong team. Every player on the team is ingrained with a culture that sustains their competitiveness year after year.
But Adebayo needs to step up his game if they hope to be serious contenders for the NBA Championship. Although he is the team’s offensive focal point, he has to improve in terms of his ability to score goals.
