Although neither all-Star guard Kyle Lowry nor Jimmy Butler made the Miami Heat's lineup seem a bit untidy, they beat the Atlanta Hawks 97-94 at home, giving the Miami Heat a 4-1 win in the series. The Heat proved to be at the top of the Eastern Conference in the regular season, the Heat were by no means short-lived, they almost completely suppressed the Hawks, the next round of the Heat will be the winner between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors, and the easy promotion in the first round also means that the team gets more rest and adjustment time.
Don't look at the absence of the two cores, but the overall strength of the Heat is still quite outstanding, with a total of 5 people scoring in double figures, not to mention the Heat's oppression on the defensive end is simply suffocating to the opponent. As the core of the interior line, Bam Adebayo played 41 minutes, not only cut a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, but also delivered 4 assists, and Bam Adebayo's playing time and rebounding data were ranked first in the team, and the number of assists was tied with Vincent, and the score was second only to Victor Oladipo, ranking second in the team.
Bam Adebayo has been playing for the Miami Heat since joining the league, and he was selected with the 14th pick in the first round in 2017, so don't look at Bam Adebayo's age, but he is already the oldest player in the team except for the Heat's veteran Udunis Haslem. Of course, Bam Adebayo was not reused at the beginning, because when he entered the league, the Heat already had a top-paid center Hassan Whiteside, so Bam Adebayo could only start from the bench, averaging only 6.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in his rookie season. The situation improved slightly the following year, but Bam Adebayo is still not an absolute main force for the Heat, so he averaged only 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game that season, which is at best a qualified interior blue-collar worker.
But in the 19-20 season, the Heat chose to correct Bam Adebayor, and he also managed to seize the opportunity, ushering in great progress in the year. The Heat allowed Bam Adebayo to play more as a center, taking advantage of his speed and flexibility, and this season Bam Adebayo averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals plus 1.2 blocks per game. From a personal point of view, Bam Adebayor was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, and he also became the champion of the skills competition and was successfully selected for the best defensive team second team. In terms of team honors, the Miami Heat connected the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, and finally broke out of the East and returned to the Finals stage after many years, but unfortunately lost to the Los Angeles Lakers led by LeBron James.
Last season, due to the decline in the state of some veterans in the team, coupled with the departure of some players, the Miami Heat record showed a significant decline, they just thrilled to catch the last train of the playoffs, and the first round was swept by the old enemy Milwaukee Bucks. However, Bam Adebayo's personal performance is impeccable, he averaged 18.7 points, 9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game last season, and the basic statistics are even higher, and Bam Adebayo has also been selected for the best defensive team for the second team for two consecutive years. His wonderful performance in the NBA was naturally widely recognized, so Bam Adebayor had the honor of following the national team to the Tokyo Olympics last summer and won a gold medal.
The Heat management is not willing to make wedding dresses for others, so last summer they recruited everywhere, first by signing golan Dragic and center Achuva to the Raptors in exchange for Kyle Lowry; then the Heat signed PJ Tucker, who just helped the Bucks win the championship last season, obviously he can be the key puzzle for the Heat; in addition, the management also signed Markieff Morris, and completed the contract extension with Victor Oladipo and others, and the overall strength has improved significantly. Of course, the Heat can be at the top of the Eastern Conference in the regular season, and the credit is more concentrated on a few core players, taking Bam Adebayo as an example, this season he averaged 19.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks, and Bam Adebayo's shooting rate is as high as 56%, which shows that his ability to seize opportunities is also very strong.
Every time the outside world mentions the perfect small-ball center, it will basically say Anthony Davis and Draymond Green, and occasionally "alphabet brother" Giannis Antetokounmpo. But in fact, the role and value of Bam Adebayo should not be underestimated, in addition to the slightly worse external projection threat, Bam Adebayo's skills are also quite comprehensive, whether it is the face frame attack, scramble for rebounds, organizational strategy or strong defense, all of which provide great help to the Heat. Not to mention that Bam Adebayo is not yet 24 years old, he still has a lot of potential and upside to tap, and for a long time to come, Bam Adebayo will be the guardian of the Miami Heat.