The Miami Heat have taken a bit of a tumble down the Eastern Conference standings as they’ve dropped three consecutive games, with their most recent loss coming against the Milwaukee Bucks in group play for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
The Heat were shorthanded against the Bucks as they were without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, but they still managed to make it a competitive game.
Miami wound up losing 131-124, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort as the role players stepped up in Butler and Herro’s absences.
While the supporting cast has more than held their own in increased roles, the team has been propped up largely by Bam Adebayo who’s off to the best start of his career.
Adebayo was a monster against Milwaukee as he led the team in scoring with 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes.
The star big man has been putting up huge numbers during the 2023-24 NBA season and if he keeps this pace up he’ll join an elite list of players that have come through the franchise via Greg Sylvander of Heat.
Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal are two iconic big men in the Heat’s history and Adebayo is quickly showing that he belongs in the same breath as the Hall of Famers given his two-way impact.
Adebayo may not be the same sort of scorers as Mourning or O’Neal, but he finds a way to get the job done.
Miami is certainly hoping that Adebayo can keep this level of play up as he’s the key to their title hopes.
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