“I will increase my production this year”. Bam Adebayo had promised change in his attacking game at the dawn of the recovery. While a quarter of the 2022/23 financial year has been played, we can indeed see its progress. The pivot did not believe so well, since he has never taken so many shots per game (15) and has never scored so much.
Its recent rise in temperature is also explained by the carnage that affects the Heat, but not only. “I’m on the pace. The coach plays for me, he lets me go to my spots. That’s what I’ve been working on all summer: finding my spots and being efficient.”he launched.
More patient, more confident…
His coach Erik Spoelstra also highlights his growing confidence, and two other elements that led him to exceed the 30-point mark in two straight games for the first time in his career. The first element is the diversity of game situations in which it can be effective.
“Where he is the best is on pick-and-rolls, sometimes post-ups, different drives, sometimes going up the ball and outflanking his defender when the defense is not in place. It can be an offensive rebound here, an assist there. He’s just excelling in a lot of different areas that the opponent can’t really scout.” thus underlined the chief technician of Miami.
Fewer frills away from paint
The second element is a more concentrated shot selection in the racket. Against the Hawks, 100% of his 13 baskets were in the paint.
“His favorite movements are in the paint, this dotted area. He’s big enough and strong enough to get to those spots. Sometimes it pulls a little too much fadeaway. But now he just goes to his spots. Hook left hand, hook right hand, being athletic and shooting close to the circle”, confirmed Kyle Lowry.
In fact, 2-point shots taken off the key made up more than 23% of Bam Adebayo’s shots in the first seven games of the season.
Since the beginning of November, this percentage has fallen to 10.6%. Not only is Bam Adebayo more productive than ever, but his team is winning (8 wins in 12 games), all without forcing.
“I feel like it’s basketball played right. It’s not forced shots, I’m not trying to absolutely aim for 20 shots. Everything is in the rhythm, in the dynamics of the team. My teammates want me to be aggressive. You just have to be yourself and that’s what I’ve been doing for two weeks.”concluded the kingpin.
| Bam Adebayo | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | MIA | 69 | 20 | 51.2 | 0.0 | 72.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 6.9 |
| 2018-19 | MIA | 82 | 23 | 57.6 | 20.0 | 73.5 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 72 | 34 | 55.7 | 14.3 | 69.1 | 2.4 | 7.8 | 10.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 15.9 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 64 | 34 | 57.0 | 25.0 | 79.9 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 18.7 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 56 | 33 | 55.7 | 0.0 | 75.3 | 2.5 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 19.1 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 19 | 35 | 53.0 | 0.0 | 86.3 | 2.5 | 6.9 | 9.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 20.5 |
| Total | 362 | 29 | 55.6 | 12.1 | 74.9 | 2.2 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 13.8 | |
