Adebayo is averaging 20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field.
It was a successful Saturday night for the Miami Heat as after losing in Denver the Thursday before, they came on to their home floor and beat the Utah Jazz, 126-120. The team is currently in the midst of a turnaround since the seven-game losing streak a while ago as star Bam Adebayo spoke to the media after the game about the Heat’s performance as of late.
Everybody on the Heat are gelling together as they are turning a corner, especially star Jimmy Butler who has been known in the past for playing better during this time of the season. He would score a season-high 37 points against the Jazz as Adebayo said that “I feel like we are all getting into the groove.”
“I feel like we are all getting into the groove, definitely finding our way, playing off of each other,” Adebayo said. “When me and Jimmy are making plays down the stretch, we’ll get that going into the playoffs.”
Something from last night…Bam Adebayo feels the team is at a turnaround having won 10 of their last 13 games.
“I feel like we’re all getting into a groove…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/vDvzWURFMe
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 3, 2024
Many coaches and players have been stressing that Miami needs to get back to their identity and play the “Miami Heat” way of basketball. As the team has won 10 of their last 13 games, they are doing that and more as Adebayo said that “really getting teams in the mud” is the key to victory.
“Our identity on defense. Really getting stops, really getting teams in the mud,” Adebayo said. “Then we’re letting that be our offense. We feel like it is easier when we play in transition and taking the ball out every game.”
Adebayo details difference between first and second half for the Heat
However, it was not all rainbows and sunshine for the Heat Saturday as Utah caught them off guard as they were overpowering them offensively even when their leading scorer in Lauri Markkanen was having a silent first half. The team would eventually adjust and turn it around in the second half as going back to the well of phrases, Adebayo said they “got out of then mud.”
“We got out the mud. A lot of us were in the mud in the first half, little sluggish,” Adebayo said. “In the second half, we got our second wind and played Miami Heat basketball.”
Adebayo himself would have a really solid game despite leaving during the contest with an injury. He would come back in and finish the game with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Heat’s supporting cast brought energy in the final period
The Heat also got major help from their role players, especially the known “X Factor” in Caleb Martin who scored 18 points, making four of his six attempts from three-point range. He would also make an impact on the defensive side of the ball as he recorded three blocks, a lot of those being on a chase down, an aspect Adebayo loved to see from his teammate as he is an elite defender himself.
“He hit big shots in those moments of truth, but for me it is on the defensive side,” Adebayo said. “Him being active, him getting those chase down blocks where you think there is no chance, but you see Caleb flying to get them. Those are the plays that help us win, those little plays might go unnoticed, but for us, those are winning plays.”
Igniting the fans a key factor for Adebayo and Heat
Besides Martin, players like Haywood Highsmith provided the team with a defensive edge that stopped the Jazz in their tracks and slowed down from their productiveness in the first half. Utah would have nine turnovers in the second half compared to just one in the first, showing the adjustment made which Adebayo said “ignited the fans.”
“Especially at home, it just ignites the fans, because it is just nothing but effort,” Adebayo said. “It is not a guarantee that you get a steal or a turnover, but it gets you more in tuned to the game because you see guys giving that much effort 60 feet from the basket. It just speaks to them wanting to make an example of our defense.”
The Heat are 34-26 on the season which puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference as their next game will be the final contest of the short home stand as they will face the Detroit Pistons in what will be a very winnable game. While anything can happen, the Pistons have nine wins, making them tied for the least amount of wins in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.
About the Author
Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school’s athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.
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