Miami Heat: Fans should keep a close eye on Bam Adebayo

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo is ready to impress fans this upcoming 2018-19 season.

With the Miami Heat’s first preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs taking place in just over a month, the organization’s uneventful summer is slowly but surely coming to a close.

Still, some questions remain unanswered, such as what Dwyane Wade‘s future looks like, but what is for certain is that the young core of the Heat appears to be president Pat Riley‘s plan for the future.

Included in those players is of course, center Bam Adebayo.

Last season, his first in the league, the big man out of the University of Kentucky averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds, in about 20 minutes a game. And while some may not find those numbers to be anything spectacular, the rookie showed plenty of potential and upside.

Expectations for the season

Earlier in August, Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel reported that Adebayo has been working heavily on amping up his offensive efforts, so that he can be utilized in different ways on the court.

Although his listed position is a center, he’s looking to also fill the role of a power forward.

"“Very comfortable,” Adebayo told Richardson about playing at the power forward position. “It’s nothing out of my element. I’ve done it before. It’s not like I can’t adapt. Just going out there and figuring things out with my teammates. That’s just the biggest part of it.”"

Knowing that Adebayo is working on adapting to the newer, small-ball style of the NBA is promising for fans who have struggled with watching Hassan Whiteside‘s difficulty meeting the recent standards.

Last season, Adebayo made about 60 percent of his shots under the 5-foot range.

If he can expand that range another five to ten feet, he could coexist with Whiteside or even Kelly Olynyk at center. This would give Adebayo both more minutes and more opportunities to expand on his skills at the position.

Which in turn would only make Miami that much more of a versatile team.

Anyone watching the Heat can definitely expect to see Adebayo on the floor more often in the upcoming season.

Between the opportunity to play at power forward and still continue to be an option for them at center, Adebayo is developing a fresh set of skills on top of honing a craft he already has been perfecting for years.

It’s time for fans to get excited because in 2018-19, Adebayo has nothing to lose and everything to prove.