Miami Heat: 22 Missed Games With Thumb Injury Probably Costs Bam DPOY

The Miami Heat are fresh off of their Game 1 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the opener to their 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs journey. While Bam Adebayo didn’t have a huge offensive game, finishing with just six points, six rebounds, and five assists, he was his usual active self all over the floor.

Miami Heat Head Coach, Erik Spoelstra, had an interesting quote about the big man after the game.

Coach Spo is exactly right. When it comes to Bam’s aggression, it isn’t just about buckets.

Aggression for Adebayo is more of a mentality than anything else. You just want him to move with purpose, intent, and to take advantage of every avenue afforded to him on the basketball court because there is, quite literally, nothing he can’t do with the ball or isn’t capable of between the lines.

Again though and to Spo’s sentiments, he was still marvelous on Sunday. His all-around play and defense were just what the doctor ordered to help hold Atlanta and their star player, Trae Young, to a horrible day at the office.

Bam, at least, has that honor to stand on Sunday.

The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo has been one of the league’s best defenders since becoming a starter. 22 missed games this year likely burned him for DPOY.

Well, that’s because there was some putrid news released or revealed.

Bam Adebayo will not win his first NBA Defensive Player Of The Year award this season. As clearly indicated above, the finalists are Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics, Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns, and the familiar face in three-time award winner, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

To get right to the two main things here, it’s a travesty that Bam isn’t even a top-three finalist for the award. After plays like the following one, how can he not be?

The man is just all over the floor! Well, he guards all five positions too, so that’s no really news.

Secondly though, it was, likely, his injury that’s to blame for him, not only, not being a top finalist for the award but also not winning it, outright.

Missing just over 20 games with injury, that is probably what gave the others the edge over Bam in the department. Let’s be clear though, he should be a candidate and he’s a threat to win the award every year, at this point.

He’s just that good of a defender. As far as this year though, the 20 or so games missed were just too much to overcome with the voters.