In Game 6 against Boston, Bam only attempted six field goals in 41 minutes. Six.
Granted, this is a game the Heat did end up winning but it’s still worth mentioning. In Game 4, it was a similar story.
He did attempt 21 shots in Game 7 while putting up 15 attempts in Game 5. Still, you can say that there just wasn’t much consistency but honestly, there wasn’t much consistency in all of the Eastern Conference Finals in general.
Undoubtedly, it’s easy to look at box scores or advanced stat sheets and not get the whole picture. The Celtics are the best defense in the league and it’s natural that they would slow him down a little bit.
But if you’re going to be a premier player in this NBA, you have to find a way and some of that just comes from shooting more. Granted, he wasn’t all bad.
Game 7 was definitely The Jimmy Butler Show but if Bam doesn’t perform the way he did, that game is nowhere near close. He just needs to find his consistency and to actually shoot it more.
Even in the second round of the playoffs, Game 3 against the 76ers to be precise, Bam only had nine points and nine shots. Then, in Game 4, he had 21 points on12 shots.
They were defeated, but still, he took the looks. It’s similar if looking at the rest of the playoffs but to be fair, it’s not all his fault.
The playoffs aren’t a big sample of games to get averages from and some of these games were against a depleted Hawks team. There was no need for Adebayo to overperform when the necessity wasn’t there.
But when the challenge is there, the team absolutely needs it. Yes, it’s simple for those on the outside to say, but the answer with Bam Adebayo has always been a simple one.
He has to shoot his shots. As stated, where he makes his attempts are about the same in the regular and postseason, he just needed to put up a few more shots per game.
It’s not that simple— but at the same time, is exactly that simple. Do the Heat win the East if Bam was putting up his normal numbers?
You can’t say for sure but you can guarantee that he would be feared that much more by the Celtics’ defense. Not only would that have taken a load off of Jimmy Butler and the rest of the Miami Heat, but when facing a defense that good, you need every advantage that you can get.