The Miami Heat dropped a tough game on Wednesday night to the Boston Celtics. Fighting hard all game long, they weren’t able to keep up with the Celtics in the end.
Though the Miami Heat had themselves quite a night on the offensive end, just at 52 percent overall from the field and 45 from three, that still wasn’t enough to keep up with a just overwhelming Boston Celtics offensive attack.
They would shoot nearly 56 percent from the floor and 49 percent from range. Well, there’s their overall efficiency in that they made more of their attempts in the first place but they also took more shots from range, in general, going 22-45 to the Heat’s 18-40.
That’s not the only shot they took more of on the night, though the next one in question has less to do with scheme and more to do with, well, something else. Here is what Bam Adebayo had to say on that part.
The Miami Heat played a hard-fought game against the Celtics Wednesday, but they just couldn’t pull it out. However, Bam Adebayo thinks Boston had help.
Bam Adebayo speaks about the team's performance, referees, the rematch on Friday and more after the HEAT loss in Boston@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/2xHxQaiOsS
— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) December 1, 2022
Here’s the part that really stood out here though. It’s actually at the very top and after being asked about getting the Celtics out of rhythm by who sounds like the Miami Heat’s Jason Jackson.
"I mean it’s hard to get a team out of flow when we only shoot nine free throws and they shoot 23. I feel like, that’s the deciding right there. I feel like if we shoot 18 total free throws, we’re in the ball game."
And Bam isn’t necessarily wrong, as it’s a trend that has occurred over multiple contests recently between these two clubs, dating back to the NBA Bubble and last season’s Eastern Conference Finals bout.
Listen, you never want to blame officiating, it’s not always as apparent as it was in Wednesday’s game, and there are always other factors that interact with one another to produce a final result. However, when it’s as clear as it was Wednesday, a guy like Bam Adebayo, who rarely complains, isn’t out of bounds at all.
The Miami Heat will have to continue to play through, often, one-sided officiating though, as these Celtics appear to be the gatekeepers of the Eastern Conference right now. That includes a ton of questionable forearm play from many of their guys and physicality on one side that isn’t allowed on the other.
So, again and basically, Bam wasn’t wrong at all—he was, in fact, spot on.