It's way too early to label a game as a must-win for the Miami Heat, but there's no question that all eyes will be on Bam Adebayo heading into their second game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.
And this is not necessarily about the fact that the Heat have now gone winless through their first six preseason games, and then in the season opener. Instead, it has more to do with the questions that are naturally beginning to grow around Bam, the team's captain and best player in uniform.
That's because through the preseason and the season opener, Bam hasn't exactly played up to that level. And even stretching toward the first half of last season, there has to be at least a little concern.
The Heat needs Bam, and he hasn't responded
In the preseason, Bam averaged 11 points on 37 percent shooting from the field. In the season opener, Bam continued to struggle on the offensive end of the floor and shot just 4-13 from the floor. Specifically in the second half, Bam scored just four points and was 2-8.
He finished with 15 points, but it was clear he didn't step up enough for the Heat to close out the game. It only looks that much worse when you consider Miami blew an eight-point lead with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
And here's the bottom line: the Heat needs Bam, badly.
We don't even have to get philosophical about whether Bam is living up to his contract or his status as a star player in this league. This early in the season, it's clearly not the time for those types of conversations, no matter what some in the fan base may believe.
However, one thing that can't be argued is the fact that the Heat needs Bam to step up in a big way if they're going to survive the first few weeks short-handed. They need more from him.
If there were big questions about the Heat's competitiveness with a fully healthy roster heading into the start of this season, that's only going to be more of the case without a healthy Tyler Herro. If the Heat is going to survive this early portion of the schedule without Herro, Bam has to be better than he was in the season opener.
As the Heat prepares to take on the Grizzlies, that has to be one of the bigger storylines heading in. The Heat needs more from Bam. How will he respond?