Bam Adebayo has been so good for the Miami Heat that he's done a great job at masking the team's front office problems. The Heat's roster lacks a certain level of oomph, but because of Bam's greatness, the team is still respectable.
And it's given the front office an "out" that has been increasingly frustrating for fans.
In large part because of the difference that Bam makes on the floor for the Heat, the front office is able to sell that their roster is one that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Even though we all know that it is almost certainly fool's gold, Bam continues to save the front office from far more criticism.
Bam has saved the Heat from a disastrous season
Specifically over the Heat's last 15 games, Bam has taken his excellence to an entirely different level. Miami has outscored by 14.1 points per 100 possessions with Bam on the floor. Conversely, with him off the floor, the Heat have been outscored by opponents (per 100 possessions) by an average of nine points.
That's a near 23-point swing.
In layman's terms, the Heat are a bad team when Bam is on the bench. And when he's on the floor, they're a really good one. If Bam was not on this Heat roster, Miami would be in some serious trouble. In fact, I don't think it'd be that much of a stretch to say that the Heat would be a lottery pick without Bam on the roster.
The Heat's front office is failing Bam
This is just the latest proof of how valuable Bam is to the Heat. Perhaps most importantly, it does tell a story of how the front office, especially of late, has taken that for granted.
Because Bam makes up for so much that this roster lacks, it's been pretty easy for the front office to lean so heavily on him. In fact, it's part of the reason why the Heat didn't even bother to add a backup center to this roster this season.
With a clear need for depth in the frontcourt, Bam is so good that they kind of just force him to figure it out - playing both the power forward and center positions, sometimes, especially with the way Spo gets creative with his rotations, simultaneously at the same time.
When does it become too much for Bam?
But to what avail?
At what point is too much? At what point does Bam get run into the ground, or weary of all the weight that he's asked to carry every night?
It's a game of risk that the Heat have continued to play, one they may eventually get burned by.
Bam needs help. The Heat's front office is doing him a disservice the longer they wait to properly build around him. At some point, it's going to bite them back, and the levee is going to break.
The Heat can't afford to keep taking Bam for granted. They need to do a better job of surrounding him with more talent before Bam reaches the point of no return, something that he may already be dangerously inching closer to.