Without Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat would be in a really bad spot. And Erik Spoelstra has made that quite clear.
The Heat are enjoying a hot five-game win streak that includes massive wins over playoff-contending teams like the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons in the last week. This streak is the best Miami has gone on this season, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
With 17 games left on their schedule, the Heat will be fighting every single night to get themselves out of a play-in spot and into a playoff one. They're getting closer every win they capture, and it has a lot to do with how well Bam has been playing.
Bam is putting together a significantly better second half of the season as opposed to his first half, where he struggled to cross the 20-point line on any given night. Now, Adebayo's offense has improved and become much more consistent, but his defense has been even better, which is what Erik Spoelstra points to as Adebayo's leading strength, carrying the Heat.
Erik Spoelstra highlights just how important Bam is to the Heat
The Heat have maintained their top-of-the-league status in defense for the entire year, which would make some wonder why they haven't been better and with a better record and seed? Nevertheless, Miami's defense has helped propel its current surge, and Adebayo's presence has been instrumental.
That's been Adebayo's calling card ever since he arrived in Miami and the NBA: his defense. While he has never won an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, he's consistently in the discussion every single year, it seems.
While Adebayo's defense has always been the strongest element to his game, his offense has gone under the radar for much of his career, and yet, he just hit the 10,000-point mark this past weekend. The only other Heat player to score that many points with Miami is the legend himself, Dwyane Wade, who was one of the most gifted and talented offensive players the NBA has seen.
Spoelstra, who has coached Adebayo since his very first NBA game, has always seen more than defense in him, though he still points to Adebayo's defense for whatever levels of success the Heat have had, or are having.
“When he’s on the court, our defense is outstanding and our game is great,” Spoelstra said after Adebayo reached 10,000 against the Pistons. “When he’s off the court, it’s improving. The credit also is to his competitive will and work ethic. He came in not known as a scorer. He’s worked and willed himself into that.”
Changing your game is something almost every star has to do at some point. Sometimes, to go from good to great, you need to create a new threat in your game. For Adebayo, it was creating himself as an offensive threat through hard work and dedication.
The Heat are in a position to escape the Play-In Tournament, thanks to their five-game winning streak. Adebayo has been front and center during it, scoring 20+ points in Miami's past six games. He's not anywhere close to the player he was at the start or even the middle of the season.
Adebayo has morphed back into what Heat fans always knew he was. The Heat are on a better trajectory for it.