Another game. Another loss for the Miami Heat. Now at 0-4 on the season, with three of those first four losses coming at home, it's difficult to predict where this team will go from here.
It wasn't as ugly as it has been during the first three games, and there were some positives that the team will be able to draw from, but in the end, the result was the same. The Heat just didn't have enough offense to hold off the Dallas Mavericks, losing 113-109.
Bam Adebayo has been inexcusably bad this season
What was most jarring, though, was how bad Bam Adebayo was. Again. In the Heat's four-point loss, Bam finished with just eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 3-for-10 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point range.
In a game that the Heat could've easily had, it's difficult not to blame Bam, a player who is supposed to be one of the anchors for the team. The way Bam has played this season is flat-out unacceptable.
But the frustrations with Bam aside, what has to be most irritating about the Heat's most recent loss is the fact that there were some real signs of life for the team. Their defense looked better, the half-court offense had a bit more flow, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was more of the playmaker that the team needs him to be.
But, again, the Heat's miscues were too much to overcome. Miami was slightly better from the 3-point line (13-for-41, 31%), but went 14-for-25 from the free-throw line. That clearly ended up costing Miami in a big way.
The Heat were also outrebounded by eight and finished with 14 turnovers. Individually, the combination of Bam, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Klay Thompson shot a combined 6-for-23 from the field overall and 3-for-16 from the 3-point line.
Add in Andrew Wiggins' 0-for-5 from 3, and your four best outside shooting threats just went 3-for-21. The Heat just aren't going to win many games when that is a consistent occurrence. And through the first four games of the season, that's exactly the case.
Giannis can be the most dominant force in the game, but the Heat just don't have enough contributors around him right now. Starting with Bam.
The captain. The heart of Heat culture. He's been an absolute no-show to start the season. He's let down the Heat and, most importantly, Giannis. Through four games, Bam is averaging 13 points and seven rebounds on 23 percent shooting from the 3-point line. He's also been nightmarishly bad on the defensive end as well.
If that's the Bam the Heat is going to get over the course of this season, it may be time to pack it in. Yes, just four games into the season.
Bam needs to figure it out. After another disaster class, the vibes in Miami couldn't be any worse.
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