MIAMI – With the Miami Heat’s recent skid of losing the last four games, stretching to five of the last six contests, the team is looking to get back to the early success it had. Though the Heat were disappointed with being eliminated in the NBA Cup quarterfinals by the Orlando Magic last Tuesday, on the bright side, it does give the team a much-needed break, as discussed by team captain Bam Adebayo.
Speaking to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview after Friday’s practice, Adebayo spoke about a bevy of topics, from speaking about the “bad narrative” surrounding Tyler Herro to the in-season break that Miami is currently in. After losing to Orlando on Tuesday, the team got two days off before Friday’s practice, as Adebayo called it a “reset” for everybody.
“I mean, everybody gets to reset. Everybody gets to, you know, it’s not a game every other day. We get to reset. We’re at home. We get to figure out how we can bounce back from this four-game skid,” Adebayo said.
Adebayo is in the midst of another impactful season for the team, being an anchor on each side of the ball, currently averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 34 percent from deep. With the team’s recent slump, Miami is working on countering other teams’ adjustments to their fast-paced offense, as they’ve slowed down as of late.
“That’s the thing, getting back to our strengths, coaches watching film and telling them what our strengths are, and then obviously, getting in here, working on your weaknesses, getting to get up and down a little bit, compete, like I said, getting out of this four-game skid,” Adebayo said to ClutchPoints.
Bam Adebayo on the reason the Heat are slumping
After the Heat lost to the Magic in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, the game was a microcosm of the problems the team is currently dealing with, as with players in and out of the lineup, they are still looking to build chemistry. Which is why Herro’s name keeps getting brought up, as in the six games he’s played in after missing the first 17 games of the season due to offseason ankle surgery, Miami was 6-6.
Before Herro’s return, the Heat were 11-6, being one of the league’s leading teams in total points scored per game while boasting the NBA’s fastest-paced team, but since his return, Miami has slowed down. However, the problems go far beyond Herro, as in the current four-game skid, he played in two of them, and arguably the worst loss against the Sacramento Kings last Saturday, he was absent for that contest.
Adebayo spoke about the narrative around Herro, crediting the slump more to having players in and out of the lineup, as Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and others had missed time recently. Plus, with the natural adjustments being made from opposing teams, the Heat were always going to be in the position of adapting to other teams’ counterattacks.
“I mean, my thing is, like, we had guys in and out of the lineup, and we were still trying to figure it out regardless,” Adebayo said. “So it’s like, why is him coming back making a difference of, you know, starting that type of narrative?”
Erik Spoelstra on the goals of the Heat in the midst of a slump
As the Heat look to overcome their middling play, the team will utilize the in-season break and the practice time on Friday and Saturday to turn a corner for Monday’s game. While Miami still leads the NBA in pace (105.30 possessions per 48 minutes), the last four games have seen them slowed down to 101. possessions per 48 minutes, using the practice days to get back to their strengths.
“Well, we want to take advantage of any kind of practice time we can get,” Heat head coach Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “I mean, obviously, we would rather be playing right now, but you find the next thing that will move your team forward, and that’s the rest that we had the last two days. And take advantage of this time together on the practice court.”
“Get into our strengths offensively, getting to it more consistently,” Spoelstra continued. “But as you can imagine, we also are drilling our defense and making sure that that’s consistent with our best version, regardless of what’s happening offensively, they’re making shots or not.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about the in-season break they have ahead of Monday’s game, and how beneficial that is for the Heat, currently on a four-game skid.
“We want to take advantage of any kind of practice time we can get. Obviously, we would rather be playing now…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/t67ySsRc5S
https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1999534287616344556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1999534287616344556%7Ctwgr%5E3147b4d54d6b0f11727cd9cb936ef9edb9032694%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fexclusive-bam-adebayo-highlights-heat-reset-amidst-losing-streak
Asked Erik Spoelstra about what was focused in today’s practice with the Heat in the midst of a four-game skid.
“Get into our strengths offensively, getting to it more consistently. But as you can imagine, we are also drilling our defense….” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/aJWWfed5Ya
https://twitter.com/ZachWeinberger/status/1999534942607270223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1999534942607270223%7Ctwgr%5E3147b4d54d6b0f11727cd9cb936ef9edb9032694%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fexclusive-bam-adebayo-highlights-heat-reset-amidst-losing-streak
The team is hoping Monday against the Raptors sees them turn a new chapter in the season, with Miami getting back to its winning ways.
“We got to reset, get back on the winning side on Monday,” Adebayo said. “We always say we wanted to make it hard for teams to come in here and get a win on our court. So start another streak at home.”
At any rate, the Heat are 14-11, putting them eighth in the Eastern Conference ahead of Monday’s contest against Toronto.
