The Miami Heat may feel hard done by with how they were eliminated from the playoffs. They had to stop the Boston Celtics without Jimmy Butler appearing even once throughout the five-game series.
However, he understands better than anyone that there’s no use crying over spilt milk. The big man and one of the leaders in the Heat’s locker room decided to focus on what his team could do to better their playoff chances next season.
His message for the fans after his Heat lost to the Celtics is simple, but it’s enough to inspire hope on the fans.
Bam Adebayo claims the Miami Heat gained plenty despite their loss to the Boston Celtics
Adebayo was interviewed after the Celtics loss to get his thoughts on the series and what his major takeaways from the game are. He believes his team gained one valuable thing from the loss that will help them next season.
Per Kyle Hightower of Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazelle:
“We’ve gained a lot of mental toughness,” he said. “Going through that as a captain, it helped me understand that the ship’s going to get rocky sometimes.”
Adebayo had a decent series, leading the team with 22.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists a game. However, he was a non-factor on defense as he failed to swat a single shot throughout the five-game series.
NESN’s Greg Dudek asked specifics on what killed his team throughout the series. Adebayo shared that the Celtics did one thing well throughout the series, which was stifling Tyler Herro from scoring:
“They definitely got him out of his rhythm,” Bam Adebayo said following a lopsided 118-84 Game 5 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday night at TD Garden. “Sending him different coverages, pressing him full court. They just took him out of his rhythm.”
Herro did his best to fill Jimmy Butler’s shoes, and the 24-year-old had a decent account throughout the series. He finished with 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 0.4 steals. However, it was clear that he wasn’t enough to fill Butler’s scoring and clutch gene.
The Heat will surely try to run it back next season. Hopefully, they have a healthy Butler to count on next year.
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