Bam Adebayo was nearly invisible in Miami’s Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Now one of his teammates is trying to light a fire under him.
Heat guard Goran Dragic told reporters this weekend that Adebayo needs to assert himself more in their first-round playoff series.
“I feel like he needs to be more aggressive,” said Dragic, per Brendan Tobin of 790 The Ticket in Miami. “I’m not saying to take that midrange shot. He’s got that ability to put that ball on the floor and be more physical and try to challenge them at the rim. I know [Bucks center Brook] Lopez is big, but … [Bam] can score many ways against him.”
The All-Star big man Adebayo played 41 minutes in the overtime loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. But he finished with just nine points on 4-for-15 shooting. Against the seven-footer Lopez, Adebayo was indeed resorting to taking awkward floaters instead of driving it hard to the basket.
Of course, Adebayo was not the only reason that the Heat lost. Jimmy Butler (4-for-22) and Tyler Herro (2-for-10) shot even worse from the field. But Adebayo’s confidence was crucial to Miami’s Finals run last season. The Heat will need that same level of production from the 23-year-old if they want to make noise again this year.
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