Layup Lines: The Miami Heat don’t stand a chance without Bam Adebayo

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What’s good, family. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into tonight’s playoff action. But first, a quick word on Bam Adebayo.

Two seasons ago in the NBA Bubble, it was Bam Adebayo who put away the Boston Celtics. There was no one on that roster that could guard him.

Daniel Theis was too slow. Everyone else was too small. He got to the rim at will. I haven’t even mentioned the terror that he was on the defensive end — something that probably still haunts Jayson Tatum’s nightmares to this day.

That’s the Bam Adebayo Heat fans remember. That’s the Bam that looked like he could be the best player on the Miami Heat in a year or two.

But that Bam has yet to show up in this year’s postseason — especially not against today’s version of the Boston Celtics. Miami Heat fans are two seconds away from photoshopping his face on a virtual milk carton.

Through two games, Adebayo has just 10 shots and he’s only scored 16 points. He’s got four blocks, but he got them all in Game 1. He hasn’t attacked at all. He’s only setting screens, catching the ball, and looking for the next dribble handoff.

It’s not just this series, either. Adebayo has taken a step back throughout this postseason. The most alarming stat? His field goal attempts per game. It’s a basic stat, sure. But it also helps us track aggression. It can tell us just how involved a player is in the offense.

Adebayo’s shot attempts have fallen from 13 per game in the regular season to just 8.2 per game in the postseason. As the team’s second-best player and an offensive fulcrum, that’s unacceptable.

Now, all of that might not be on Bam. Per NBA.com’s stats tool, his touches per game have also dropped to 54.2 in the playoffs from 65 per game in the regular season. The Heat need to find more creative ways to get him the ball and he needs to attack with it.

In Game 3, they’ll need to figure this out. Because what’s happening now? It simply ain’t going to cut it here. Not if the Heat want to make it back to the NBA Finals.

The Tip-Off

Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.

As a Wizards fan, I’m finding myself diving deeply into NBA draft content. Luckily, I work with draft guru Bryan Kalbrosky who has kept me in the loop with all the buzz surrounding every prospect in the draft.

One that Bryan hipped me to early was Jalen Williams, who measured in at 6’5 with a 7’2 wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine. Sounds intriguing, right? Yet, somehow, this kid was viewed as a 2nd round pick coming into this week. I can assure you that won’t be the case after the combine, though.

Kalbrosky wrote about players who raised their stock at the combine. Williams was among them. Why? Because of this, Kalbrosky wrote.

“Williams is just 6’4.5″ without shoes, but his max vertical reach of 12’0.5″ is ahead of vertical athletes like Aaron Gordon and John Collins as well as rim protectors like Rudy Gobert. (Yes, you read that right. This man can actually get higher than Gordon, Collins, and Gobert.)”

Man, what? Wizards, please. Y’all know what to do, man.

One to Watch

(All odds via Tipico.)

Warriors (-6.5, -280) vs. Mavericks (+220), O/U 213.5, 9 PM ET

The Warriors looked absolutely dominant in Game 1. They did one of the best jobs we’ve seen all season in defending Luka Doncic — he was held to just 20 points on 18 shots. But Luka is a great player. And great players aren’t normally held down like that two games in a row. I think the Warriors win a close game 2, but I’m taking the over.

Who’s in and out?

Shootaround