Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo hasn’t been his best self this season. Through 34 games, he’s averaged 17.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Adebayo shot 30.1% from deep through 23 games from Nov. 19 to Jan. 11. Over the past three games, however, the big man has overcome his shooting slump, leading to a 2-1 record for the Heat during that stretch.
Since finding his offensive rhythm, Adebayo has averaged 27.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 50.0% shooting. His stroke from long-range has also improved lately, knocking down 56.5% of his attempts. After the Heat’s 122-120 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, the three-time All-Star credited former NBA star Caron Butler as the person responsible for helping him get over the slump.
Butler, an assistant coach for the Heat, guided Bam Adebayo during his offensive struggles. The star big man credited the former two-time All-Star’s influence.
“Having somebody on your staff you can talk to,” Adebayo said. ”Caron Butler is like my big brother. He’s always in my ear. He’s the one person I can talk to about what I’m going through… Being able to have somebody like that in your corner, they care. You need that when you’re going through the worst of the worst.”
During the recent three-game stretch, Adebayo’s hard work paid off as he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Bam Adebayo has blocked the outside noise about his offensive struggles
The Heat has a new version of Bam Adebayo over the past three games. Before that, his lackluster offensive performance drew harsh criticism. But the Heat star revealed that he’s not listening to outside noise regarding his slump.
“I don’t care about what anybody says about me offensively,” Adebayo said. “They’re going to move the goalposts for me every night. If I don’t shoot enough, I’m not being aggressive. Shoot too much, it’s the wrong shot diet.”
Since then, the Heat star has been a different player on offense.
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