Is Bam Adebayo The Finals MVP For The Miami Heat So Far?
All postseason, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo heard about how he wasn’t being aggressive or producing offensively.
Now, he is hearing Finals MVP conversations around his name.
Through the first two games against the Denver Nuggets, Adebayo is averaging 23.5 points on 54 percent shooting with 11 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He was solid defensively against Nikola Jokic down the stretch of Game 2 as the only player to hold him under 50 percent shooting. He contributed to the collective effort of holding Jokic to a postseason-low four assists all night, disallowing him to operate as a facilitator.
Adebayo has been Miami’s best player since the Finals started. The narrative of Jimmy Butler carrying this team is losing steam. Adebayo said he is taking advantage of this moment in his second journey to a championship.
“This is the Finals, this is what we live for,” Adebayo said. “This is the opportunity that we have. This is the opportunity that we don't want to let slip away. So the biggest thing for me, I go out there, I play with a will, I play with passion and I try to leave it all on the court.”
Of course, we’ll have to see how the rest of the series goes before officially crowning him. But it’s nice to hear some positivity around Adebayo instead of impulsive requests to trade him.
I wonder if Nuggets coach Michael Malone is still “living with” him performing at a high level offensively.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
