Miami Heat Teammates Rush to Bam Adebayo's Defense After Game 5 Loss
There was no way the Miami Heat were going to let center Bam Adebayo take the blame for Friday's loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Adebayo shouldered most of the load after producing 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
"I think he knows he can't get stuck on his game now," forward Jimmy Butler said. "We learn from it, it's something from the past. We're going to need him to be who he is on Sunday. We need everybody to be that way."
It was the second time this series Butler has defended Adebayo when he took blame. After the Game 3 loss, Butler said the rest of the team needed to back Adebayo better on defense.
Still, Adebayo has a tendency to pin losses on himself.
He took blame on three different occasions during Friday's post-game press conference.
"I'll put that game on me," Adebayo said. "It's not my teammates' fault, it's not my coaches' fault. I missed too many shots I should've made. I'll put that on me."
A few questions later, Adebayo again accepted blame.
"I don't think I was communicating fast enough. I felt like I was a step behind."
Butler defended his fellow All-Star teammate by saying everyone was to blame.
"We'll be back. We've got to go over some things," Butler said. "We weren't on the same page a lot of the times. We just got to talk when we're out on the floor. That's what it all comes down to. We'll be ready to go on Sunday."
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