Inside The Heat

Miami Media Personalities Suggest Bam Adebayo Has Reached Ceiling

Shandel Richardson|
Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks to shoot in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks to shoot in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo heard criticism from the fans after Wednesday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2.

On Thursday, Adebayo heard it from the media. Local media personalities Dan Le Batard and Jonathan Zaslow took Adebayo to task over his inconsistent play.

"Bam taking threes on the perimeter," Le Batard said on his show. "And they're also down 17 at the half because they're getting nothing at the rim. Nothing is happening at the rim and Cleveland is saying, `Go ahead Bam, we'll let Davion Mitchell and Tyler Herro try to take their chances. We're not going to going to let you beat us.' And Bam's like, `Ok, I won't be the one who beats you."'

Adebayo finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. It wasn't enough to prevent a 2-0 deficit in the series. Things return to Miami for Game 3, but more is needed from Adebayo. Zaslow, who also appeared on the Le Batard Show, said maybe it's time to accept Adebayo isn't a primary scorer.

"We can't do this every single year," Zaslow said. "We know who he is by now and that means he can't be your No. 2 scoring option ... He's a No. 3 scorer who could do other things as good as anybody in the league and that's going to be this Heat team's shortcoming this postseason."

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here