Matchup Of The Night: Bam Adebayo And Karl-Anthony Towns

Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves big men Bam Adebayo and Karl-Anthony Towns are facing off on Monday

Bam Adebayo is returning to the Miami Heat's lineup at the perfect time.

The Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves play on Monday evening, which could have been an embarrassing display if Adebayo was sidelined. The Wolves have an elite front court with Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid.

In their first matchup in late October, Adebayo shut down Towns. He finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 5 of 12 shooting. Rather, it was Reid who shined in their double-digit win, finishing the night with 25 points on 71.4 percent shooting.

However, Towns is picking up steam heading into their second face-off of the year. He recorded 40 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Indiana Pacers late last week.

It could be a long night for Adebayo this time around because he is coming off a hip injury. The good news for Miami is that guard Tyler Herro is also available for the showcase.

Adebayo and Towns hold near opposite playstyles. The Heat's star roots his game on the defensive side of the ball while providing efficient scoring on the inside. On the other hand, Towns acts as a seven-foot sharpshooter who tends to struggle shutting down opponents of similar size.

This matchup should provide further insight into the debate around the top centers in the league. Towns and Adebayo are often discussed in the tier below Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat.

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