Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Heat's Bam Adebayo Proving Doubters Wrong

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo received a lot of backlash for his inability to perform as the No. 2 player to Jimmy Butler in last year's playoffs.

Even going into this season, Adebayo received some criticism. ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins called him out on an NBA Today segment.

“I’m trying to figure out where Bam stands,” Perkins said. “Right now he’s averaging 17 points and eight rebounds. If the Heat are trying to win a championship, he’s gonna need to elevate his game even more. I’m talking about 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks a night. Right now I don’t know if he’s capable of being that guy.”

Adebayo has been on a tear this season, proving critics wrong. He is averaging 20.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. Adebayo had at least 30 points in three of his last six games.

He’s been the leader the Heat need while Butler is out with injury.

His football counterpart, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, is also shining among doubters. Tagovailoa was subject to criticism during his first two years in the NFL. Now, Tagovailoa is the topic of conversation when it comes to the best quarterbacks in the league.

The debate about Tua being good or not is over. Tua is GREAT. His timing, anticipation and ball placement have been second to none this year. The Dolphins are 8-0 when Tua starts and finishes the game. They are 0-3 when he doesn’t. That’s why he is in the MVP Top 2.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 27, 2022

He’s thrown for 2,564 yards and 19 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

Some said his career was in jeopardy after suffering a serious injury vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. Since then, he’s been undefeated and has thrown for 1,529 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.