Heat's Bam Adebayo Always Up For Competing Against The League's Best Centers

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo will face the Portland Trail Blazers' Hassan Whiteside and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz during the five-game road trip

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has never needed motivation to play his best each time he steps on the court.

It just happens easier when he faces one of the top centers in the NBA.

Adebayo has made it a point to make a statement when playing against the league's best. That was the case when he matched against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the Heat's 137-106 victory Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Embiid finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Adebayo nearly recorded his fourth triple-double of the season, registering 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

"I take those challenges personally," Adebayo said. "It doesn't matter who it is in front of me. My job is to get stops, contain the player and do all the little things to agitate somebody. It's kind of like Patrick Beverley or a Marcus Smart, just at 6-10."

Adebayo will get an opportunity to face two more of the league's top centers during the Heat's five-game, West Coast trip that starts Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. After playing the Sacramento Kings Friday, the get Hassan Whiteside and the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday. The trips ends Feb. 12 against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

In just his third season, Adebayo will play in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time later this month. While he has improved as a scorer because of more opportunities, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the biggest leap has been creating scoring for others. He has seven games with at least eight assists this season. His 4.9 assists a game rank second among centers in the league.

"Well, one, you have to have the unselfishness to be able to want to set up your teammates all the time like that," Spoelstra said. "Then his development of his skill level has improved so dramatically that he can get to different spots. He has a variety of different ways to help his teammates get open shots ... That certainly adds to our offense. Everybody is live when he has the ball."