Bam Adebayo might end up being the swing piece in the Heat’s first season with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The questions around Miami’s guard rotation are real, but the bigger issue may be simpler and more important: can the floor stay open enough for Giannis to do his damage inside? If that answer is going to be yes, Bam’s jumper could be the thing that makes it possible.
That puts a lot on Adebayo’s shoulders. His job isn’t just to score or defend or anchor the middle - it’s to become reliable enough from 3-point range that defenses have to respect him. Without that, the spacing gets cramped fast, and Giannis’ paint game becomes harder to unlock from day one.
The concern is fair, and NBA analyst Jason Timpf said as much.
“Bam has a interesting recent track record as a shooter. He’s taking [a lot] of them, he’s not making them.
It’s either going to be hard work pays off and he starts making shots, or it’s going to continue to be incremental... He’s just not good as a touch player.
I’m skeptical Bam will develop into the type of shooter that Giannis needs”
That skepticism makes sense, especially when you look at what happened last season. A bigger 3-point role did not lead to better results. Adebayo shot 31.7 percent from deep, down from 35.7 percent over the previous two seasons, even while putting up nearly six attempts per game.
That’s the number Miami has to fix if this thing is going to work the way the Heat want it to. Giannis has already shown how effective he can be with a big man who can stretch the floor, and Brook Lopez was hitting better than 35 percent from 3 when Giannis was at his peak in Milwaukee.
So the question for Miami isn’t just whether Bam can shoot. It’s whether he can shoot well enough to matter in this setup.
If he can get back on track from deep, the Heat’s offense has a much cleaner path with Giannis. If he can’t, that becomes a major problem right away.
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