The Miami Heat are no strangers to the eighth seed - it’s been their home for the past three seasons. But if you ask Bam Adebayo, that’s not where this team belongs. And after a gritty 116-113 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, the Heat showed flashes of the defensive identity that could finally lift them out of that play-in purgatory.
Yes, Miami was short-handed, missing both Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell. But what they lacked in bodies, they made up for in defensive tenacity - something Adebayo believes is the key to breaking through the ceiling that’s kept them in the middle of the Eastern Conference pack.
Bam says once they figure out the defensive issues they won’t be in the play-in👀
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) January 30, 2026
“We know what we’re capable of defensively, it’s just a matter of we gotta keep doing it on a night to night basis and once we figure that out and we commit to that — we won’t be in the 7/8th… https://t.co/xjKCEQnTS1 pic.twitter.com/dh7utUSIyD
“We know what we're capable of defensively,” Adebayo said postgame. “We got to keep doing it on a night-to-night basis. And once we figure that out, and we commit to that, we won't be in the seven or eight spot.”
Hard to argue with that. The Heat currently sit eighth in the NBA in defensive rating - a respectable mark that speaks to their ability to disrupt.
But if you’ve watched them closely in January, you’ve seen the inconsistency. Games have slipped away due to lapses on the defensive end, and it’s not just about the starters - the second unit has to bring it, too.
That’s where Dru Smith has stepped up. He’s not the flashiest name on the roster, but his impact on defense has been hard to miss. In Thursday’s win, he racked up three steals and was a constant presence in the passing lanes - exactly the kind of energy Miami needs from its bench.
“I think that's what we have to bring every night,” Smith said. “And that’s kind of what Spo was talking to us about after last game.
If we bring that defense, our offense has been playing really well. So if we can do that, then we'll start putting games together.”
That’s been the formula for Erik Spoelstra’s squads for years: defense first, trust the offense to follow. And Spoelstra saw the signs of that identity returning against Chicago.
“You could see the activity, the intent defensively,” he said. “And we have great respect for Chicago, how quickly they can put points on the board… heck of a win.”
This wasn’t just a one-off matchup either. Thanks to a rescheduled game earlier in the month, Miami and Chicago will face off two more times over the weekend in a rare back-to-back set. It’s a chance for the Heat to make a statement - not just in the standings, where they sit at 26-23 and still clinging to that eighth seed - but in how they want to be defined moving forward.
There’s plenty of noise swirling around the Heat right now, including trade rumors involving a certain MVP-caliber forward from Milwaukee. But inside the locker room, the focus is clear: defend, compete, and climb.
If they can lock in on that end of the floor - and do it consistently - Miami might finally find itself on the other side of the play-in line.