Bam Adebayo, an uncontrollable force

The Miami Heat, of the Holy Trinity (Pat Riley-Erik Spoelstra-Jimmy Butler), of this combat unit, are a genre in itself, which in addition to shining on its own, is capable of questioning today's NBA structure.

After a mediocre regular season, being the fifth worst offense in the competition (112.3), fourth worst team from the perimeter (34.4%) and a Net. Rating of -0.5 (a worse rating than some teams that have fallen out of the Playoffs), Miami has starred in the biggest counterpoint of all because the team is different, all of a sudden.

One of the keys to the remarkable improvement is Bam Adebayo.

"The power forwards are disappearing in the NBA," said some enlightened people, but the reality is that we've had two series where the interior players are the mainstays of the play of two of the four teams.

With Nikola Jokic and Bam Adebayo serving as point guards, we are already in the new era of the modern center, and the case of the Heat center is very interesting.

Adebayo interprets the game and its spaces in a different way, growing from order and structure rather than through interpretation on a blank canvas.

He is the perfect example that the important thing to be one of the axis of an attack is not so much the skills from the boat or have an inexhaustible variety when executing a pass, but rather to understand what surrounds you, understand the opposing defense, their movements and the possible paths that they can take, and all in a matter of tenths of a second.

He makes a decision and carries it out believing that it is truly the right one so as not to slow down at any time the offensive fluidity of the group.

The elite is defined by the small details, those that make the difference when everything evens out.

A gesture, connecting after simply crossing the eyes, with Adebayo all this matters and composes one of the most interesting profiles of the entire competition, to which you can add a defensive talent beyond any doubt.

Duncan Robinson, the main beneficiary... but not the only one.

Putting the spotlight on an offensive possession on Adebayo requires looking at the angles of his screens, when and how he acts when he steps in on a two-by-two as well as how he manages his body to cover as much space as possible (sometimes fouled).

And then there is the question of the pass, those actions that go beyond the assist and are the basis of Erik Spoelstra's game system.

All the balls pass through his hands and he is one of the most creative and decisive inside players with the ball.

In fact, for every time Adebayo touches the ball he makes 0.75 passes, i.e. most of his offensive time is spent sharing the ball.

An example of the synergy between Bam and Duncan

After falling out of the rotation entirely in 2022, Duncan Robinson has reappeared just when he was needed in these Playoffs.

Put him in a zone defense and Adebayo next to him on offense and he's unstoppable as he's shooting 44.7% on three-pointers in the postseason.

The connection between him and Bam is one of the best in the NBA right now.

How they manage to connect through handoffs and hand-offs is underrated (5.3 handoff assists for 12.8 points).

Likewise, it doesn't count as an assist, but Adebayo's reading of the live defense to allow his teammates to shoot (even) more free throws is key on offense.

A challenge for Boston

Bam Adebayo is already an almost unique profile in and of itself, much like his evolution from Kentucky.

And with his passing and scoring, from Spoelstra's slate, he's doing a lot of damage to the Celtics.

Finer shooting in Game 1 at TD Garden (20 points, 9-13 on TC), more rebounding control and accuracy from his teammates to increase assists.

The second game was different as he was less accurate facing the hoop (7-17 in TC), but just as important.

Erik Spoelstra is leaving Adebayo in the clear to boost the movement of others by having Bam away from the rim and Horford with him, Boston was without its rim protector.

We're seeing, on a recurring basis, how Bam receives in a side-clearing situation and of course, in these three games against Boston he has a 63.4% shooting rate from mid-range.

In the paint outside the restricted area he is at 43% in these games an elite figure and more aggressive.

In the second game he shot 17 times, something unusual for him, perhaps believing what he is capable of and the definitive explosion of a unique center.

In Playoffs: 18.1 points (51% in TC), 9.2 rebounds and four assists. Against the Boston Celtics, 18.3 points (63.3% in TC), 9.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Final against Jokic's Denver Nuggets

Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, in the absence of a miracle of biblical dimensions by Boston, will face each other in the NBA Finals, an unprecedented Finals.

One of the most interesting duels of all the Playoffs, which will be defined by what Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jokic do or are able to do for their respective teams to perform as they should.

Both giants are managing to return the center position to its original meaning, the one that "Dutch" Dehnert elevated to its maximum expression at the dawn of the profession and that thanks to the constant evolution of this sport, it is making it possible to cross barriers that were unimaginable in the 1920s.