How Bam Adebayo Can Be Unleashed in a Different Dimension

The ball grazes off the rim and into the big man’s hands. From an early age, the center is taught to come down and immediately search for his point guard to flow into transition or set-up the team in the half-court.

Yet when you evolve into a 6’9 big with guard skills, like Bam Adebayo, it becomes time to shift the narrative a bit.

We often discuss the things on the surface for Bam, who is heading into his sixth season. The spots on the floor to operate in the half-court, a potential growth in post-up play, possible expansion to the three-point line, or the famous one, the individual aggression jolt.

But as Bam Adebayo was playing in the Miami Pro League last night with guys like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, one specific play got me thinking about something that I harped on a ton during the regular season last year.

Just take a look:

Strips the ball, bolts into transition, and eventually soars up for the dunk down the middle of the lane.

It’s always a conversation to find Bam in spots to be a successful scorer for himself, but could a minor part of that just be over-utilizing himself after he gets the board? Or better yet, when somebody else gets the board and he leaks out?

A common phrase I’ve used throughout the season was that he’s much faster than any opposing 5 matched up with him. They simply just can’t keep up with him, and more importantly, that mental edge does wonders for Bam in the midst of things.

The reason I say that is because Bam Adebayo is a rhythm player. We often think of deep range shooters like Max Strus or Duncan Robinson as rhythm players once they see one drop, but Bam is by far the biggest link to that on the team.

Once he gets going early in games, he’s hard to stop. Just go back and re-watch game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals from a few months ago, where he led Miami to a win in Boston because of that early searching.

Plus, that led to his aggression on the break…

Wait a second, that looks pretty similar to the clip I showed from the Miami Pro League.

It’s not a coincidence though. It’s just his offensive formula.

We actually saw a bit of a transition surge from him in the regular season, since he scored 1.20 points per possession on 15.9% frequency.

For some context, the season before he scored 1.14 PPP on 11.8% frequency. That jump in volume should be credited to Kyle Lowry in many ways, since he was the igniter to get Bam moving in those spots, just as he would race to the baseline for a quick inbound every single play.

The Miami Heat as a team were bottom 10 in fast-break frequency, but I truly believe it’s more important for the team to have a highly efficient Bam in transition than the team as a whole.

Now when focusing in on the skill element of this, it’s pretty clear that an improved handle heading into this year would be very helpful for this type of thing.

We know he can move faster than others, and finish at a decently high level when barreling down the floor, but the worry would be that it could translate into a turnover problem. If that’s not the case and he could keep the ball on a string, they really have something.

When looking at some of the clips above, there’s no doubt he’s most comfortable when getting to that right hand. He’s pretty athletic around the rim, which may get lost in the mix when discussing Bam, meaning he has a variety of takeoff spots inside the lane on the move.

Looking at the Toronto Raptors last season, this exact process was picked up by Nick Nurse. The roster was full of athletic bigs who could put the ball on the deck, which led to them developing a bit of a grab and go system for anybody on the floor.

That’ll never be Miami’s offensive system, even if Lowry checks into that at times on the fly, but I believe it could be Bam’s system in a way. The entire goal for him as a player is to find angles to allow him to play freely. They’ve found openings as a roller at times, but the hand-off and post-ups sometimes led to a tensed up version of himself.

Playing in the open floor, though, is the way to get him loose as a scorer.

To add on, it doesn’t have to be narrowed down to baseline to baseline stuff. Looking at the clip above, possessions like this could be even better, right as the ball crosses half-court.

Even if he doesn’t fully become that above the break shooter, he can still be used above the break in motion. It’s all about finding ways to get him downhill, and the natural pressure of an unsettled defense may be the way to go.

Twenty seconds on the shot clock, Lowry swings it to Bam who finds himself on the right wing. Montrezl Harrell doesn’t have time to place himself into that deep drop, leading into a blow-by for Bam for the easy lay-in.

With Miami possibly entering the season with an all-in bet on internal development for the time being, Bam Adebayo will be the guy to watch. If he can elevate high enough, it’ll make all the difference.

Finding ways to turn him up a notch, and this could potentially be the kick-start to that.

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