Bam Adebayo poured in a career-high 83 points in Miami’s 150-129 win over Washington on Tuesday.
After three consecutive years in which they had to fight through the SoFi Play-In Tournament to earn a postseason berth, the Miami Heat are playing some of their best basketball of the season as they look to put that streak to rest.
Miami is currently riding a six-game winning streak that includes impressive victories over Houston, Charlotte and the East-leading Detroit Pistons. They’re 8-2 since returning from the All-Star break, fueled by Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and a deep, gritty bench featuring Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Jr. and Dru Smith.
Let’s break down five reasons for Miami’s recent climb up the standings:
1. Captain Bam
On Tuesday, Adebayo delivered the second highest single-game scoring total in NBA history with an 83-point outburst vs. Washington — breaking Kobe Bryant’s 81-point record set in 2006. Two days prior, he became just the second player in Heat franchise history to score 10,000 career points, joining Hall of Famer and Miami legend Dwyane Wade.
The 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft is averaging 20.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks across 58 appearances. He’s posting career-highs in field goal attempts (15.6), 3-pointers made (1.7) and attempted (5.3), and plus-minus (5.8) while playing 31.7 minutes a night, his lowest since his second season. His 101 made three-pointers surpassed his long-range output from the previous two seasons combined.
In his last 10 outings, the Newark, New Jersey native has leveled up at both ends of the court. Adebayo has averaged 27.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg and 0.7 bpg in 33.1 mpg while posting four double-doubles and a +14.5 plus-minus rating. He’s scored 20+ in seven consecutive contests. He ranks inside the top five in individual offensive rating (124.5, 2nd) and net rating (19.4, 3rd) among 41 qualified players with 10 games and at least 30.0 mpg during this stretch.
2. A hero returns
Before the All-Star break in mid-February, Tyler Herro suited up for just 11 of Miami’s 56 games as he battled multiple injuries. The 2021-22 Sixth Man of the Year has appeared in all but one of their 10 games following the festivities in Los Angeles, and like Bam has been absolutely cooking. During that 10-game span, Herro is posting sizzling shooting splits of 50.3 / 45.0 / 93.5, while chipping in 4.3 rpg and 4.9 apg in 29.3 mpg. Across four outings in March, those numbers jumped to 26.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 4.8 apg on 53.7 / 51.7 / 94.7 with a +12.8 plus-minus in 31.6 mpg. Herro’s presence has helped immensely in the absence of Norman Powell, Miami’s leading scorer this season at 22.5 ppg, who’s been out since Feb. 26 due to a groin injury.
3. Fast-paced, high-scoring offense
After finishing 24th in the league in scoring last season (110.6 ppg), Miami’s revamped offense ranks first at 120.6 ppg. A major factor in their drastic improvement is the speed at which they play. The Heat are first in pace (104.71), total possessions (6,808) and miles traveled per game (18.60), fourth in points off turnovers (20.2) and third in fast-break points (18.0). They’re first in drives (60.8) and third in drive scoring (32.9 ppg), while still being smart and efficient by finding the open man and not committing too many mistakes, as they rank seventh in assists (28.7), fourth in turnover percentage (13.3) and ninth in turnovers per game (14.0).
Over their last 10 games, those figures look even better. Miami is first in scoring (126.2 ppg), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24) and offensive rating (121.6), third in net rating (11.8), fourth in field goal percentage (48.7), seventh in 3-point percentage (36.8), fourth in assists (29.6) and second in plus-minus (+12.1).
4. Defensive versatility
Last season, Miami finished ninth in defensive rating (112.0) and 21st in rebounding (43.4 rpg). However, this season they’re fourth in defensive rating (111.4) and second in total rebounding (47.2) as guys like Adebayo, Ware, Smith, Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins have been paramount in their turnaround. Since Feb. 11, Bam and Ware have formed a dominant front-court duo. In eight games across 95 minutes, that two-person lineup has an offensive rating of 127.7, a defensive rating of 92.1 and a net rating of 35.6. When looking at their three-person lineups, Adebayo, Smith and Ware have produced a 115.6 OFFRTG, 88.7 DEFRTG, and 27.0 NETRTG, and when you replace Jaquez, Jr. with Smith, they have an OFFRTG of 127.8, a DEFRTG of 98.0 and a NETRTG of 29.9.
5. Talented, deep roster
The Heat have proven time and time again that they are one of the best teams in the NBA at finding and developing talent, and this season has been no different. They have seven players averaging more than 10.0 ppg, and their second unit currently ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 43.4 ppg and third in assists at 11.6 apg. Pelle Larsson and Jaquez Jr. have been key contributors off the bench for Erik Spoelstra, with Jaquez Jr. being one of the leading candidates for Kia Sixth Man of the Year. Across 60 appearances, he’s averaging career-highs with 15.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.7 apg while shooting 50.3% from the field (also career-best).
