Inside Heat blows hot and cold…

His good resolution for 2026? ” My priority is to be kind to myself because I tend to be very hard on myself when I’m going through bad times. Sometimes it’s part of the game », retorted Bam Adebayo during the transition to the new year.

We don’t know his level of complacency today, but one thing is certain: the bad times are very real. Through ten games, the Heat’s interior, recently hampered by his back, has averaged a paltry 12.3 points on 38% shooting, including 28% from distance…

Enough to reduce his overall average for the season to just 16.9 units, his lowest average since 2019/20. With his worst percentage in his career (45.1%). His match the night spent against the Wolves nothing helped: just 7 points on 3/11 shooting, with 11 rebounds.

After the meetinga reporter asks him to what extent Rudy Gobert could embarrass him. “ Offensively, I was already struggling long before that, so I don’t think he had anything to do with it “, rejects Bam Adebayo, doc some sequences clearly say the opposite.

« But I feel we really have to focus on finishing. We’ve reached this weird point in the season where nothing seems to be happening, either from 3-point range or in the paint. So we just have to fight it out », targets the interior, whose team scored only 38 points in the racket of the Wolves.

Huge progress, but not linear

« At one point we were 16 of 48 in the paint or something. I’m no math expert, but 16 out of 48… I don’t think that’s a good percentage “, formulated Erik Spoelstra, when asked about Bam Adebayo’s racket, Kel’el Warewho produced almost the same statistical copy (7 points on 3/10 and 11 rebounds).

In mid-December, for example, he had a streak of three huge games averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds. Then, during the next meeting, he settled for 5 points on 2/8 shooting. The “scoring” with him is therefore sometimes very random.

The journalist asks him what is crucial for the pivot, who has been a starter for ten games after alternating between the bench and the five, to find regularity. ” Let me know (when you find it)! “, the coach jokes, before adding more seriously: “ We’re working on it, and he’s had more good times than bad. »

According to the coach, the main explanation for his poor performance tonight is the Gobert factor. “ Kel’el was faced with an opponent who imposed a physical challenge and aggression on him, but Kel’el knows how to bounce back. Such experiences are useful to him. His progression is huge, but not linear (waves his hand up and down). But he’s definitely better than he was last year at this time. »

Erik Spoelstra, who also has to deal with the rising performances of Nikola Jovic, the most erratic of Florida’s interior three, seems to have to settle for that.