Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) reacts on the court in the first half of their NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center on December 23, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
With losses in eight of its last night games, the Miami Heat has plenty of issues to figure out. Near the top of that list are the offensive struggles of Heat three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo.
Not only is Adebayo averaging his fewest points since his third NBA season at 18 points per game this season, but he’s also shooting a career-low 46.6 percent from the field in his ninth NBA season.
Those numbers have been trending in the wrong direction recently, too. He totaled just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting on threes and 1-of-3 shooting from the foul line in Tuesday night’s ugly 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center.
Over the last four games, Adebayo is averaging just 11.8 points per game on 18-of-48 (37.5 percent) shooting from the field.
“It sucks,” Adebayo, 28, said of his ongoing shooting slump. “But it’s part of the NBA, it’s a long season. So fighting through whatever I’ve got to fight through, figure out how I can impact winning and do that instead of focusing on shots not falling. Just play basketball and shots will eventually start falling.”
The problem for Adebayo and the Heat is he’s not impacting winning, as the Heat is just 2-8 in December and has dropped back to .500 at 15-15 this season after its strong 14-7 start.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) keeps an eye on the basket during the first half of their NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center in Miami on December 23, 2025. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra accepted some of the blame for Adebayo’s recent problems on the offensive end, noting that “we’re working on some of these things.”
“I have to be better for him,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat now in the middle of a two-day break before traveling to take on the Hawks in Atlanta on Friday. “But his heart is in the right place. He wants to help the team however he can. He’s a great competitor. This kind of stretch of the season weighs on him like it would weigh on a coach. He carries it. Right now, we can figure all that stuff out. We just have to figure out how to collectively come together and get a win, and then do it again, and then rinse and repeat.”
Adebayo admits it has been an adjustment to find his fit in the Heat’s new offense this season, which is built around a fast-paced, free-flowing, motion-based system that doesn’t involve as many screens or handoffs as other offensive schemes. After using 68.9 screens per 100 possessions (ninth most in the NBA) and 22.3 handoffs per 100 possessions (16th most in the NBA) last season, the Heat is using the fewest screens and handoffs in the league this season.
With Adebayo generating a large chunk of his points off rolls to the basket after setting a screen or delivering a handoff in past seasons, this new offensive scheme has left him without one of his go-to actions to generate quality shots for himself.
“Just trying to figure it out,” Adebayo said. “We’re playing at a faster pace. It’s more of a free-flowing offense where you get it, drive it. So yeah, just trying to figure out where I can get my open shots and shoot them with confidence.”
As a result, a career-low 22 percent of Adebayo’s shots this season have come at the rim, according to Cleaning the Glass. His previous career-low for percentage of shot attempts at the rim was 27 percent, which he set last season.
Adebayo is also averaging just one dunk per game this season after averaging 1.8 dunks per game last season and 2.1 dunks per game during the 2023-24 season.
“I’ve gotten into a rhythm at the elbow or the nails or pick-and-rolls, just short pocket passes,” Adebayo continued. “So yeah, we all got to sacrifice at some point. Everybody has to sacrifice. So we’re figuring it out and continuing to try to figure it out, more so worry about getting wins.”
Fewer rim attempts have meant more three-point attempts for Adebayo this season.
Adebayo is taking a career-high 28 percent of his shots from three-point range this season, which is a big jump from his previous career-high in this department of 17 percent that he set last season. The problem is Adebayo is shooting just 32 percent from behind the arc this season, which ranks 114th among the 127 NBA players who have averaged at least four three-point attempts per appearance and have played in at least 20 games.
“Our coach knows better than I do,” Adebayo said when asked if more screens could help him find an offensive rhythm. “So you might need to ask him more than asking me.”
But Heat guard Norman Powell wasn’t hesitant to vocalize the desire for more screens, as he believes more pick-and-rolls and handoffs would benefit Adebayo.
“I’ve been in his ear,” Powell said of Adebayo. “I’ve been very vocal with talking to him and trying to find his spots, pick his spots, get him in that little 17 to 15 foot range, where he can get to his middie, or get to his isos off the [dribble handoffs] and the mid pick-and-rolls. Having him play in that pocket. Hopefully, the more and the more we do that, the more he’ll be able to make those reads and get back to his game. But I definitely think we need that for him, just to get some touches, and feel his way into the offense.”
The goal is to help Adebayo generate easier shots than he has been so far this season. More shots at the rim would help.
“You got to figure out how you can adapt,” Adebayo said when asked if fewer screens and handoffs have led to his diminished shot quality this season. “That’s the biggest thing. Like I said, a lot of these things that y’all are asking me, you got to ask coach. We’re just out there trying to figure out how we can stack wins and do it in a collective effort.”
For those wondering if Adebayo is limited because of an injury, he hasn’t been on the Heat’s injury report and he hasn’t spoken about any lingering ailment.
The bottom line is the Heat needs more from Adebayo, who is the highest-paid player on the team this season with a $37.1 million salary. Adebayo is still providing quality defense, but his lack of offensive production is a problem that needs to be solved amid this rough patch in the Heat’s season.
“Shots not falling,” Adebayo said of his recent shooting slump. “That’s really what it is, and getting to my spots and figuring out how I can get a couple more touches throughout the flow of the offense.”