The Miami Heat have had an up and down campaign this season, mainly because that team keeps missing multiple stars due to injuries or covid protocols.

One minute, the Heat are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and stringing win after win. The next, they’re one of the lower-seeded teams and are almost out of the playoff picture.

However, despite the inconsistency, the Miami Heat are still in the playoff picture, sitting as the seventh-seed with a 29-28 record, only two-wins behind from a fourth-seed Atlanta Hawks squad that has a 31-26 record under its belt.

A big reason behind the success of the Heat despite being short-handed multiple times is fourth-year big-man Bam Adebayo.

The 23-year-old Adebayo has been the guy for the Miami Heat this year since Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragić and other key players of the team have missed significant number of games.

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Over 57 games, Butler have missed a total of 16 games, while Dragić has missed 20. Kendrick Nunn has also missed 13 games this year and Tyler Herro’s been gone for 11.

Adebayo, on the other hand, has only missed a total of six games this year and he’s been putting up better numbers compared to his season averages last season when he was named an All-Star for the first-time in his career.

Here’s a comparison of his stats:

  • 2020-21 – 19.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 56.6% FG, 80.3% FT
  • 2019-20 – 15.9 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.3 BPG, 55.7% FG, 69.1% FT

The former Kentucky University standout has shown that he can be a go-to-guy and after being called soft by Butler in an interview recently…

Adebayo showed otherwise and dropped 21 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals as well as the game-winning jumper to beat the heavy favorite Brooklyn Nets, 109-107, in a nail-bitter game.

This win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Heat and with 15 games left in their regular season calendar, it could be the catalyst for a strong season-ending run where they need to enter the playoffs with great momentum – and potentially avoid the unpredictability of the play-in tournament.

What do you think about Bam? Do you think he can one day be a franchise player? Do you think the Miami Heat can make it to the Finals again? Sound off in the comment section!