Heading into the season with two legitimate big men on their roster — plus undrafted free-agent Vladimir Goldin, on a two-way contract — the Miami Heat were bereft of depth behind Bam Adebayo.
With Kel’el Ware’s slow start to the season and Adebayo’s recent toe injury, they’ve felt the repercussions pretty quickly, especially on the glass.
In Friday’s 140-132 loss to the Jalen Brunson-less New York Knicks, Miami surrendered 20 offensive rebounds — eight from Mitchell Robinson alone — leading to 20 extra Knicks points (New York had nine extra shots).
Head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged after the game that the Heat’s inability to close possessions — which has been a problem all season — has cost them not just one, but multiple games.
“The second-chance (points), it’s costing us games now,” he said after Friday’s loss. “That’s where we are. We’ve said it enough that we have to fix it. We’re being stubborn about the things we need to do better. I feel like we’re fully capable of doing it. Is it easy? Winning is not easy in this league.
“There were several rebounds from 12 feet out that we could not secure. We’re leaking out. We’re just not going and getting it. We’re right next to it. (There were) probably a half-dozen bobbles.”
Bam Adebayo’s impact on the glass is valuable:
Adebayo, a three-time All-Star, isn’t just the Heat’s best and most impactful rebounder, he’s their best at boxing opposing players out. His best season as a rebounder was when he played alongside P.J. Tucker, another player elite at boxing out others.
Now, Adebayo shoulders that burden. Without him, it’s invisible.
The numbers indicate the same.
As we highlighted here, the Heat’s defensive rebounding percentage when Adebayo’s on the floor versus when he’s not is a staggering difference.
When he’s on the court, their defensive rebounding rate is at 75.1 percent (89th percentile), compared to 62.8 percent (2nd percentile) when he’s off, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s 12.3 percent difference ranks in the 100th percentile.
Additionally, the Heat’s allowed only 13.5 second-chance points per 100 when he’s on the floor versus 21.8 points when he’s off. Those are staggering, consequential differences.
Perhaps the most underrated aspect of basketball is what happens on the glass. Miami hasn’t won on those margins, putting a damper on what’s been an encouraging start to the season otherwise.
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“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
~ Bert Lance, 1977 ~
“If it is broke, fix that mofo asap!”
~ Sunman, 2025 ~
Yes, but I don’t agree with Spo that we can fix it by more effort or better positioning. We need taller players.
Yup. I think he’s trying to do the best he can with what he has been given by Riley.