NBA Legend Criticizes Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo's Performance

The Miami Heat are entering this season as one of the flashier teams in the Eastern Conference after a blockbuster haul this offseason. Miami was a run-of-the-mill, average roster last season, winning a few games above the .500 mark and losing in the Play-In Tournament. How did Pat Riley and the front office respond? Well, they added one of the best players in the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo, along with a plethora of other notable veteran reinforcements to change up the team's roster.

However, the Heat have dropped both of their first two games to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons. Both of those teams are considered high-end teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences. Many media personalities and fans have been quick to criticize how the team is performing after these losses. Antetokounmpo has been phenomenal over the first two games, posting 35-plus points in both matchups but the rest of the team has failed to perform well, including center Bam Adebayo.

Alongside former NBA veteran Matt Barnes, basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett criticized Adebayo in an expletive-filled rant on the latest episode of his podcast, KG Certified.

"13 to 15 points ain’t no superstar s—," Garnett said. "I need Bam to be goddamn 25 and 12! I need Bam to give me superstar energy. The tried and down, the cool s—, all the looking, nah. I need all out. 13 to 15 points ain’t it. 13, 15 points ain’t no superstar s—. I need Bam to be goddamn 25 and 12! Whose team is this? Is this your team? Did Giannis come to Miami? Nah, this is Giannis’ team, this is Giannis’ team together... bro, nobody was showing superstar energy other than Giannis. I’m telling you, man, it’s too cool for me. All this, all these players who cool ... nah, that cool s— ain’t it, bro.”

Adebayo has been receiving a lot of blame for the Heat's woes over the first two matchups. In Wednesday's 25-point loss against the Timberwolves, he scored 15 points and added seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field. He also posted three steals. On paper, that is a slightly below-average game from the three-time All-Star but every star has those types of performances. 

In Friday's matchup against the Pistons, it got a lot worse. He fouled out after 23 minutes, scoring four points on 2-6 shooting from the field with six rebounds and three assists.

The fit of Antetokounmpo and Adebayo has been questioned by many throughout the offseason and through the first two games of the regular season, it hasn't looked particularly great. Adebayo has never been a true offensive-first player but after scoring 83 points in a game last season, the conversation surrounding him has completely flipped and he is being viewed as a guy who should be putting up 25 points every night. Throughout his nine seasons, he has only averaged 20 or more points twice.

Adebayo's defense is what has made him a household name and a franchise cornerstone for the Heat. Again, it's only been two games and Heat fans should trust Erik Spoelstra to troubleshoot any frontcourt issues the team is having. Adebayo may not be able to fully match Antetokounmpo's superstar-level energy but he absolutely can turn it around.