MIAMI – With the Miami Heat starting the home-heavy part of the schedule Wednesday night as the team takes on the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, they’re looking to turn the season around after a rough stretch. The Heat’s captain Bam Adebayo along with head coach Erik Spoelstra on the other hand would share their optimistic approach for the season before the rematch against Atlanta.
Adebayo would say earlier at shootaround that Miami is “close” to making a “breakthrough” which the latter word has been used frequently the past few weeks by the head coach. Spoelstra would tell ClutchPoints that he agrees with his star’s statement, but the team needs to “prove it” on the court.
“I mean, of course, I feel we’re close, but we have to prove it obviously,” Spoelstra said. “That’s where we are right now.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about Bam Adebayo saying earlier this morning that the team is “close” to turning the season around and for his thoughts.
“Of course I feel it’s close, but we have to prove it…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/jmAuI53GWJ
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) February 26, 2025
Miami is 3-7 in their last 10 games, but looking on the bright side, there is a prime opportunity to change the narrative as nine of the next 10 contests and 18 of the final 26 are at home. The team also looks to improve on the 12-11 record inside the Kaseya Center.
Bam Adebayo on the Heat being “closer than we think”
While the Heat have been working through their flaws on top of having rough offensive nights, some may attribute it to the team looking to get their newcomers activated like Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and Kyle Anderson. Adebayo would mention how “we’re closer than we think we are” and speak on the message he has for the team.
“I mean, we’re closer than we think we are,” Adebayo said via the team’s YouTube channel. “This is one of those things where we play a whole 48-minute game, and you watch the replays, and it’s kind of like ‘We can fix this, we can fix that,’ you know. But for the most part, you got guys that, you know, just got here. They’re more comfortable. You can see them more activated, getting more involved. So for us, it’s just when we start getting the minor details, we’ll be okay.”
“We’re closer than we think we are. I tell the group not to lose faith and keep fighting,” Adebayo said later. “We’ve seen where we have a subpar year and everybody catches fire at the same time and it just clicks.”
Bam Adebayo on the Heat position in the standings
“We’re closer than we think we are. I tell the group not to lose faith and keep fighting. We’ve seen where we have a subpar year and everybody catches fire at the same time and it just clicks”
(Via @MiamiHEAT YT) pic.twitter.com/pNvBbYp9Oi
— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) February 26, 2025
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on sustaining double-digit leads
While there is belief in a turnaround, one of the aspects that needs to be fixed for the Heat is sustaining leads which has been more apparent in the last few weeks. Spoelstra would say before Wednesday’s game that “it takes time” to get to a solution because of the aforementioned newcomers, but does “commend” the team for working at it.
“In the list of issues that we have, at least that’s, we’re dealing with, ‘How do we keep a lead?’ And obviously, this is something that you know, we’re trying to figure out, and none of it is an excuse,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve had moving pieces, and so sometimes it takes time, and sometimes it doesn’t happen exactly how you want it to go. But I really commend the group, very intentional about it. We’re all owning it. We all have to be better for each other, and we’re working at it.”
Erik Spoelstra speaks on the recent games of building up double-digit leads and losing them late. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/C6eK66aHgr
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) February 26, 2025
At any rate, the Heat is 26-3o before the rematch against the Hawks which puts them ninth in the Eastern Conference.
The post Erik Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo feels Heat is ‘close’ to turning season around after rough stretch appeared first on ClutchPoints.
