The well-rested Miami Heat, led by captain Bam Adebayo, are set to host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
Miami has been off since Monday, while Dallas beat the host Denver Nuggets 123-120 on Friday night.
Adebayo, 27, is a three-time All-Star, but he appears to be struggling with his role of captain, which he assumed after Udonis Haslem retired in the summer of 2023.
“Do I hate it? Yeah, but it’s the responsibility I’ve been dealt with,” Adebayo said on Friday in an interview with Clutch Points. “It’s like anything — pros and cons.”
Adebayo explained that he likes the title … until it’s time to act.
“They put you in this role where they want you to bring everybody (up) with you,” Adebayo said. “That’s kind of the captain’s role, being able to have everybody motivated, (player) one through 15.”
Adebayo, who said he still gets advice from Haslem, is not at all happy with Miami’s 6-7 start.
“That’s below average,” he said.
Miami’s top player so far this season has been Tyler Herro. The guard is averaging 24.2 points and 5.2 assists — both tops on the team — while shooting 48.6 percent overall and 45.2 percent from 3-point range. All those stats are on pace to be career highs for the sixth-year pro.
Adebayo’s numbers are down, however. Last season, he averaged 19.3 points and a career-high 10.4 rebounds while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent from deep. This season, he is posting 16.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game on 42.6 percent shooting (31.3 percent from distance).
Jimmy Butler, a six-time All-Star and the third member of Miami’s “Big Three,” is averaging 17.7 points, which is well below last season’s stat line (20.8). Butler didn’t practice on Saturday and is questionable for Sunday’s game with an illness, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Heat may be down Butler, but the Mavericks know they’ll be without superstar guard Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined with a strained right wrist. Doncic, a five-time All-Star and the reigning NBA scoring champ, leads Dallas in points (28.1), assists (7.6) and steals (1.6).
Still, the Mavericks have won four straight after losing four in a row.
Dallas slipped past Denver despite Doncic’s absence and a scoreless night from Klay Thompson (0-for-8 from the floor), instead relying on double-digit scoring efforts from seven players.
Naji Marshall scored a career-high 26 points off the bench, while Dereck Lively II made a significant contribution with 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and two key blocks with the score tied in the final two minutes.
“This is a character game for us,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said after the win, per The Dallas Morning News. “I think we learned from that situation — being able to keep our composure.”
Kyrie Irving, second on the Mavericks with 23.9 points per game, had 19 on Friday. The eight-time All-Star is also averaging 5.3 assists while shooting 53.2 percent from the floor and 51.2 percent beyond the arc.
Sunday’s game continues an all-time series that includes two NBA Finals matchups. Miami dispatched Dallas 4-2 for its first title in 2006 before the Mavericks beat the Heat in six games for their first championship in 2011.
–Field Level Media