Miami Heats coach hails Adebayo

Erik Spoelstra singled out Bam Adebayo for an “inspiring” performance after the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls to clinch the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Heat went all the way to the NBA Finals last season, ultimately losing to the Denver Nuggets, after securing the No.8 seed.

And they will be seeded eighth once again for their playoff campaign, which they will kick-off against the Boston Celtics, who the Heat defeated in the Conference finals last season.

Jimmy Butler could not feature against the Bulls on Friday due to injury, but Adebayo stepped up with 13 points while also marking Bulls star DeMar De Rozan.

“What we needed, what we felt like, was inspiration,” Spoelstra told ESPN.

“And Bam was our most inspiring player, especially with Jimmy being out. The two of them are our most inspiring players. And they’ve always been.

“When they’re locked in at their highest level competitively, we feel like we can beat anybody. With Jimmy out, I had to.

“We felt like DeRozan is a guy who can totally take over a game in a one-game deal. If our most inspiring player has to make an impact, it would be against their best scorer.”

Butler is unlikely to feature at all against the Celtics, either, though Spoelstra has not yet paid mind to how he will look to keep the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under wraps.

“I haven’t even thought about that,” Spoelstra said.

“This was for this kind of deal, to set the tone for the game, to help alleviate any stress or pressure from anyone else in the locker room, Bam had to be that, which he was.”

Looking ahead to the Celtics series, Adebayo said; “It’s going to be a dogfight. It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be in the mud.

“It’s not going to be pretty basketball. That’s usually how it is when we play that team.”

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).