Bam Adebayo

If I had to point to one player being the x-factor for the Miami Heat in this series, it would have to be Bam Adebayo for a couple of reasons. Not only is he the Heat’s second-best scoring option next to Jimmy Butler, but he is a big-time factor defensively. 

Adebayo does not get much love for what he does on the defensive-end of the court, but quite honestly, he is one of the better defensive big men in the NBA. His footwork is fantastic and Bam always seems to be in the right place at the right time on the defensive-end of the court. 

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His 1.0 blocks per game and his 1.2 steals per game may not seem that impressive, but Adebayo is always altering shots and has that presence in the paint that guys like Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner have, two of the NBA’s best shot-blockers. 

Players do not always tend to drive at guys like Gobert and Turner, ultimately forcing bad shots since they cannot get in the lane. This is exactly what happens to Adebayo at some points during games, as teams see him in the paint and tend to stay away from him given his shot-blocking abilities. 

Bam Adebayo will likely start out on Brook Lopez on the defensive-end of the court, but given the Miami Heat’s ability to quickly switch between man-to-man and zone defense, he could end up shading onto Giannis Antetokounmpo a lot in this series, especially on double-teams in the low-post. 

Not only is he going to have to be great offensively for the Heat, but Bam Adebayo will have to alter the Bucks’ shots in the paint defensively in order for Miami to potentially win this series. Others like Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro will also have to play great for Miami to win, but if Bam Adebayo is not playing well, Miami will have no chance to beat the Bucks in this series.