Bam Adebayo: I want a championship

Now, as the top team in the East, anything less than the Eastern Conference finals would be considered a disappointment from the outside. Inside the Heat, expectations are even higher. “Obviously we want to get to the Finals, and we want a different outcome when we get there,” Bam Adebayo told me. “We don’t want the same outcome, to come up short, ‘a fairy-tale story,’ this, that and the third. “I want to win. I want a championship. I want to see what it feels like to be the last person standing. And that’s the bottom line. And everybody here is willing to sacrifice to get that accomplished.”
Source: Wes Goldberg @ Substack

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
Bam Adebayo not at practice today and still in protocols. P.J. Tucker (calf strain) was not a full participant in today’s practice. – 12:57 PM Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg
I spoke to Bam Adebayo ahead of the playoffs, and he isn’t interested in another “fairy-tale story.”
“We want to get to the Finals, and we want a different outcome when we get there.”
Read: wesgoldberg.substack.com/p/bam-adebayo-…
#Heat #HEATCulture #HeatTwitter – 9:41 AM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
From earlier — ASK IRA: Are NBA’s protocols with Heat’s Bam Adebayo getting in the way of a good thing? sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… – 5:01 PM Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg
Bam Adebayo has shot 50% or better in 16 straight games (since March 7). – 4:58 PM Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Here’s how I voted for All-Defense:
First Team
C: Rudy Gobert
F: Bam Adebayo
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
G: Mikal Bridges
G: Marcus Smart
Second Team
C: Joel Embiid
F: Robert Williams III
F: Jaren Jackson Jr.
G: Fred VanVleet
G: Dejounte Murray – 2:25 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
ASK IRA: Are the NBA’s protocols with Heat’s Bam Adebayo getting in the way of a good thing? sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… – 1:15 PM Shandel Richardson @ShandelRich
Bam Adebayo gives his endorsement #miamiheat si.com/nba/heat/miami… – 11:51 AM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
Takeaways and postgame reaction from Heat’s regular-season finale. Nearly all of the regulars were held out, but Victor Oladipo played and scored 40 miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… Also, more on Bam Adebayo entering protocols, why Sunday’s game wasn’t meaningless for the Heat and more – 9:34 AM Shandel Richardson @ShandelRich
The Bam Adebayo-Jimmy Butler combo almost never happened #miamiheat si.com/nba/heat/miami… – 9:09 AM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Are NBA’s protocols with Heat’s Bam Adebayo getting in the way of a good thing? Latest “Ask Ira” at sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… plus more. – 8:04 AM Shandel Richardson @ShandelRich
The hope is for Bam Adebayo to be ready for playoff opener #miamiheat si.com/nba/heat/miami… – 6:28 AM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
Eastern Conference play-in tournament now set and Bam Adebayo entered COVID-19 protocols today. What it means for the Heat and who’s available for today’s regular-season finale in Orlando miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… – 6:55 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Bam Adebayo ended his season by shooting 50 percent or better from the field in a career-best 16 consecutive games. The only longer streaks in the Heat’s 34 seasons were 21 such games by Shaquille O’Neal in 2007 and 18 by Alonzo Mourning in 1997. – 6:45 PM Anthony Chiang @Anthony_Chiang
NEW: Eventful final day of the regular season. Eastern Conference play-in tournament now set and Bam Adebayo entered COVID-19 protocols today.
What it all means for the Heat miamiherald.com/sports/nba/mia… – 6:06 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Heat’s Bam Adebayo enters NBA’s COVID protocols, should clear by start of playoffs. https://t.co/UNbuAK4XE8 pic.twitter.com/SCVaLV8k0B – 5:55 PM JD Shaw @JShawNBA
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. – 5:41 PM Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
Bam Adebayo has entered the health and safety protocols
Tyler Herro out tonight as well due to “knee”
Bam should still be able to return before playoffs, but yet another obstacle – 5:41 PM Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Bam Adebayo has entered health-and-safety protocols for the Heat. That could mean five days away from team through Friday, but still time to return for playoffs. No Tyler Herro tonight (knee). – 5:38 PM

More on this storyline

Jimmy Butler: “I feel like that we put together this roster to win a championship,” he said. “It feels like a championship-caliber team. It does. We have lapses at times. We got a couple more days, games to figure that all out, but when we’re clicking, when we’re guarding, when we’re making shots, when we’re sharing the ball, I think we’re going to be really tough to beat.” -via Heat Nation / March 30, 2022 Nick Friedell: Goran Dragic on the Butler/Spoelstra argument the other night: “That’s normal. I was here for seven years. This is how we operated here.” -via Twitter @NickFriedell / March 25, 2022 Marc Berman: Taj Gibson, former mate of Jimmy Butler, said of JB-Spoelstra-Haslem bench dustup: “That’s normal when it comes to championship style basketball. You’re going to have little outbreaks. Not everybody’s going to have a cool head all season. That’s just a test of camaraderie.” -via Twitter @NYPost_Berman / March 25, 2022