BBNBA: Bam Adebayo goes nuclear, ties season-high in Miami win
If there were any doubters about Bam Adebayo‘s recent All-Star selection, they have now been silenced. Adebayo crushed the Pacers in Miami’s 116-111 win on Wednesday night. Bam is fresh off of his second-ever All-Star selection and has been putting the league on notice.
Bam dropped 32 points last week in New York and has only continued to build. Last night, Adebayo had 38 points, nine rebounds, and three assists as Miami skated by. He went a perfect 14-14 from the charity stripe and only missed four shots in the game. Adebayo’s hot hand and the 305’s blistering warmth should put Florida on a heat notice for the next week. Pun intended.
Adebayo’s 38-point night ties his season-high this campaign. Rewind back to late November when he torched the Wizards for 38 as well. Adebayo’s play is so impressive considering he’ll give you 20 a night and also rip off 10 boards. No seriously, he’s averaging more than 21 points and 10 rebounds this season. The BBNBA has no shortage of walking double-doubles that are going to work in the league.
While Bam led all scorers and stole the night rightfully so, Tyler Herro made a little noise of his own. Herro finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the Heat victory. Herro wasn’t as efficient as Bam was though as Boy Wonder finished 4-14 from the field.
Bottom line is, Adebayo deserves all the love that he’s getting. He’s one of the best bigs in the Eastern Conference and I for one am happy he’ll get to showcase his bag of tricks in Salt Lake City during All-Star Weekend. He produces marvelous numbers and stays healthy while keeping this Miami team, which has been injury-plagued at times, afloat. The Heat are 30-25 and in sixth place in the East. Without Adebayo, it’s unimaginable to think where this squad would be. Enjoy the Utah mountains, Bam.
Drama in Houston
Goodness me, the BBNBA came up with some massive plays in Houston on Wednesday night. A game that saw as much drama as an episode of White Lotus, ultimately went the Sacramento Kings’ way in the final minute. Want to take a guess at who came through in the clutch for Sacramento? All-Star snub De’Aaron Fox, that’s who.
Fox led the way for the Kings with 31 points and 11 assists. Massive nights are nothing unorthodox for Fox, who’s been doing this all season. But how the heck is he not an All-Star? This is a guy who’s averaging more than 24 PPG and who’s had 20 points or more in his last 17 games. Seventeen. Not to mention Sacramento currently sits in third place in the Western Conference. The third-best team in the West’s top dog doesn’t get an All-Star shout? Seems unfair.
In addition to Fox, Malik Monk had himself another solid night. Monk finished with 17 points and cashed in three times from beyond the arc. This BBNBA backcourt has been flying all season long with Monk mostly contributing from the bench. Sixth Man of the Year looks to be Monk’s to lose as of now. The old 2016-2017 running mates are clicking very impressively mid-season.
Ok, so what the heck happened in the last minute?
With Houston up 128-127 with a second and change left in the contest, Monk stole the ball off a Houston inbound play. Sacramento called a timeout and was able to advance the ball with 0.8 seconds to play. Here’s where things get dicey. Fox got the rock and fired a hopeful game-winning three. He missed but was fouled and sent to the line for three free throws. He made them all and just like that Sacramento won 130-128. The foul? Well, that’s controversial and up for interpretation…
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Foul or not, Sacramento doesn’t win this game if it isn’t for Monk’s ball-hawk defense. He was rewarded with some Defensive Player of the Game bling as well. Seems fair to me.
Shaedon Sharpe, hello again
Shaedon Sharpe, highlight-reel dunk, once again. This time it looked to be a drawn-up play where Portland was trying to get Sharpe involved early versus Golden State. The rookie caught a lob right next to the hoop and hammer-slammed it home with his right hand. Check out these superpowers.
This is not the first or last time where Sharpe’s athleticism has led him to a play where the next day folks continue raving about him. He’s had some crazy SportsCenter-worthy highlights in his short stint in the NBA.
Sharpe was set to participate in this year’s Slam-Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. The rookie already getting the invite? Whether you like him or not, Sharpe looks to be just getting started in his NBA career filled with show-stopping theatrics (although he ultimately backed out of the contest earlier this week).
The rook has been solid for Portland this season, averaging 7.6 PPG and 2.5 RPG. Sharpe’s started a couple of contests mostly early on, but stayed healthy throughout the course of the season. He’s given a handful of minutes every night for Portland and seems to have the freedom to play-make, which he seems to do very well. The curiosity of what a Sharpe and TyTy Washington Jr. backcourt would have looked like may keep people up at night. However, now that’s just another afterthought — they’re both BBNBA boys now.
Other BBNBA notes
- Keldon Johnson gave the Spurs 22 points, but it wasn’t enough in Toronto. The Spurs lost 112-98 to the Raptors. Nothing is going right for San Antonio, except tanking.
- A BBNBA regular, PJ Washington Jr. dropped 20 points in Charlotte’s loss in Washington. Similar to Johnson, PJ is a bright spot in a bad organization right now.
- Hamidou Diallo and Tyrese Maxey both contributed from the bench in their respective teams’ losses last night. Diallo had eight for the Pistons and Maxey added six points for the 76ers.
BBNBA Stats 2/8/23:
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | MIN | +/- |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 116-111 W vs. IND | 38 | 12-16 (0-0) | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | +2 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 130-128 W @ HOU | 31 | 11-23 (0-3) | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 37 | -4 |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 112-98 L @ TOR | 22 | 8-17 (1-6) | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | -27 |
| PJ Washington Jr. (CHA) | 118-104 L @ WAS | 20 | 7-17 (3-10) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 36 | +6 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 130-128 W @ HOU | 17 | 5-11 (3-6) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 28 | +5 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 116-111 W vs. IND | 15 | 4-14 (1-3) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 40 | +7 |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 125-122 W vs. GSW | 13 | 5-7 (1-2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | +11 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 113-85 L @ CLE | 8 | 4-6 (0-0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | -10 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 106-99 L @ BOS | 6 | 3-14 (0-3) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | -10 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 130-128 W @ HOU | 0 | 0-2 (0-2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | -5 |
| Kevin Knox II (DET) | 113-85 L @ CLE | 0 | 0-2 (0-2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +1 |
| Nerlens Noel (DET) | 113-85 L @ CLE | 0 | 0-2 (0-0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 118-104 L @ WAS | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 116-111 L @ MIA | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TyTy Washington Jr. (HOU) | 130-128 L vs. SAC | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA) | 143-118 L vs. MIN | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 110-104 L vs. DAL | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 143-118 W @ UTA | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| John Wall (LAC) | 110-104 L vs. DAL | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Tonight in the NBA
7:00: Nuggets (Murray: questionable) @ Magic
7:30: Suns (Booker) @ Hawks
7:30 (TNT): Bulls @ Nets
10:00 (TNT): Bucks @ Lakers (Davis, Gabriel, Vanderbilt)
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