Heat’s Bam Adebayo accepts accountability after disappointing outing vs. Celtics

After the Miami Heat snapped its five-game skid against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, the team wouldn’t have much time to rest in the back-to-back, losing to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, 129-116. While there were encouraging areas for the Heat, the one facet that has been down is the performance of team captain Bam Adebayo.

The last two games have not been up to Adebayo’s standards in regard to his shooting percentages, shooting 43.5 percent from inside the arc, while yet to make a single three-pointer on the current road trip. In the win over the Nets on Thursday, he would only have six points on four of 13 shooting from the field, but still found other ways to impact winning with 17 rebounds and three blocks.

Against the Celtics, he recorded 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while shooting six of 13 from the field. While it could be far worse, more is needed from Adebayo, especially on Friday, when the team missed Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and others.

“I got to figure it out,” Adebayo said, via video from Heat Central on X, formerly Twitter. “I don’t know about anybody else, but me accepting accountability, I’ve got to be better. I’m letting my team down, and it’s going to shift. Like I said, it’s going to shift. I’ve been through these times before. A lot of guys go through it. We’ll figure it out.”

“You got to find that breakthrough moment,” Adebayo continued about the overall team performance. “We started off hot early in the season, but you get these shifts throughout the season where it feels like everything’s not going your way. We got to find that breakthrough moment.”

Bam Adebayo on his poor play tonight

“I gotta figure it out. Idk about anybody else but me accepting accountability I have to be better. I’m letting my team down. It’s gonna shift. I’ve been through these times before. A lot of guys go through it. We’ll figure it out” pic.twitter.com/SUYlb1M62X

— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 20, 2025

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the loss to the Celtics 

With the Heat looking for any boost possible, there is no denying that the team has had to win differently compared to the early success they had. Having started the season as a fast-paced team that was among the highest-scoring squads in the league, Miami has recently ranked second-to-last in offensive rating and seen its pace slowed down in the last seven games.

Now, the Heat has tried to win games in the mud, focusing more on their defensive effort if the offense can’t play how it once was, but Boston proved to be too much on Friday. Especially in the fourth quarter, the Celtics made 10 three-pointers, scoring 37 in the period, despite the game being relatively close throughout.

“I just thought we were playing and competing with force, with intention and doing the things that would put ourselves in a position to win,” Miami head coach Spoelstra said, according to The Miami Herald. “And I just think the three turnovers and the four threes just derailed us. And it’s a teaching point. It really is a learning lesson for our team. I think the Knicks did what they did against San Antonio; it was a very similar situation. San Antonio was knocking down a bunch of shots, and the Knicks just stayed the course and then put themselves in a position to win. And that’s what we’re going to grow into, for sure.”

The Heat are now 15-13, looking to get back on track in the final game of the road trip against the New York Knicks.

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