NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

May 25, 2022

Bam Adebayo

Miami Heat

Game 5: Postgame

Celtics 93, Heat 80

Q. Bam, you know how good this team can be when whole and healthy. What's it like when you see Kyle not able to be himself because of the hamstring, when you see Jimmy with the struggles shooting because of the knee? What's it like to be out on the court knowing that those guys are a lot different when healthy than what you've seen in the last couple games?

BAM ADEBAYO: Got to adapt. In my opinion, I feel like everybody is hurt at this time of year. We're all bumped and bruised. We're still lining up. Still got to play these games. We still want to win.

Q. You were the top three-point shooting team in the regular season. How do you explain the outside shooting struggles in the series and even just in the playoffs in general for this team?

BAM ADEBAYO: I mean, that's the playoffs. Obviously, we've got to shoot better, but at the end of the day, can't hang our hat on threes. I feel like where we went wrong was on the defensive end.

Q. Knowing that Jimmy and Kyle are going through some stuff, you already had a really good performance in Boston on the road. Do you feel like you have to call more upon yourself if they are banged up throughout the rest of the series?

BAM ADEBAYO: Yeah, I do. Like you said, they are banged up. They were going through shooting struggles, so yeah, put it on me.

Q. Jimmy just mentioned something he's mentioned throughout the course of the season, which is that when the offense struggles, sometimes the defense ends up struggling as a result. Do you feel like that's a pattern that's happening in the series a bit, too, that you need to shake a little bit?

BAM ADEBAYO: Yeah, I feel like when we missed shots, it alters our defense. We've got to play through that. Even though we're not making shots, we've still got to get stops.