Miami Heat star big man Bam Adebayo believes that there was some unprofessionalism from the referees in Wednesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics.
The Heat were unable to beat the Celtics in Boston without Jimmy Butler, losing 134-121. Following the loss, Adebayo offered his honest thoughts on the officials, and he believes that they should have to answer questions about certain plays in the game.
“I mean, me personally, I don’t really get bent out of shape about fouls,” Adebayo said. “My biggest thing is like, my mom taught me ever since I was younger, if somebody’s talking to you, you look at them dead in the eyes. I feel like that’s unprofessional when players come to try come talk to you and you don’t look at them and, you know, acknowledge them.
“I feel like that has to be addressed. And that’s conversations we don’t get to see, we don’t get to hear when they go in their corners. I feel like they should be put on the podium and have to explain certain situations throughout the game.”
The Heat attempted just nine free throws in the loss, and Adebayo felt that was a disservice to how much the team gets into the paint.
“I asked if I’m getting fouled? They tell me, no,” he said. “And then I go watch film and they were just pushing me. So it’s one of those things where it’s kind of like, ‘Come on bro, y’all are out here to make the game fair.’ And I’m not saying dudes don’t get touched more than others.
“But our team shooting a total of nine free throws and we’re one of the teams that gets in the paint, lives in the paint, and you’re telling me we only shoot nine? Come on, man.”
The Celtics attempted 23 free throws in Wednesday night’s game, making 20 of them.
Unfortunately for Adebayo and the Heat, officiating in the NBA can vary from night to night, and Wednesday night certainly didn’t favor the Heat.
Miami was able to keep things close for a good amount of the game, trailing by just six points entering the fourth quarter. However, the Heat were outscored 32-25 in the final frame, sealing the win for Boston.
The Heat and Celtics have a bit of a rivalry going after they met in the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2021-22 season. So far this season, the Heat have lost twice to Boston, but Adebayo and company will have another shot at the Celtics on Friday night.
Even with the lack of calls going in Miami’s favor, the Heat have to be happy that they were able to compete with Butler out of the lineup. The All-Star wing is aiming to return to the lineup on Friday, which would give the Heat a huge boost, especially on the offensive end.
Adebayo, despite his frustrations with the officiating, played well on Wednesday night. He finished the game with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists. Adebayo, Max Strus and Tyler Herro all scored 22 or more points for Miami.
The loss dropped the Heat to just 10-12 on the season, and the team currently holds the No. 11 spot in the Eastern Conference. One of the biggest issues for Miami is its road record, as the team is just 2-8 away from home.
Miami will hope to turn that around when it takes on the Celtics at 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday night in Boston.
