Davion Mitchell wants Bam Adebayo to attack more often, and the Miami Heat guard believes he has a responsibility to help make that happen.
After Miami’s 113-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Mitchell addressed Adebayo’s offensive struggles with a combination of encouragement and accountability. The Heat fell to 0-4, leaving their starting point guard looking for ways to keep one of the team’s central players from fading out of possessions.
“He’s got to be more aggressive,” Mitchell said. “He will. I think he’s still trying to figure it out.”
Mitchell also acknowledged his own part in the problem. He said he needed to do more to prevent Adebayo from getting lost in the game.
Davion Mitchell on Bam Adebayo’s struggles: #Heat
“I think I got to do a better job of not letting him get lost in the game. He got to be more aggressive. I think that he will. He's still, I think, trying to figure it out because I said this before, I think him and Giannis play… pic.twitter.com/MxYkyyESln
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 27, 2026
That admission matters to the way his assessment should be understood. Mitchell was identifying something he could improve as a facilitator while asking Adebayo to become more assertive.
His confidence that Adebayo would respond was part of the answer, too. The next step is translating those intentions into a more reliable offensive role for Adebayo, whose adjustment alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo has become a central question during Miami’s opening stretch.
Davion Mitchell identifies an adjustment alongside Giannis
Mitchell’s explanation went beyond how often Adebayo looks for a shot. He pointed to the overlap between the areas Adebayo and Antetokounmpo occupy offensively.
“Him and Giannis play in the same spaces so when Giannis is on the floor with him, he can’t be in those same spaces,” Mitchell said.
That creates a practical challenge for Miami: getting Adebayo involved without asking both frontcourt players to work in the same space. Simply demanding a higher point total would leave that part of Mitchell’s explanation unanswered.
Adebayo had already expressed confidence in his partnership with Antetokounmpo after the Detroit loss. Mitchell’s latest remarks add a more specific issue to that discussion, putting the focus on positioning and involvement as the two players learn to operate together.
The distinction is important when evaluating the early results. A player can need to be more decisive while also needing better opportunities from his teammates.
Mitchell’s answer leaves room for both explanations rather than placing the entire offensive burden on Adebayo’s willingness to shoot. Mitchell had discussed that balance before the Dallas game.
He explained that stretches without shot opportunities could prevent teammates from developing a rhythm. He was still working out when to create for himself and when to get others involved.
“Because sometimes you can kind of get lost when they don’t get shots a couple possessions,” Mitchell said. “They don’t have rhythm.
Erik Spoelstra’s approach also involved sharing initiation duties. The coach described the need for Mitchell to balance pushing the pace with running ahead when Antetokounmpo or Adebayo handled the ball.
Those comments provide context for Mitchell’s postgame assessment: His own adjustment includes learning when to lead a possession and when to play off someone else.
That makes the point guard’s responsibility broader than delivering a pass once Adebayo is open. Miami is still sorting out who starts its attacks and how the other players remain involved around that decision.
Bam Adebayo’s Dallas performance shows the immediate challenge
Adebayo had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting in 30:22 against Dallas. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts and made two of four free throws.
Half of his field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc. Inside it, he finished 3-of-5.
That split offers a more precise picture of the night than the overall shooting percentage alone: His limited scoring included both a small number of 2-point attempts and an empty return on his perimeter attempts.
Adebayo still contributed eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Those contributions do not erase the offensive shortfall, but they are part of assessing his game rather than treating his scoring total as the entire performance.
Mitchell scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Antetokounmpo supplied 29 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Miami nevertheless finished four points short after making only 14 of its 25 free throws.
The result leaves several areas to address alongside Adebayo’s offensive involvement. Across four games, Adebayo is averaging 11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Adebayo’s own description of the adjustment has centered on his shooting. Asked about his approach with Antetokounmpo and with the bench, he pointed to taking more 3-pointers and expressed confidence that his shots would begin falling.
Bam Adebayo on if he’s approaching the offense differently when with Giannis or the bench unit. #Heat
“I mean this year I'm just taking more threes. I mean that's that's really it. But like I said, it'll fall, and when it does…we'll see a shift.” pic.twitter.com/Y7lP0SYhCV
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 27, 2026
That response and Mitchell’s assessment raise related questions for the Heat. Better shooting would improve the return on the opportunities Adebayo already receives. More deliberate involvement would address how and where those opportunities develop in the first place.
Giannis sees an adjustment for the whole Heat team
Antetokounmpo also addressed Adebayo’s start, describing a team still working through its roles. He acknowledged that he sometimes found himself drifting while trying to determine how best to help.
“I think it’s not just Bam; it’s everybody,” Antetokounmpo said. “You know, everybody. We try to figure out where we fit in and what we gotta do, kind of try to not step on our toes. I do it myself at times. I find myself just like floating around and trying to like see how to help the team, but at the end of the day, I feel like when I’m at my best, when any player is at his best, is when he’s decisive.”
Adebayo, for his part, attributed his problems to missed shots when asked whether he was still learning to play with Antetokounmpo. He also pushed back on being singled out for the team’s start.
That was his explanation of the slump; Mitchell’s comments addressed the separate question of what the point guard could do to help him through it.
Antetokounmpo emphasized decisiveness and encouraged players to commit to their strengths instead of spending possessions trying to anticipate everyone else’s preferences.
Spoelstra, meanwhile, said the Heat would work to get Adebayo into positions where he is comfortable offensively.
Miami’s next opportunity comes Wednesday in Atlanta. Mitchell has identified a task for himself as well as a request for Adebayo: Keep his teammate involved, then give him the opportunity to respond with the aggression the Heat need.
