"I had to lock myself in for a couple of days ... I gotta let it go, the world is not gonna stop" - Miami Heat star reveals his state of mind following brutal Eastern Conference Finals loss to Boston Celtics
The Miami Heat lost in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. Even though the Heat had the luxury of playing Game 7 on their home court, they lost the pivotal contest by four points (96-100). The Heat trailed their opponents by double digits for most of the series' final game. Despite a late comeback, the Heat couldn't get past the Celtics.
Miami Heat star forward Bam Adebayo recently opened up about how he dealt with the series loss to the Celtics. Speaking to SiriusXM NBA Radio, Adebayo admitted to going into a funk for a few days. The 2019-20 All-Star said:
"I had to just go and sit in the house. That's the only way to decompress. I mean, not the only way, but for me, I had to lock myself in for a couple of days and get everything off my mind. Just do a little stuff – talking to my people – but mainly I just had to get in the house and reflect.
"I gave myself two days to complain, laying my funk, be negative and then after that second day I gotta let it go, cause the world is not gonna stop. From that point, after those forty-eight hours, boom, I'm up, I'm back and it's on to the next. It's thinking about solutions and future plans."
The series itself was a see-saw affair, which saw Miami and Boston split the first four games of the series. They each won on their home floor and on the road in the first four contests. However, with Boston pulling off consecutive wins in Games 4 and 5, the Heat were left playing catch up.
"I had to go sit in the house, I had to go lock myself in for a couple of days"
Bam Adebayo shares what he did after last year's devastating loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Can the Miami Heat do better in the 2022-23 NBA season?
The Miami Heat have made two Eastern Conference Finals appearances in the last three seasons. In the 2019-20 season, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals. The question now for Heat fans is whether the team can improve upon their 2021-22 playoff run and make it to the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Heat lost PJ Tucker in the 2022 offseason. Tucker was a key rotation player. He is often the guy who will go toe-to-toe with the best player on the opposing team. The Heat still have a strong core group, including Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro. However, the team did not make any significant upgrades this offseason.
The Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers (who got Tucker), the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers will compete for the Eastern Conference title.
The odds will be stacked against the Heat to make it out of the East in 2023. But with Pat Riley in charge of the franchise, the Miami Heat could make a run.
I'm going to make an early NBA prediction:
Omer Yurtseven is the next "Where did he come from?" guy for the Heat.
I'll go a step further: unless/until Miami gets a more traditional 4, I bet Yurtseven starts a lot at the 5 with Bam Adebayo playing the 4.