"You keep f**king up my boards"- Bam Adebayo gets heated at teammate after friendly fire while rebounding
Towards the end of the Miami Heat-Cleveland Cavaliers game on Sunday night, Bam Adebayo laid into his teammate Terry Rozier for disrupting a rebounding attempt. The former All-Star looked like he was about to secure the defensive board, but Rozier's hands got in the way, resulting in the ball going out of bounds.
After the referee blew the whistle on the out-of-bounds call, Adebayo—who'd blocked the Ty Jerome shot to begin with—immediately turned to Rozier and gave him an earful. The camera feed caught Adebayo's words towards his teammate.
"You keep f**king up my boards, man," Bam Adebayo said.
Rozier's response was audible on the TV broadcast as well.
"I got nine rebounds. You already got your double-double. Let me get my s**t." Rozier said.
An aggressive Bam Adebayo is exactly what the Miami Heat needs
Rozier got the numbers right when he exchanged words with Adebayo. At the time when the big man was trying to secure possession, off the blocked shot, Adebayo had totaled 16 points and 13 rebounds. Rozier was also spot-on with his knowledge of his own rebounding stats.
A defensive board in that sequence would have given the guard a double-double. Still, the Miami Heat coaching staff probably won't be too happy with Rozier spraying friendly fire and exchanging words over a missed tenth rebound.
In seasons past, the Heat have thrived when Adebayo stays relentless on both ends of the floor. Since the 2019-2020 season, Adebayo has been a fixture in the NBA All-Defensive Team. A key factor in securing this accomplishment has been the effort he puts in rebounding the ball.
Over the past five seasons, the two-time Olympic gold medalist has averaged 9.8 rebounds. Thus far this season, he's giving Erik Spoelstra 10 boards a game. He averages 16.0 points per game and dishes out 5.1 assists a game.