Mitchell Mania Hits Miami! Bam Adebayo Can’t Stop Raving About Heat’s Lastest Sensation
A new dawn awaits the Miami Heat following the high-profile exit of Jimmy Butler but things didn’t quite get off to an ideal start.
A new-look Heat roster, which included three debutants, struggled against the current NBA Champions, losing 85-103 to the Boston Celtics.
The Heat have lost their last two games and have scored just 86 and 85 points respectively. The absence of star Tyler Herro was a major miss against the Celtics with Bam Adebayo, who has been labelled as a team leader, the only Heat man to score more than 13 points (22).
Erik Spolestra’s team shot just 33.7% from the field but Adebayo was impressed by one debutant, despite getting just four points in his 23 minutes.
Adebayo praises Davion Mitchell
The Heat welcomed Golden State Warriors stars, Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson as well as Toronto Raptors Davion Mitchell following the exit of Butler.
Wiggins was praised by his former coach Steve Kerr as a major part of the team’s 2022 NBA Championship success upon his departure, he will undoubtedly bring a winning mentality to the Heat side.
The Candian dropped 11 points, five rebounds and five assists on his debut but Adebayo was impressed by the efforts of Mitchell.
Despite scoring just four points, while adding three rebounds and four assists he showed glimpses of quality and Adebayo revealed how tough he was to face in prior battles.
Adebayo said: “We’ve played against Davion a lot, the defense doesn’t shock us at all. They’ve been calling the man ‘off-night’ since college so you understand what he brings from that side.
“We’ve seen how he can manipulate the game in terms of his passing and how quick he is able to read the game. Once we get him comfortable and he understands he can really run the show we will make a run.”
Mitchell reveals ‘tough’ start
It’s never easy for a player to come straight into a new side and hit the ground running straight away, just ask Dennis Schroder who struggled in Golden State and has already been traded.
It seems one exception to the rule is De’Aaron Fox who made San Antonio Spurs history on his debut after leaving the Sacramento Kings.
Mitchell is known for his solid defensive abilities and spoke out during his time with the Raptors about how he prepares to face the best players in the league.
The Heat will be hoping to get the best from Mitchell when he has more time to settle in, the star explained how it was tough to have very little time with his new teammates before being thrown in for his debut.
Speaking to the media Mitchell said: “It’s tough, you don’t get that many practices. Playing with each other you don’t really know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Of course, you have a scouting report but it’s a little different when you’re playing on the same team.”
Mitchell will look to impress in the sides next game, they face a high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder side who remain the Western Conference leaders.
