Adebayo addresses criticism as Heat fall to 0-4

Bam Adebayo said his shots were not falling and objected to being singled out by outside critics as the Miami Heat opened the 2026-27 season with four straight losses. He made the comments after Miami’s 113-109 defeat by the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, in which he scored eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. Adebayo said he was not going to overthink his early-season shooting and described the criticism as an attempt to make him a scapegoat. He also said media coverage tends to be harsher when the team is struggling and quieter when it succeeds. Those remarks were made after the Dallas game; his assessment of the criticism was his own. Across Miami’s first four games, Adebayo averaged 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds, shooting 40.0% from the field and 16.7% from three-point range. Last season, he averaged 20.1 points per game and shot 44.2% from the field. Miami’s start has included the Dallas loss and three other defeats, leaving the team winless through Monday. Coach Erik Spoelstra said Adebayo had been getting good, clean shooting opportunities and needed to see the ball go in. Spoelstra said the coaching staff would work with him to be aggressive in the spots where he is...