Overview
- Heat center Bam Adebayo and coach Erik Spoelstra exchanged heated words on the bench during a 111–136 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
- Erik Spoelstra said he sat Adebayo to manage his workload and do what was best for the team after a heavy recent stretch.
- The coach’s rotation choice followed a 45-minute outing for Adebayo in a one-point loss to Houston, which he cited in limiting first-half minutes.
- Bam Adebayo said his frustration came from pushing to keep Miami out of the Play-In Tournament, where seeds 7 through 10 fight for the last playoff spots.
- Both framed the exchange as normal for their long partnership, with Spoelstra also touting Adebayo’s Defensive Player of the Year case as the Heat skid reached five straight losses and the team sat 10th in the East at 38–34.