Steven Adams boxes out three Houston Rockets players during the first round of the NBA playoffs. Photo / Getty Images.
Steven Adams boxes out three Houston Rockets players during the first round of the NBA playoffs. Photo / Getty Images.
COMMENT:
When Steven Adams put pen to paper on a $100 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, he was signing on for four years of scrutiny.
It's the kind of paycheck usually only seen offered to stars; players who can go out and get you 30 pointson a nightly basis while doing their part on the boards and setting teammates up.
At the time of signing the contract, Adams had a career high of 17 points and had not shot a single three-point attempt in his NBA career. Scoring has never been his game. What Adams offers is a strong rebounder, decent shot blocker and a big, physical body in the post.
The Thunder knew what kind of player they were investing in and, at the time, it was the kind of player their team needed – someone to clean the glass, particularly on the offensive end with their attack run by high-volume scorer Russell Westbrook, partnered with Paul George and Dennis Schröder.
After signing the deal, which began in the 2017-18 season, not only did Adams do his job as a rebounder, he developed more as a scoring option in the pick and roll and with a soft touch inside. But putting up shot attempts at a high rate has never been in his repertoire, nor has it needed to be.
Adams' value to the Thunder doesn't show up on the basic stat sheet – which means he's easy cannon fodder for angry fans when the team plummets out of the playoffs each year.
Last year, it was Adams' struggles with guarding on the perimeter against the free shooting Portland Trail Blazers that were highlighted when the Thunder were cast aside 4-1 in the first round. Now, Adams is again taking the heat from fans after the Thunder were eliminated by Westbrook's Rockets in heartbreaking fashion.
Steven Adams secures an offensive rebound. Photo / Getty Images
Adams found himself trying to get the ball in his hands on the final play of the series decider, with just seconds on the clock and the Rockets two points ahead. The Rockets interrupted the play, and time expired.
The play was not drawn up for Adams, but for forward Danilo Gallinari. However, the Rockets defended well and cut off all passes to potential shooters. Adams noticed and came out of the paint to provide another option so the Thunder could get the pass away in time, though it was picked off anyway.
Adams finished the series averaging 10 points and 12 rebounds, taking about seven shots per game. He was constantly fighting for rebounds and position in the post against a Rockets team who opt to play much smaller players at centre in order to get more shooters on the floor.
With the NBA's love of jump-shooting and spacing the floor, it seems Adams gets enough touches early in the offence for the opposition to realise they have to account for him, then is rarely used again as space further from the basket opens up – with Adams' job to be to clean up misses.
It's a job he does well, but not one many teams would pay $25 million a year for.
With the Thunder giving him such a sizeable contract, knowing the kind of player he was and what they wanted from him, it inadvertantly set Adams up to be the scapegoat – the one to take the heat if things go wrong – whether it is justified or not.
