Bam Adebayo, the one player who can prevent an historic Heat collapse - ESPN

MIAMI — Bam Adebayo has entered the eye of the storm. He will probably stay there for the rest of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Should his Miami Heat get one more win, no respite awaits in the NBA Finals.

Jimmy Butler has established himself as the Heat's postseason centerpiece, the team orbiting around his playmaking at both ends. But it is Adebayo, known for his versatile defense, who has become the team's bellwether on offense.

The Celtics, scrambling to adjust their game plan and mindset after falling down 3-0, have targeted the Heat's All-Star center as they've scrapped to make it a 3-2 series heading into Saturday's Game 6 in Miami (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

And it has been working.

The Heat are 6-0 this postseason when Adebayo scores 20 points or more; the best version of their offense forms when it flows through him, both as a scorer and facilitator. The Heat are 2-4 in their past six playoff games where he has failed to score 20.

In Game 1 of this series, Adebayo scored 20 points with five assists. In Game 2 he was even better, pouring in 22 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and dishing 9 assists. He had 15 defensive rebounds in that game, repeatedly picking the ball off the rim and racing to the other end to start the offense, trademark plays that show why he's so valued for his versatility.

But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has shelved his «double big» lineup and moved Robert Williams III to the bench, and his team, smaller and quicker, has used that package to move more active defenders in front of Adebayo to cut off his playmaking options.

And for the past three games, and especially the Boston wins in Games 4 and 5, Adebayo has been forced into dribbling more, turning the ball over and