Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game was bad TV (and bad basketball).

Congratulations to Bam Adebayo for scoring 83 points against the Washington Wizards last night. I believe.

Adebayo, who is averaging (now) 20 points per game this season (18.5 before last night) and 16.1 points per game during his nine-year career, all with the Miami Heat, has scored the second-most points ever in an NBA game, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point masterpiece in 2006 and settling just behind Wilt Chamberlain’s historic 100-point game in 1962. A hell of an accomplishment. -Except for the parts where it was pathetic.

In 42 minutes, on a random Tuesday night in March, Adebayo shot 20-43 (46.5 percent) from the field and made 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) three-point attempts. On Bryant’s historic night, in which he scored Two points less Of Adebayo’s total, the Los Angeles Lakers legend shot 60.1 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from downtown. Yet, mathematics is not mathematics.

Adebayo’s 83 was only made possible by a ridiculous number of foul shots against the 6’9 center, serving two purposes: 1) they gave the Bam a new NBA record for free throw attempts (43), and 2) they extended the game beyond the normal number of possessions, providing Adebayo with additional scoring opportunities.

Going 36 of 43 (83.7 percent) from the line isn’t bad, especially for a guy who, on average, has made about three out of every four foul shots over his career. Adebayo had a good night in the charity squad, and although he was certainly compromised, he stuck to the line 43 times It was exactly that: charity. By the way, Bryant hit 18 of 20 free throws from 81, a 90 percent rate.

Adebayo is a very good player and has had the night of his career, he deserves these flowers. Before Tuesday, Adebayo, a three-time All-Star, had never scored more than 41 points. Then again, he’s never taken more than 27 shots from the field, never attempted more than 13 3-pointers, and never been to the line more than 20 times in a single NBA game. Last night wasn’t just an anomaly, to some extent, it was a manufactured performance. I’m calling wrong, and I’m not alone.

Robert Horry, who played seven seasons with Bryant on the Lakers, had a similar (though potentially biased) view.

“Let me say this: 83 points is impressive, but it gets to a point (where) you have to respect the game,” he said. Spectrum Sports Net displays. “I think there is [were] Moments in this match where it was not respected. But still, 83 points is a lot. I appreciate the effort. This would be the second highest number in the game, but as you always say, some things should have an asterisk. I’m putting an asterisk on this.

Not only did Washington call a suspicious number of punts on Adebayo (especially late, when 81 was in sight), in an apparent attempt to stop the clock and give Adebayo more offensive opportunities, the Heat began intentionally fouling the Wizards — in a game they were winning by more than 20 points! They hacked the game clock basically for the ‘gram. Other Heat players intentionally missed their free throws in an attempt to give Adebayo an easy shot. Yes, that’s nice, but it wasn’t a good look. She also wasn’t good at basketball, and certainly wasn’t good television.

Fortunately for America, the powerhouse Heat hosting a dismal Wizards game on a dismal Tuesday in March will never be broadcast nationally (except for NBA League Pass, which shows every game). Instead, the game continued only on FanDuel Sports Network Sun (which broadcasts regionally in South Florida), and on the Wizards’ local broadcast. As if Wizards fans haven’t suffered enough.

FDSN will have TV ratings for Adebayo’s fight on Friday, Hollywood Reporter It is said.

As I write this, public perception of Adebayo’s big game is still shaping up. Mostly, it’s confusion. The player doesn’t make sense, the stat line isn’t clean, and the demotion of the late, great Kobe Bryant… well, that’s just a feeling bad.

And while no one can argue that Chamberlain’s 100-point performance was pure, Kobe’s was 81, more or less. On January 22, 2006, with the Lakers down 14 points to the Toronto Raptors in the first half, Bryant scored 55 points in the second half, leading his team to victory. His greatness that night just ended with an 81-point game, while Adebayo, who scored a massive 31 points in the first quarter on actually good shooting, saw his coach and his teammates – and perhaps even the other team – saw an opportunity and calculated the way to get there. Not exactly a “mamba mentality.”

If Kobe Bryant were alive to see this NBA…