Heat’s Love on what’s different around here. And Spoelstra reacts to Bam self-criticism

Kevin Love sensed it would be different with the Heat.

But the veteran forward didn’t truly appreciate the uniqueness until he arrived in Miami in mid-February, following his buyout from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“You never like to say culture,” he said of the buzzword frequently associated with the Heat.

So what’s different about this place that he quickly learned to appreciate?

“I think it’s just attention to detail, the level of professionalism,” he said during a chat with reporters on Thursday.

That professionalism, he told The Athletic recently, “is not really rivaled anywhere else. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Love said Thursday that the Heat’s way of doing business always prioritizes “win and win now. We knew we were up against the odds being the eighth seed. But our preparation, our level of professionalism, how good a shape we’re in, will potentially be the difference for us moving forward. We feel like we can beat anyone.”

Love said the Heat experience also has meant getting on a scale more often he has in the past; the Heat is known for doing regular weigh-ins.

But that’s not a problem because of how he has changed his body through the years, after entering the league at 270 pounds in 2008.

“I went from a guy that was around 275 pounds to a guy that’s 245, 250 now,” he said. “Because of how the game has gone, I not only had to change my game but change my body as well. Hopefully I was ahead of the curve on that. Getting here, [you see] guys are in world class shape.”

BAM CRITICISM

In what has become an annual playoff tradition, Bam Adebayo was the subject of criticism on ESPN studio programming this week.

“I wonder for this franchise moving forward; the question looming around is when Bam is going to become a second superstar on this team,” ESPN analyst and former NBA guard Jay Williams said. “It feels like he’s just absent. I don’t understand why we can’t get him to be [very] aggressive.”

And Adebayo criticized himself after the Game 2 loss, saying: “I just got to play better. I feel like this game was on me and I lost it for us. I got to be better.”

Erik Spoelstra said Thursday that Adebayo was too hard on himself after Game 2 and that his self-criticism “wasn’t true.”

“That’s what you love so much about Bam, that he’s willing to step out and take responsibility as one of our leaders,” Spoelstra said. “Come on, he does so much for us. As one of our most impactful players, he’s such a winning player. He does things on both ends of the court that really move the needle. He has a ton of responsibilities. He just wants to put his fingerprints on the game and help the team win. I really respect that about him. That’s why he is who he is.

“He’s one of the leaders of our franchise. There are a lot of players who don’t want to step up. Those kind of guys aren’t really winning, aren’t really moving the needle. Bam is a winner. He’ll figure it out. He can impact winning as much as any player in this league.”

The Heat has said repeatedly through the years that Adebayo’s value cannot be measured by a boxscore because of myriad factors, including his help defense, his ability to guard all positions, his excellent screen-setting and how he can get the Heat into offense.

There are a few explanations for Adebayo’s overall drop in statistical production during these playoffs, including a hamstring injury, teams packing the paint against him and his mid-range jumper not falling as consistently as it did during the regular season.

He has reached double figures in rebounds only twice in seven playoff games; part of that is the byproduct of Adebayo sometimes leaving the basket area to defend wing players.

SCHEDULE SET

The NBA announced early Friday morning that Game 5 of the Heat-Knicks series will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Game 4 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday in Miami.

Meanwhile, the NBA announced that the winner of the Heat-Knicks series will host Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 21 (a Sunday) and May 23 (a Tuesday).

Game 6 of the Eastern Finals, in Miami or New York, would be Saturday, May 27.

A Game 7 would be in Boston or Philadelphia on Monday, May 29.

The NBA Finals begin June 1.

The only unknown with the Eastern and Western conference finals is when both series will start.

The first two games of the Eastern Finals will be May 15 and 17 if the Heat-Knicks and Boston-Philadelphia series end in six or fewer games.

Otherwise, the first two games of the Eastern finals would be May 17 and 19. Game 3 is set for May 21 regardless.

TNT will televise the Eastern Finals, and ESPN gets the Western finals.