Over the last few NBA seasons, the Miami Heat have become synonymous with injuries. Head coach Erik Spoelstra seems to be constantly switching and adjusting his lineups and rotations as players on the team struggle to stay on the court.
Unfortunately for him, that has remained the case during the 2023-24 NBA campaign. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the only player on the roster to appear in all 21 games this season. Point guard Kyle Lowry is the only other player to not miss multiple games to this point.
The Heat are already down one key contributor, as Tyler Herro has played in only eight games and hasn’t made an appearance since November 8th because of an ankle injury. He is now being joined in the sidelines by center, Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo has been dealing with a hip issue, a contusion it is being called, since the first week of the regular season. It was originally suffered on October 28th against the Minnesota Timberwolves and he would miss three games over the next few weeks because of it.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Bam Adebayo & Miami Heat Updates
But, things reached a head on November 30th against the Indiana Pacers. Spoelstra pulled Adebayo from the game and is considering him day-to-day. However, after missing Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Adebayo did not commit to being on the court for their next game on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, either.
“I have no idea,” Adebayo said, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “This is new to me…to be on the sideline. I get re-evaluated when the team gets back from Toronto. We’ll have a conversation then.”
Adebayo has been excellent for the Heat this season. He is averaging 22.3 points to go along with 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and one block per game, impacting things on both ends of the floor for Miami.
However, the team looks to be taking a cautious approach with their skilled big man. While his hip is getting better, Adebayo revealed that he isn’t doing much on-court work as the Heat are currently limiting that.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Bam Adebayo & Miami Heat Updates
“I haven’t started doing much basketball stuff; no contact. Everything else I’ve been doing, shooting and stuff like that, has been fine,” Adebayo explained. “The best thing for it is rest. That’s what I’ve been trying to do these past couple of days. Very boring. But this is the process.”
That sounds like a player who won’t be getting on the court Friday night. The Heat will have a few days off after that game, as they won’t play again until Monday against the Charlotte Hornets.
Those few days off would give the Heat a chance to put Adebayo through some workouts and ramp up his on-court work to get him ready to return. That seems like a more realistic return date, as the team is going to ensure he is as close to 100 percent healthy before getting him back out there.
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