In the grand scheme of injury updates, “no idea” doesn’t bode well for Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat.
The big man originally suffered a left hip contusion on October 28 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 106-90 loss. He missed games on October 30, November 22, and November 25 before returning to the court on November 30 against the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately for the residents of South Beach, he was forced to leave the game at the request of head coach Erik Spoelstra, logging only 12:28 of court time.
Miami needs Adebayo on the court to establish some good momentum as it looks to recover from a dismal start to the 2023-24 NBA season, but his comeback date is undetermined.
Bam Adebayo Himself Doesn’t Know When He’ll be Back
Adebayo, throwing up 22.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, will miss a second consecutive contest against the Toronto Raptors on December 6. Nothing is certain beyond that.
Asked if he could return two days later at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was noncommittal.
“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.”
He did indicate that his hip is improving, but the Heat are limiting his on-court work.
“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.”
Adebayo’s Presence is Vital to the Heat
On the most basic level, Miami is 10-6 when Adebayo is in the lineup and 1-3 when he is not.
In 2023-24, the big man has been more active than ever on offense, averaging a career-high 22.3 points per game, trailing only Jimmy Butler (22.4) and Tyler Herro (22.9) on the team leaderboard. However, as vital as his scoring output has been, that aspect of his game is easier to replace, especially once Herro returns from an ankle sprain that has kept him out since November 8.
Adebayo has the most effect on defense, where his lateral mobility (hampered by a hip ailment) and instincts allow him to excel as an interior deterrent as well as a help defender capable of switching onto practically any assignment.
Dunks & Threes’ defensive estimated plus-minus statistic, his efforts on the defensive end has placed him in the 94th percentile among all NBA players, even while operating at less than full strength for an extended period of time.
With his passing abilities, willingness to do the dirty work on both ends, and floor-stretching ability as a big man who, according to Basketball Reference, makes 49.4% of his shots from 10-16 feet and 40.6% of his looks from even deeper two-point territory, his importance to Spoelstra’s schemes cannot be overstated.
Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson, and the other internal choices are unlikely to be able to replicate his overall influence, even if they can help stave off deterioration in specific areas.
The Heat are presently seventh in the Eastern Conference rankings with an 11-9 record. If they want to move up the pecking order in the near future, Adebayo needs to figure out when he can put the uniform back on and start having an influence on both sides of the field.
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