Bam Adebayo will remain out for the Miami Heat with a hip injury, and the big man said he has “no idea” when he will be able to return to action.
Bam says his hip is improving but he's not doing contact stuff and no specific target for his return. Could it be next week? "I have no idea. This is new
to me."..Herro is doing some basketball stuff (on court just now) but Spo said it's not known when he will do contact practice— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) December 5, 2023
The 26-year-old last played Nov. 30 against the Indiana Pacers and then sat out the rematch on Saturday. He reportedly will not travel with the team for its next game at the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. Injured teammates Haywood Highsmith and Tyler Herro also will not make the trip.
Adebayo has also missed two other games among the past six, and the Heat have gone 2-4 over that stretch to fall to 11-9 this season.
Highsmith has been dealing with a back injury and managed to play just three minutes on Saturday before leaving with spasms. He also sat out a game on Nov. 28.
Herro has not played since Nov. 8, when he injured his ankle. He has missed the past 12 contests but has resumed some basketball activities. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said he does not know when the guard can start taking contact again.
Miami was able to weather the absence of Herro, one of their top scorers, at the start but has struggled recently despite Jimmy Butler picking up the slack with consecutive games over 30 points.
Adebayo is averaging a career-high 22.3 points per game this season. He ranks third on the Heat in scoring behind Herro (22.9) and Butler (22.4).
It’s been almost a month since those three have been on the court together, and the Heat have used 12 different players in the starting lineup so far this season. Standout rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the only player to appear in all 20 games, and Kyle Lowry leads the team with 19 games started.
While the Heat are missing the offense of Herro and two-way play of Adebayo, Highsmith has featured his defense in helping them to an excellent record with him as a starter.
At full strength, the Heat remain legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. But until they have all their pieces available, they could continue to struggle in the near future.
