The Miami Heat will be shorthanded once again on Friday when they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers.
The team announced that Markieff Morris (neck), Bam Adebayo (thumb), Victor Oladipo (knee), Jimmy Butler (tail bone) and Marcus Garrett all won’t travel with the team.
UPDATE: The following players are not traveling with the team to Indiana today.
Markieff Morris (neck), Bam Adebayo (thumb), Victor Oladipo (knee), Jimmy Butler (tail bone) & Marcus Garrett.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 2, 2021
This is a killer loss for the Heat, as they really could use Butler back in the lineup now that Adebayo is sidelined with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.
Miami was blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, and it could be facing a similar result with so many stars out on Friday.
Morris, who suffered a neck injury when he was blindsided by Nikola Jokic in Denver, has yet to return to the lineup. Oladipo and Adebayo are both out for the foreseeable future. Miami will need to lean on Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Dewayne Dedmon and others until they can return.
The Pacers haven’t gotten out to a fast start this season, going just 9-15 through their first 24 games, but they’ll have a chance to get back on track at home.
Miami has fallen to the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference this season after losing on Wednesday night. The Heat are currently 13-9 through 22 games.
This will be the second meeting of the season between the Heat and Pacers. Indiana won the first matchup in overtime back on Oct. 23.
The Heat and Pacers are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. EST from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
