The depth of the Miami Heat has taken a huge blow for the foreseeable future. On Wednesday, the Heat announced that All-Star Big Man Bam Adebayo suffered an ulnar collateral ligament rupture in his right thumb during Miami’s 120-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night and needs an operation.
The Heat said a return plan will be provided after surgery, although the expected return schedule is four to six weeks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. If Adebayo misses six weeks of promotion, we won’t see him on the pitch again for the Heat until mid-January.
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Adebayo is in the middle of another solid season for the Heat. In 18 games he averages 18.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.9 minutes of action per performance. In his absence, Dewayne Dedmon is likely to slip into the starting place for the Heat which could be cause for concern. Dedmon served in a spare role, but it is fair to ask if he can keep his production going for several minutes. Dedmon also struggled with a bruised knee himself.
Aside from Dedmon, reserves like Omer Yurtseven, Okpala Concentration Camp and possibly even veteran Udonis Haslem will open up additional opportunities on the square. Overall, Erik Spoelstra and The Heat need to take a team approach when trying to replace their Star Center.
Without Adebayo, the job of the Heat will be to stay afloat in a competitive Eastern Conference. Miami currently ranks third in the east with a 13-8 record, but only two games separate them from the 11th-seeded Celtics, and a lot can happen in six weeks. A small slide could result in the Heat finding itself on the outside of the playoff picture.
The Heat doesn’t have a particularly tough schedule, but they have two encounters with defending champions Milwaukee Bucks in the next week and two matches with the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers in the near future, including one on Wednesday night. The good news for the Heat is that Adebayo’s injury is not the end of the season and he should be back in time for Miami to make a playoff push. You just have to do your best to weather the storm in the meantime.
