Bam Adebayo, who hasn’t played for the Heat since November 29, is eyeing Monday’s game vs. Toronto for his return, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Adebayo underwent surgery on December 6 to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. When the Heat announced the procedure a day later, they said Adebayo was expected to miss about four-to-six weeks. Monday will represent the six-week mark since the 24-year-old went under the knife.
Adebayo was having another strong season for Miami before sustaining his thumb injury, matching career highs with 18.7 PPG and 10.2 RPG through 18 games (32.9 MPG). However, the Heat have held up well without Adebayo in the lineup, despite losing more players for days or weeks at a time due to injuries or COVID-19.
Omer Yurtseven has emerged as a legitimate contributor in Adebayo’s absence, having started Miami’s last eight games at center. Before Adebayo went down, Yurtseven hadn’t played more than eight minutes in an NBA game. As a starter, he has put up 12.1 PPG, 14.6 RPG, and 3.0 APG. He has also grabbed double-digit rebounds in 12 consecutive games.
It’s probably safe to assume Yurtseven will return to the bench once Adebayo is ready to go, but his emergence – along with Dewayne Dedmon‘s solid play in his 11 games as the starting center – is great news for the Heat, who can be more confident in their frontcourt depth going forward.
Big trouble for the rest of the league with the Heat getting squad healthy. Dipo should be coming soon.
Yurtseven-Adebayo at 4-PJ at the 3-Butler at 2 and Lowry PG. I think Bam would agree with playing PF more often
starting 5… Yurt, Bam, PJ, Butler, Lowry… 2nd unit… Dedmon, Duncan, Herro, Strus, Martin…. oh and they still have Gabe Vincent, Victor Oladipo, and Markieff Morris to fill in gaps on top of that…. this might be the deepest team in NBA history folks.
to clarify.. for those that may not know some of the names on that roster.. The Heat are literally 13 deep.. 1-13 is capable of scoring 10+ PPG and all 13 have scored over 15 points in a game this season except for Victor Oladipo.. who hasn’t played a game yet but is still an all-star.
I thought you were going to clarify the “in NBA history” part. But no, still murky.
Yes we know the names— That’s the prob!em.
Clearly you aren’t watching… I 100% stand by the statement I made