Heat center Bam Adebayo has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). Adebayo will miss the club’s season-finale against the Magic on Sunday.
The news comes one week after head coach Erik Spoelstra entered the protocols. Spoelstra returned on Friday, guiding Miami to a 113-109 victory over Atlanta. Adebayo finished with a team-high 24 points and six rebounds in the contest.
Assuming Adebayo tested positive, he’ll be out for at least five days or until he returns two straight negative tests at least 24 hours apart. The Heat’s first-round series won’t begin until April 16 or 17, so Adebayo should be cleared by then.
Should Miami be forced to play without Adebayo, backup center Dewayne Dedmon and third-string big man Omer Yurtseven could see more playing time. The team could also go small by playing P.J. Tucker or Markieff Morris at the five.
Adebayo is in his fifth NBA campaign, finishing the regular season averaging a career-high 19.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. The Heat selected him No. 14 overall in the 2017 draft.
Are teams allowed to sign players to hardship contracts during the postseason?
No, only during the regular season if I’m not mistaken
as a Heat fan.. timing is everything… phew… imagine if this happened next weekend
The way things are going with this strain, you can almost somebody from one or more of the teams being affected. Supposedly this strain is more like a cold but I don’t see the NBA changing protocols
I’m not a doctor but I had one explain it to me.. the more people are vaccinated, the less of an effect there will be. If you aren’t vaccinated, this could be as bad as getting it in March of 2020… if you are.. this will be a bad cold at worst.