Heat star Bam Adebayo will return to action on Wednesday vs. Golden State, the team announced, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
Adebayo has been out since November 5, having missed Miami’s past six contests due to a left big toe sprain. The team held its own in his absence, winning four of six games and registering a pair of two-point victories over the conference-rival Knicks and Cavaliers during that stretch.
In his seven healthy games this season, Adebayo averaged 22.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, with a .462/.356/.861 shooting line. He was averaging 6.4 three-point attempts per night in those first seven outings, which would be a career high by far — he shot 2.8 shots threes per game in 2024/25 after attempting a total of just 104 in his first seven seasons.
Kel’el Ware has been starting at center with Adebayo out and has recorded four consecutive double-doubles, with averages of 15.0 PPG and 14.3 RPG during that stretch. Ware and Adebayo started alongside one another five times earlier in the season, so Adebayo’s return doesn’t necessarily mean that head coach Erik Spoelstra will move the second-year big man back to the bench.
Either way, Ware figures to play a significant role, since the Heat will be monitoring Adebayo’s minutes in his first game back, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Additionally, while Adebayo will be backin action , the Heat won’t have a fully healthy frontcourt, as Nikola Jovic (hip) will miss Wednesday’s game, tweets Winderman.
The Heat will be taking on a shorthanded Warriors team. After previously ruling out Stephen Curry (right ankle soreness), Al Horford (left toe injury management), and Jonathan Kuminga (bilateral patellar tendonitis), Golden State has also downgraded Jimmy Butler (right low back strain) and Draymond Green (illness) to out, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Don’t sleep on Bam’s 3pt range, he’s become sneaky decent averaging 6 attempts per—would Riley trade him for Anthony Davis and 1st Rd pick?
annnd he went 3/4 from 3 a couple hours after you wrote this….you my friend, you know ball.
Definitely a PF
Duren needs to do the same
I said this three or four years ago
Who is available for Warriors tonight. ???? wow
Trap game for the HEAT, much like the last CAVS game.
Team without stars, could be a dangerous lot, ball moves faster, pressure to win deceased.
You were very wrong.
Very wrong ? …… wasn’t the game close, GSW even leading, up until Q4?
They lost the first quarter by 9 and the last quarter by 16, they got lucky for a couple minutes in 2Q and 3Q but played awful while shorthanded in their league-leading 13th away game (Knicks have had 4). Buddy, Podz, Moody and Richard all stunk up the joint tonight.
GSW with half its roster out + Wiggins revenge game + Bam back for his first in a while = Miami was never losing this one.
Yet, it took a Q4 surge for the HEAT to win.
HEAT don’t play with their food, when they lose it’s because an opponent wanted it more, had a career/breakout game more …. see CAVS Porter their last game.
Give you Podz, Post some credit.
Heat absolutely do play with their food. Massive 1Q and 4Q wins and small 2Q and 3Q losses prove this. The Heat played with the Warriors in 2Q and 3Q, absolutely. Also, the Heat aren’t an elite team.
Podz had a -13 on 6-19 shooting. He was garbage when it mattered (typical), he is garbage at offense and too small on defense (as usual). Podz, Moody, Buddy and Richard all playing like crud with tons of minutes is why this game was not close at the end. I think you meant Pat Spencer, who had a nice offensive game (with no defense, as usual).
Post had a +5 in 19 mins…he should have played 35. Kerr once again sabotaging his own team with small ball.
Respectfully I disagree here.