The Miami Heat will continue to hit the court understaffed, as Bam Adebayo joins the ranks of the “did not dress” list tonight.
At the most crucial juncture of the season, the Miami Heat are suspended in the Jell-O of mediocrity. A historically embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday began the month of March in the worst possible way, exposing Miami’s defense as a holey, incoherent mess.
The bad news? Their defensive woes may continue, as rookie Bam Adebayo will miss tonight’s match-up.
The Heat will be without Adebayo, along with Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson who missed the last game with quadricep injuries. While Ellington and Johnson don’t have a timetable set for their returns, Adebayo’s absence is expected to be localized to tonight’s game. He should resume play Monday against the Phoenix Suns.
Updated Heat injury report for Saturday night vs. Pistons:
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 3, 2018
Adebayo (Personal Reasons) – Out
Ellington (Left Quad Contusion) – Out
T. Johnson (Left Quad Contusion) – Out
Waiters (Left Ankle Surgery) – Out
Walton (G League) -- Out
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Without Adebayo, Ellington and Johnson, the Heat are woefully underserved against the Pistons. This late in the season, Miami’s playoff race looks all too familiar. Similar to last season which came down to a tiebreaker, praying for other teams to lose seems more reliable than hoping for a Heat victory.
In one sense, the Heat should get a break tonight. The Pistons, who are also fighting for eighth place, have lost seven of their last 10, cooled off from a hot streak after acquiring Blake Griffin in January.
Three games ahead of the Pistons, Miami also has a cushion going into the evening. Detroit struggles on the road, posting an away record of 9-20 on the season.
However, Miami’s buffer is limited.
Tonight is the final of four matchups against Detroit, and thus far Miami has lost two. Another Miami loss tonight would give the Pistons preference, should a playoff tiebreaker arise next month.
As if the bad news stopped there, Miami also has yet to secure a win against the Pistons with Griffin in the lineup. Griffin, whose skill set is akin to an All-Star level Julius Randle, is capable of weaving through Miami’s defense in the same way Randle did two nights prior.
Particularly with Adebayo out, Kelly Olynyk should see his minutes increased – if he can muster it. Olynyk played his usual 24 minutes per game in his return from injury, but was limited to a scoreless 13 in the loss to the Lakers on Thursday.
Otherwise, Miami could always smash the glass on their panic button, Udonis Haslem. Thus far Haslem has played 49 minutes across nine games this season.
"“You better believe UD is somebody I feel very comfortable throwing into a game like this,” coach Erik Spoelstra said to the Palm Beach Post on Haslem."
Next: What March means for the Miami Heat and their playoff hopes
A supremely important game, Miami will need to be firing on all cylinders to keep pace with the rest of the Eastern Conference.