It is most surely coming down to the wire for the Miami Heat as they have 14 games left in the regular season, but the team is once again filled with injuries to key players like Jimmy Butler, Tyler Hero, and more. However, Heat star Bam Adebayo sees the bright side in the situation saying that once everybody on the team is fully healthy, “it's going to be a dope experience” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“It’s going to be a dope experience just for all of us to be healthy again, all of us be out together and all of us try to figure out how we can get wins and make a deep playoff run,” Adebayo said about repeating the same magic from last season where Miami went to the NBA Finals as the eighth seed.
Adebayo not tired of the moving parts
There is no doubt Adebayo sees the silver lining with the way the season is going for the Heat which has been tumultuous to say the least. When asked if he is frustrated about the team continuing to lose players due to injury, the University of Kentucky product said he's not because it's out of their control.
“No, because you can’t dictate injuries,” Adebayo said as he is averaging 19.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and four assists per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. “You can’t tell guys to play through some injuries that are obviously really bothering them — me included. For us, it’s next man up always. We’ve won games with eight guys before. So when you got guys out, you still have a chance.”
While the mindset has always been “next man up” for Miami, trying to find consistency amidst the inconsistency of health is a hurdle itself. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about that after the team's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night where he said that “adversity can make you better.”
“We’re just trying to build a consistency to our identity and an ability to sustain that, and just keep on fighting through this regular season,” Spoelstra said. “These are opportunities to get better. The adversity can make you better if you handle it the right way.”
Duncan Robinson on the injury woes
Besides the injuries to integral players like recently to Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and the continued absences of Tyler Herro and Kevin Love, now Heat star Duncan Robinson is added to the list. Robinson left the 76ers game in the third quarter with back discomfort as he said after the loss that while they are confident they “have enough,” he acknowledges the injury woes.
“We always feel like we have enough regardless of who’s in the lineup,” Robinson said. “But, obviously, we haven’t been full strength for a while.”
It was revealed after the game that Robinson tried to push through a nagging back injury that even limited his movement before the contest started. In Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons, a made shot from deep marked him the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1000 made three-pointers as he said that the Heat aren't “going to make any excuses” because of the injury issues.”
“This is definitely not a group that’s going to be making any excuses about that,” Robinson said. “Guys are playing through being banged up and that’s just part of what it is this time of year. Obviously, we’re hoping and eager to get everybody back and fully healthy.”
The Heat are now 37-31 on the season which puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference as they finish the current four-game road trip Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They will then start a four-game home stand which starts Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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