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The Miami Heat secured a huge win on Thursday, as they held off the Boston Celtics to emerge with a 112-109 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. As it turns out, however, this win came with quite a cost, as Heat All-Star big man Bam Adebayo sustaining an injury late in the game.
Adebayo was clearly in pain in the closing minutes, and while he was able to play through the injury, it seems that it is more serious than initially anticipated. According to a report by Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports, it is looking like Adebayo's injury will force him to sit out the remainder of the East Finals:
It's all setting up for Bam Adebayo to miss the rest of the series (however many more games it is), but for Kelly Olynyk to close out the Celtics in some weird ass, ironic twist of fate.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 24, 2020
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra also hinted at how Adebayo is currently in a significant amount of pain:
Clearly the most important update in the next couple of days for the rest of the Eastern Conference Finals is the status of Bam Adebayo. Erik Spoelstra said "He's got a lot of ice on his body."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 24, 2020
This could potentially be a significant blow for the Heat, who has relied heavily on Adebayo throughout the series. The 6-foot-9 forward/center has carried his All-Star form inside the bubble, and he's been huge for Miami in the playoffs.
However, despite some earlier worries, things might just bode well for Adebayo's status moving forward:
Bam Adebayo on wrist, "I'm good." Said he just twisted it.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) September 24, 2020
Bam Adebayo iced postgame and is no longer icing. “I’m good,” he said.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) September 24, 2020
Bam Adebayo himself provided a positive update about his injury. This is undeniably a good development, but Miami isn't out of the woods here just yet.
On Wednesday, Adebayo was able to log 41 minutes of action, finishing with 20 points on a highly-efficient 7-of-11 shooting, to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He made a couple of key plays down the stretch, which allowed Miami to pull away from a resurgent Boston side.
With Wednesday's win, the Heat are now just one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals. Their focus should not lie there right now, however, with the Celtics not going to bow out without a fight here. We've all seen how fickle a 3-1 series lead has turned out to be in this postseason run, and the last thing Miami needs to do now is to be complacent.
