With the Miami Heat preparing for a playoff push with 14 games left in the regular season, the two main goals are to avoid the play-in tournament and stay healthy. As the Heat's loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night saw the return of Norman Powell and Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo has found himself on the injury report for the team's upcoming game.
Tuesday's road contest against the Charlotte Hornets (34-34) is no doubt a big one for Miami to get after, as the team's next five games are against teams with winning records. Those teams are the Los Angeles Lakers (42-25) on Thursday, the Houston Rockets (41-25) on Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs (49-18) next Monday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-27, facing them twice next Wednesday and Friday).
However, Miami's captain, Adebayo, has been added to the team's injury report ahead of the clash against the Hornets, being listed as “questionable” with right calf tightness.
The star is coming off what is likely the best week of his career, with Tuesday's win over the Washington Wizards including Adebayo's historic 83-point game, passing Kobe Bryan's 81 to make him have the second-highest scoring game in the NBA ever.
Though the performance has had a polarizing reaction, no one can take away the history that the 28-year-old made, with the NBA obviously awarding him Eastern Conference Player of the Week. However, he is at risk of missing Tuesday's game against the Hornets, which is a team that has a .500 record; they are 18-7 in their last 25 games.
Plus, the contest has implications in the East standings, as every game remaining in the regular season is against the Heat at 38-30, putting them seventh in the conference. They are a half-game back of the Toronto Raptors, who own the sixth seed, which is the spot Miami is hunting for at least, which would have them avoid the play-in tourney.
