Bam Adebayo joins Tyler Hero on Miami’s injury report against the Hawks

With The Miami Heat are looking to bounce back from the loss To the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, the latest injury report really concerns who is present. As look at the heat to overcome its declinehaving now lost eight of their last nine games, one player who has surprisingly appeared on the injury report is a star Bam Adebayojoining Tyler Herro and others.

Herro was previously on the injury report, out again for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks with a toe contusion, which will make him miss his sixth straight game and eight in his last nine contests. Before Miami’s loss to Toronto on Tuesday, Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra said he was “very encouraged” Hero’s progress, along with Nikola Jovic and Pele Larsson, who are both “probable” for Friday.

“I’m very encouraged by the progress,” Spoelstra told ClutchPoints. “They’re not ready to go tonight and we don’t have a time frame, but I can see what they’re doing. I don’t have to go into all the details of what I’m seeing, but I came in yesterday and I was encouraged.”

As for Adebayo, who is on the injury report with what is being described as “lower back soreness,” after another disappointing outing against the Raptors, he scored nine points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.

Bam Adebayo’s injury comes at a time when he is in a slump

While it is The captain in Adebayo has dealt with recent strugglesone has to wonder if a possible back injury was the reason for the fall. However, Adebayo has been out of the injury report for some time with a back problem and has not spoken about the long-term problem.

Instead, Adebayo spoke openly about his current struggles and how it’s just “part of the NBA”, as he averaged 11.2 points per game over his last four contests.

“It’s terrible,” Adebayo said. “But that’s part of the NBA, it’s a long season. So I fight through whatever I have to fight through, figure out how I can make a difference in the win, and do that instead of focusing on the shots that aren’t falling. Just play basketball and eventually the shots will start falling.”

“Shots aren’t falling,” Adebayo continued to ClutchPoints when asked if it was mechanics. “That’s really what it is, and getting to my spots and figuring out how I can get a couple more touches on offense.”

Also adjusting to a new fast, free-flowing offensive philosophy, it remains to be seen when Adebayo will be back in the groove, and if that happens on Saturday, his presence is on the injury report. Miami is 15-15, and looks like it won’t be below .500 this season heading into Friday’s game against the Hawks.