Breaking down Bam Adebayo’s first week back with the Heat. And Tyler Herro returns

When Bam Adebayo returned to the Miami Heat lineup on Jan. 17, he had one goal in mind: Go undefeated the first week.

Individual stats were irrelevant. Keeping the Heat at or near the top of the Eastern Conference standings was the primary task.

Miami came close.

“We lost one game,” Adebayo said after practice Tuesday ahead of the Heat’s 7:30 p.m. home game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday at FTX Arena.

But 3-1 still does the job.

And Adebayo’s performance in those four games — wins over the Raptors, Trail Blazers and Lakers and that one loss to the Hawks — show that he’s in position to help them win a lot more games down the stretch.

Adebayo’s stats in his first four games since returning from right thumb surgery that sidelined him for 22 games: 17.3 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, four assists per game, 1.5 blocks per game while playing an average of 32.7 minutes.

Compare that to his first 18 games before the injury and subsequent surgery: 18.7 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game, 0.3 blocks per game while playing an average of 32.9 minutes.

He’s mirroring the individual stats that he had right out of the gate.

But his importance goes beyond what he does individually.

Ask coach Erik Spoelstra: “He just knows how to help the team fit in and impact winning. You can just see how much different we are. He gets easy baskets for guys. He gets our shooters open. He’s so dynamic off the dribble. And then defensively, it just allows us to play a little bit more to our strengths.”

And Duncan Robinson: “The reason he’s been able to step right back is just the work that he did. He was putting work in, going through plays, workouts, lifts and all that sort of stuff to be able to hit the ground running. His versatility is something you just feel immediately on both ends of the floor. His offensive versatility, his ability to score, create, pass and be unselfish. And then defensively, he can switch multiple positions and be disruptive.”

And Tyler Herro: “It’s just his versatility on both ends of the floor. How much he brings really on both ends offensively and defensively. He switches one through five. And then offensively just throwing him the ball really in any situation. He gets guys to their spots, makes plays and is just another body to have that really makes a difference.”

Herro returns

Herro was back at practice Tuesday after missing three games while in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Herro said he had “a couple symptoms” including coughing and body aches for the first couple days but felt fine afterward. He had to wait the league-mandated five days before being able to return to the team.

Monday was the first day he spent outside of his house since entering protocols.

“I just had to go through the process of testing and quarantining and just trying to stay in shape,” Herro said.

Which, he admitted, wasn’t necessarily the easiest thing.

“I hate sitting around and not being able to move around,” said Herro, who is listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks. “I was in the house all week just sitting around and watching the games on TV.”

Spoelstra added: “He had been pushing for the last like three days to get back into the mix, but that’s just the deal of the NBA protocols. It’s good to have basically the whole group here.”

In 38 games this season, primarily off the bench, Herro is averaging 20.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 43 percent from the field.

In other Heat personnel news, point guard Kyle Lowry (personal reasons) remains away from the team. Markieff Morris is “doing more,” Spoelstra said without giving an official update on his playing status. Victor Oladipo (right knee) and KZ Okpala (right wrist sprain) also remain out.