Heat coach Spoelstra says banged-up Adebayo will 'be ready to go' in Game 5
The next phase of the Eastern Conference could come down to what Bam Adebayo has left.
In visible discomfort at the end of the Wednesday’s Game 4 victory, the Miami Heat All-Star center essentially helped his team move to a 3-1 series lead without much in the way of use of his left arm.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s only comment after Wednesday’s win was, “He’s icing his body right now. That’s where we are.”
Thursday, Spoelstra said there wasn’t a need for an update.
“He’ll be ready to go,” Spoelstra said, declining to identify a specific injury or body part. “It’s a little bit of everything. This is a physical series. He’ll be ready to go (Friday).”
Spoelstra said there has been no X-ray or MRI.
“A lot of ice,” he said following the team’s optional practice session at Disney World.
There wasn’t an on-court test Thursday.
“He was able to work extremely intensely in our film session,” Spoelstra quipped.
With 2:06 left in Wednesday’s game, Adebayo got tangled with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, with Adebayo’s left wrist twisted in an uncomfortable position.
“I’m good,” Adebayo said after the game. “Just a wrong turn, wrong little movement, nothing major.”
Adebayo closed with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 12 rebounds.
That performance seemed to give Celtics coach Brad Stevens pause about his center-less lineup of Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker and Tatum.
“We got to do a better job with all our lineups,” he said. “Certainly that one has had its moments. But we looked small, I will say that.”
Adebayo has not missed a game in the playoffs. The only game he missed during the regular season was the meaningless Aug. 14 regular-season finale, when he was listed with a sore right knee, but ostensibly was given the game off for rest.
Adebayo was the lone center utilized by Spoelstra in Game 4, with Kelly Olynyk held out due to coach’s decision for the first time since Feb. 1.
———
©2020 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
