Spoelstra says having Bam on bench brings boost
When it comes to being the man in the middle, it solely means the middle of the Miami Heat bench for Bam Adebayo.
But with his center sidelined by last month’s thumb surgery, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Sunday it has been meaningful having Adebayo alongside on the team’s western swing.
“Bam is the heart and soul of our group,” Spoelstra said ahead of Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden1 Center. “So I think just from a spirit standpoint, and an emotional-boost standpoint, it’s great having him here with the team, with the guys.”
Adebayo could be back with the team within a week, and likely no later than the end of the month.
“He’s able to work out every single day,” Spoelstra said, with Adebayo even drilling with his surgical right thumb. “But he likes being around the team, likes being around the games. You see how engaged he is in every huddle, and on the sidelines.”
Spoelstra said keeping the spirit steeled can’t help but keep the body sharper.
“I believe in that,” Spoelstra said. “There’s no way to really know for sure. But I think it speeds up recovery to be around the guys, and having that human interaction is helping his hand heal a little quicker.”
Okpala out
Third-year forward KZ Okpala had been upgraded to questionable earlier Sunday but then was ruled out with the sprained right wrist that kelp him out of Friday night’s road victory over the Houston Rockets.
Okpala was injured in Tuesday’s victory over the Washington Wizards at FTX Arena.
“He has really been pushing for it,” Spoelstra said of an Okpala return. “And we’ll just continue to treat him, evaluate him every day. But he’s not quite there.”
Spoelstra, though, did have his staff back intact, with assistant coach Caron Butler back with the team after time in health-andsafety protocols.
“Everybody’s back and I keep crossing my fingers that we continue to stay whole,” Spoelstra said. “CB was with us last game. So it was great having the whole band back together.”
Limited engagement
Even with six players added last week from the G League on emergency contracts, the Heat have yet to have practice time with the newcomers.
“Yeah, we had a training-camp practice last night when we came in, and a training-camp practice this morning,” Spoelstra said with a sarcastic laugh before Sunday’s game. “No, we’re in the middle of a crazy schedule right now.
“We flew in, guys got our rest, tested late last night, had a brief meeting and film session and got ready to go. I mean that’s where we are right now. That’s about the extent of what we can do.”
Making adjustments
Spoelstra said the adjustments remain ongoing amid the league’s COVID protocols.
“I commend everybody involved,” he said. “That’s the league, the players and their association, staff members and everybody just trying to figure this out and continue to move the business forward. The priority is everybody’s health and safety, and our family and friends. And then we’re adapting.
“I commend the league for adapting to this new variant and the fact that things are different than they were two years ago and a year ago. Now we have a league that is mostly vaccinated, double vaccinated with a booster. The ones that are testing positive, the overwhelming majority of them are asymptomatic or very minor symptoms.”
With the NBA allowing quicker turnarounds, the Heat potentially could be back to whole by week’s end, provided there are no additional positive tests.
“So I think the return-to-play protocol now, which could be quicker, I think was the appropriate step,” Spoelstra said, “and I don’t think it was a rash decision. I think there was a lot of science behind it and a lot of communication between everybody.
“Then we’ll move forward and expect to make adjustments again. This is something that’s constantly evolving and changing, and we have to change with it.”