Adebayo listed with left knee tendinosis
Guard Tyler Herro again is listed as questionable on the Miami Heat’s injury report for Friday night’s game against the Utah Jazz at AmericanAirlines Arena, with center Bam Adebayo also questionable.
Adebayo, who has not missed time due to injury this season, is listed with left knee tendinosis. He played 35:17 in Wednesday night’s 116-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors at AmericanAirlines Arena, closing with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The only two games missed by Adebayo this season, a pair of road losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, came while in the NBA’s pandemic protocols, due to contact tracing. The only time he has been listed as out due to injury over the past two seasons was last season’s final regular-season game, when he ostensibly sat for rest but was listed with a sore right knee.
Herro was injured during the first half of Saturday night’s road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, then missed Monday night’s road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Wednesday’s victory over the Raptors. Goran Dragic (ankle) and Chris Silva (hip), after returning to the Heat’s active roster Wednesday, no longer are on the injury report.
Still out are Avery Bradley (calf strain) and Meyers Leonard (shoulder surgery).
Friday’s game will be the second for the Heat with increased spectator capacity amid the team’s socially distanced seating.
“It’s good to have Heat Nation in the gym,” Adebayo said. “We didn’t have Heat Nation at first. It was kind of weird and lonely. Slowly but surely we’re going to keep getting Heat Nation in the gym.”
The Heat are allowing attendance of roughly 3,000 in the 19,600-seat facility, with that capacity in place at least through Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Zoned out
A game after utilizing zone defense to eventually cool the Toronto Raptors’ 3-point shooting, the Heat might need similar success against the Jazz.
Utah enters leading the league at 17 3-point conversions per game, with Toronto exiting Wednesday night’s loss to the Heat third in the NBA at 15.4 per game. The Jazz stand third in the league in 3-point percentage, at .399, with the Raptors sixth, at .383.
The Raptors shot 11 of 30 on 3-pointers after the Wednesday’s first quarter, when the Heat turned to more zone defense.
“I think communication is key in all aspects of defense, especially a zone,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “So when everybody is out there talking, not just Bam, not just one guy on the weak side, everybody, it looks better and works better. I think it makes everyone feel better and more comfortable.”
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said the Heat’s extended zone proved particularly problematic.
“They play it really high up the floor,” he said. “They do a good job at challenging their opponent with their zone.”
Shooters shoot: Duncan Robinson said encouragement from coach Erik Spoelstra and teammates allowed him to get back on track with his 3-point stroke after a rough patch during the team’s three-game losing streak.
After shooting 8 of 25 (32 percent) from beyond the arc in losses to the Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, Robinson is 16 of 36 (44 percent) during the current four-game winning streak.
“We’re fortunate enough to have a locker room and coaching staff and teammates to encourage us to continue to be aggressive and take shots, hunt shots, seek shots,” Robinson said. “That makes it a lot easier. It’s really about getting good looks and taking good shots. The moment you stop taking them, you’re messing with the offense, you’re messing with the game. Whether it’s Max [Strus], myself or other guys in this locker room, we’ve got a lot of confidence that guys are going to step up and make shots.”