Heat gets Jimmy Butler back vs. Pelicans. But Bam Adebayo ruled out
The Miami Heat is getting one of its stars back, but will be without another.
Heat star wing Jimmy Butler will be available to play in Thursday night’s road game against the New Orleans Pelicans after missing the previous two games with right knee inflammation. But star center Bam Adebayo will miss the Heat’s final game before the All-Star break because of left knee tendinitis.
It’s the same knee injury that had Adebayo on the injury report for two of the Heat’s previous three games, but he ended up playing in both of those games.
“We just want to be proactive about it, particularly before the break and make sure we take care of it right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo’s knee issue in advance of Thursday’s game. “He’ll continue to just be day to day.”
The Pelicans will also be without one of their stars, as All-Star forward Zion Williamson (right fifth toe irritation) was ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Heat. Williamson is averaging 25.6 points on 61.4 percent shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season, and is also averaging a league-high 19.3 points per game in the paint.
The Pelicans will also be without guard JJ Redick (right heel soreness) on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Thursday marks the first time Adebayo has missed a regular-season game because of a legitimate injury since his rookie season in 2017-18. He played every regular-season game in 2018-19, missed the regular-season finale last season as a precaution with the start of the playoffs just days away, and had missed just two games this season because of contact tracing related to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Adebayo was also unavailable for two games during last season’s playoff run in the NBA Finals because of a neck strain.
Adebayo, 23, is averaging 19.2 points on 56.3 percent shooting, 9.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 33 games (33 starts) this season. He turned in a quiet performance in Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting, two rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes.
As for Butler, the five-time All-Star has missed 14 games this season — two because of a sprained right ankle, 10 because of the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and two because of knee inflammation.
But Butler’s return is positive news for the Heat (17-18), which is just 4-10 in games that he has missed and 13-8 in games that he has played in this season.
Butler, 31, entered Thursday averaging 20.1 points and career-highs in rebounds (7.8) and assists (7.8) in 21 games (21 starts) this season.
“Already the last couple of days, he had felt much better,” Spoelstra said of Butler. “This has been such a compressed, speedy season, it really is amazing how quickly players can recover and feel significantly better with a couple of days of rest and treatment.”
Miami has 14 players available for Thursday’s contest, with Adebayo, guard Avery Bradley (left calf strain) and center Meyers Leonard (season-ending left shoulder surgery) the only ones unavailable for the Heat. It marks the 15th consecutive game that Bradley has missed, with Spoelstra noting prior to Thursday’s game that Bradley has “really progressed in a good way” in his recovery.
Following Thursday’s game, the Heat returns from the All-Star break on March 11 to take on the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 7:05 PM.
