Heat’s Bam Adebayo to undergo thumb surgery, expected to miss approximately six weeks
The Miami Heat will be without starting center Bam Adebayo for an extended period.
The team announced Wednesday afternoon prior to its game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at FTX Arena that Adebayo sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during Monday’s home loss to the Denver Nuggets and will undergo surgery this weekend. He’s expected to miss approximately six weeks, but the Heat will have a more definitive timetable post-surgery.
If Adebayo misses six weeks, he would not return until around Jan. 12. That would force him to roughly 20 games.
“As Bam’s coach, I feel for him because I know how important the game is to him, competition, the opportunity with this team, where we are right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Wednesday’s game. “All of these things mean so much to him and we’ll just take it one step at a time. The outlook on it is we’ll be able to take care of it and it won’t be nearly as long as it seems at this point. When you’re him, that’s easier said than done.”
Adebayo was visibly in pain during the second half of Monday’s contest, clutching at his right hand. He managed to finish the game, recording 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes.
When asked about the injury following the game, Adebayo dismissed the question and said: “I’m all right.”
As a point of reference, Chris Paul dealt with a torn UCL in his left thumb in January 2017 and his recovery timetable was six to eight weeks. Paul ended up returning about five weeks later, with the surgery on Jan. 18, 2017 and his first game back coming on Feb. 24, 2017.
Also, Marcus Smart underwent surgery for a torn UCL in his right thumb on March 16, 2018 and he returned to play in the playoffs on April 24, 2018. He returned to game action between five and six weeks after surgery.
“He’ll still be very much with the team,” Spoelstra said of Adebayo. “Because it is his hand, he’ll be able to get on the court pretty quickly and at least do conditioning and some skill work with his left hand all that kind of stuff.”
Without Adebayo, the expectation is that Dewayne Dedmon will move from backup center to starting center. That could create an opportunity for rookie center Omer Yurtseven or forwards Udonis Haslem and KZ Okpala to become consistent members of the Heat’s power rotation off the bench while Adebayo is out.
The eventual return of veteran forward Markieff Morris would also help solidify the Heat’s frontcourt. Morris will miss his 12th consecutive game on Wednesday because of whiplash stemming from Nuggets Nikola Jokic’s shove on Nov. 8, and Spoelstra said Wednesday there’s still no update on Morris’ status.
Adebayo has also been dealing with a lingering bruised left knee that has forced him to miss three games this season. He has been held out of recent shootarounds because of his knee issue.
“It definitely will,” Spoelstra said when asked if Adebayo’s time away will also help his bruised knee heal. “It’s a bone bruise, so those take time. He’ll be able to take care of that and do all the corrective rehab work on his legs, his conditioning, all that. Because of the nature of where his injury is, he’ll be able to be on the court pretty soon.”
This is a new experience for Adebayo, who sat out just nine regular-season games over the previous three seasons.
Adebayo, 24, has averaged 18.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 18 games this season.
Along with Adebayo, the Heat will also be without Morris, Marcus Garrett (G League assignment) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) on Wednesday against the Cavaliers. Jimmy Butler was also ruled out for the second straight game because of a tail bone contusion.
This story was originally published December 1, 2021 at 3:23 PM.
