Bam Adebayo will miss tonight’s game against Charlotte, but the Heat are relieved his injury wasn’t much worse, according to Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Adebayo was diagnosed with a sprained left big toe after undergoing an MRI on Thursday. There was fear that he might have suffered a more significant injury after colliding with Cameron Johnson early in Wednesday’s contest at Denver. Adebayo remained in the game for a while before being subbed out for his normal rest with 3:48 left in the first quarter. He went to the team’s locker room and didn’t return to action.
“A guy hit me in the back of the leg and then I felt the pain in my foot,’” Adebayo said. “So, I took it upon myself to check myself out and go see what happened. … Obviously, you don’t want to do anything more to cause any lingering effects. So, (coach Erik Spoelstra) checked me out.”
Adebayo is considered day-to-day, and Chiang and Jackson expect second-year center Kel’el Ware to see increased playing time until he returns. Keshad Johnson, a 6’6″ forward, also saw time in the middle at Denver, and two-way big man Vlad Goldin has been recalled from the G League.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Pelle Larsson has claimed a surprisingly large role for the Heat, earning a spot in the starting lineup for the past five games, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The second-year wing has been an efficient shooter with .500/.348/.813 splits, and he kept his starting role even after Norman Powell returned from injury. “He’s owned these minutes,” Spoelstra said. “He makes you play him, because he does so many of the intangible things. He really elevates the units that he plays in, just with energy, his toughness, winning plays, all that.”
- Wizards swingman Kyshawn George has become an early candidate for Most Improved Player honors in his second NBA season, notes Eric Samulski of NBC Sports. George’s increased ball-handling responsibilities have given him a larger role in Washington’s offense. “Growing up, I’ve always been a point guard,” he said. “It’s only been the last couple of years that I kind of transitioned to being able to play the wing. I always kept the point guard skills. I’ve always been able to read the game really well and just make the right decision from there. So they’ve given me the opportunity to run the pick and roll more, and I’m just taking advantage of it.”
- Second-round pick Sion James is showing the Hornets that he’s ready to play consistent minutes right away, observes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by Brandon Miller‘s injury, James has made three starts already and is averaging 8.8 PPG while shooting 70% from three-point range. He’s also contributing on defense, which is something teammate Tre Mann expected when he first saw James in person. “It was first, the physical aspect, just seeing him — he’s huge,” Mann said. “And then my first thought was Lu Dort. Just seeing him work out. I was like, ‘OK, nobody can score on him right now. And I was like, Lu Dort again.’ Then I started doing research, looking at his film like, ‘Oh, he was a scorer. He used to score the ball. He’s good offensively, too.’ “And I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to have him. He’s versatile.”