The invasiveness of the body snatching continues for the Miami Heat, or at least that remains the perspective of center Bam Adebayo.
Despite both players being given Saturday off in Mexico City against the San Antonio Spurs, and despite the Heat having two days off after that victory, starting point guard Kyle Lowry and starting power forward Caleb Martin both again were declared out in advance of Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Chicago Bulls.
In addition, forward Jimmy Butler was ruled out shortly before the start of Tuesday night’s game, due to a gastrointestinal illness.
For Lowry, the absence makes three consecutive games missed with what the team is listing as a sore left knee. Beyond the current absence, the only other game missed this season by the veteran 36-year-old point guard was when he was given the night off for rest when the Heat defeated the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 8.
Martin sprained his left ankle late in Thursday night’s road victory over the Houston Rockets, before then sitting out Saturday. His lone previous absence was when he was suspended by the NBA for the Oct. 24 home loss to the Toronto Raptors due to a fracas two days earlier against the Raptors.
With Butler, it is the 12th game missed this season. He missed two in early November with hip tightness, then seven through the end of November due to a sore right knee. More recently, he had missed two games due to knee maintenance.
That again meant Heat coach Erik Spoelstra having to dip into his bench for replacements for injured starters, with Adebayo and Tyler Herro also having missed time this season.
“We got a lot of moving parts, guys being out, injuries,” Adebayo said Tuesday. “So it’s hard to really get in a groove in the second unit when we snatch somebody into the first unit.
“So going back and forth. I feel like we’ve always had confidence in our second unit and these last couple of games they’ve been holding it down.”
Also listed out in advance of Tuesday’s game were guard Gabe Vincent, the eighth consecutive game he has missed with a left-knee effusion, and center Omer Yurtseven, who has yet to play this season after undergoing November ankle surgery.
Quick change
With Lowry, Martin and Butler out, and with Vincent still sidelined, the Heat summoned forward Jamal Cain back from their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The quick turnaround came after Cain went for a career-high 32 points, with eight rebounds and three assists, in a late-night Skyforce victory Monday in the G League Showcase in Las Vegas, a game that did not end until early Tuesday morning Eastern time.
That means both of the players the Heat have under two-way contract, including recently signed center Orlando Robinson, are with the Heat.
The Heat last week also recalled center Nikola Jovic from the G League, after the 2022 first-round pick out of Serbia had been with the Skyforce for seasoning.
Momentum sought
Both Adebayo and Herro said the next step for the Heat is to carry over the momentum from the just-completed four-game road sweep to the team’s four-game homestand.
“I mean, we’ll see,” Herro said Tuesday when asked about whether road success can translate into home wins. “We feel good. But it’s just four games. We’ve got to take care of business at home.”
Adebayo said the road success should be viewed as a starting, or re-starting, point.
“I mean it’s a momentum swing in the season for us, for sure, just ‘cause we haven’t done it all season,” he said, with the Heat not moving above .500 for the first time this season until completing the road sweep. “And being able to go 4-0 on the road is not easy for any team. So we’re just looking at it as a stepping stone in our season and looking to build on it.
“We’re still building. I’m not going to say we’re back. But we’re still building. I feel like on the road trip we were the most connected through this whole season.”
DeRozan praise
The last time the Heat faced the Bulls, in their 116-108 season-opening home loss, veteran guard DeMar DeRozan erupted for 28 of his 37 points in the second half.
That had the Heat respectful going into the second game of the three-game season series.
“I feel like DeMar is one of the most underrated ballhandlers in this league, just because people see the mid-post game,” Adebayo said. “But I feel like he’s one of the most underrated ballhandlers in this league, how he gets to his spots. And it’s hard to block his jumper. He’s got all his shot fakes, all his spin moves.”
()
