Most medical decisions made by NBA clubs are ultimately based on a combination of the player’s overall sentiment and the evaluation of the training staff. However, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra took charge on Thursday after observing his star player was having trouble and made his own decisions on Bam Adebayo’s injury.
In a matchup with the Pacers, a young Eastern Conference team that outscored the Heat by 11 points in the first half and held a commanding lead at the half, Spoelstra was hesitant to bench Adebayo. However, he could tell that the damage sustained by Bam Adebayo was a problem that could only worsen.
He came in those last four minutes of the second quarter and he was just getting some treatment at halftime with the intention to come back,” Spoelstra said after the game in his meeting with reporters. “And I basically talked to him in my office and just said, ‘Look, you’re laboring like the fourth quarter of the New York game and it’s November right now. I’m not putting you back in in the second half. I’m taking this decision out of your hands.’
Spoelstra continued: “I didn’t even talk to the trainers at that point, I talked to them right after that. It’s the same deal.
Indeed, the Bam Adebayo injury to his hip has been an ongoing concern for Erik Spoelstra and the Heat, and it was obvious he was struggling against the Pacers. He was 3-for-9 shooting from the field for just seven points and was, as Spoelstra said, laboring.
Adebayo hurt the hip early in the year and, for the most part, it has been something he can play through. He is averaging 22.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists this year
