Why Heat’s Bam Adebayo ‘needs’ to miss time with back soreness

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat once again missing Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro due to injury, there is no doubt a sense of frustration from fans regarding the injury woes this season. As the Heat look for unsung heroes to step up during this time, fans are still wondering about the status of Adebayo and Herro going forward, as head coach Erik Spoelstra provides key insight.

Adebayo was ruled out for his second straight game on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers for what’s being listed as “lower back soreness,” whereas Herro continues to miss time with the toe contusion. Looking at Adebayo, he had been in a slump heading into Friday’s game against the Hawks, which led to his addition to the injury report.

Though he was questionable going into the game and traveled with the seemingly intention to play, he eventually sat out. Spoelstra would say before Saturday’s contest that Adebayo is “definitely making progress” and even expressed how he “really needed” the rest due to the lack of movement with his back injury.

“He flew to Atlanta with us, you know, with that kind of intention, you know, but he clearly was not moving well enough, you know, to compete in that kind of game, but he’s definitely making progress,” Spoelstra said. “He really needed this time just to get…he’s dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.”

Erik Spoelstra in the first vid says that Tyler Herro is “definitely making progress,” but no timetable, same with Bam Adebayo.

Second vid, Spo said that Bam “really needed this time” for rest.

“He was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/Q4oZbgQveS

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 27, 2025

Spoelstra would roughly have the same news about Herro, which, including Saturday, he will have missed seven straight games and nine of the last 10.

“He’s definitely making progress. I don’t have a timeline for you. I’m encouraged by what I’m seeing. And the same goes with Bam [Adebayo],” Spoelstra said.

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on if Bam Adebayo’s back injury connects to slump

While Adebayo was in a slump with the Heat before the injury, there were some who naturally connected it together with the back issue being the reason for the slip in play. However,  Adebayo had not been on the injury report before the Atlanta game, where in the last four games he played, he was averaging 11.2 points per game and shooting under 40 percent from the field.

The notion that the back soreness was the reason for the slump would not be commented on by Spoelstra.

“I’m not going to comment on that. He wouldn’t want me to comment on that,” Spoelstra said Friday, according to The Miami Herald. “But we’ll just do as much treatment as we possibly can. I do know that he needs this right now.”

As said by Spoelstra, there isn’t a timeline for Adebayo, and he’ll be treated “day-to-day,” though it’ll no doubt be an insufferable time for the team captain, as if there is one person that wants to be out there for his team, it’s the 28-year-old.

“We’ll see. We’ll treat him day-to-day,” Spoelstra said. “I know him, I know his personality, I know how much he wants to be out there. But since it is back soreness and he wasn’t moving well two days ago, it didn’t really get better yesterday. Today was just full treatment and some light activities. So we’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

At any rate, the next chance for Adebayo, and also Herro, to return will be on Monday, where it will be a 2023 NBA Finals rematch against star Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

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