On Wednesday, the Miami Heat announced that their superstar center, Bam Adebayo, will undergo thumb surgery. The announcement was made following Adebayo suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right thumb during Monday night’s 120-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The team said he will have the procedure this weekend. The timetable for his return is not expected to be finalized until after the surgery is complete. However, the initial prognosis from the team calls for him to miss between four and six weeks. If Adebayo is out for this time interval, he will miss 20 to 25 games.
Adebayo, 24, has become one of the NBA’s top centers across his five seasons with the league. Unfortunately, this torn UCL happens to be the first injury he sustained throughout his NBA career so far.
Adebayo has had a successful season so far, leading Miami in rebounds with 10.2 rebounds. He also leads in scoring with 23.6 points and steals with 2.1. With that being said, the Miami Heat will miss Adebayo and have already struggled since they are also missing superstar Jimmy Butler and guard Tyler Herro.
While Adebayo is injured, veteran Dewayne Dedmon will take his place in Miami’s starting lineup. Across three starts this season, Dedmon is averaging 5.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 21 games.
Miami has lost two straight home games and is about to hit the road to face off against the Pacers on Friday night in Indiana. Just as Miami is slumping, so is the Indiana Pacers. Indiana has lost three straight home games and is just 6-5 at home this season.
