The Miami Heat have been without Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson lately, but head coach Erik Spoelstra gave updates on their status.
Wiggins is getting closer to returning, but the Heat are trying to ease him back to avoid further injury.
“It’s been getting tight the last two games,” Spoelstra said via the Miami SunSentinel. “We feel this is the right step, right now. We will see how he progresses.”
“There’s been a lot of things this year that you can’t even explain, different guys going out at not the most ideal times. I know Wiggs just really wants to be out here. And everybody can see it – when he’s out there, he makes us different.”
Spoelstra described how important it is to not rush Wiggins through the recovery process.
“But we also have to be responsible right now and make sure it doesn’t turn into something else,” Spoelstra said. “By the time we got to the fourth quarter, it looked like he was gutting it out. With intensive treatment, his body should respond.”
Robinson's injury is not serious either and he will be able to return soon if its is handled properly, Spoelstra believes.
“It’s different than last year,” Spoelstra said. “We think we will be able to manage it. We want to be responsible and give as much treatment and then appropriate ramp-up. Now, the reason we left them back is they can do more work around the clock,” he said. “Our trainers seem encouraged. We’ll just have to see how they progress.”
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Heat's Bam Adebayo adjusting to captain status
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) dribbles the basketball as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the third quarter at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Miami Heat have not been playing their best basketball as of late, leaving a lot for new captain Bam Adebayo to handle in his role.
“You can’t let go of the rope now,” Adebayo said after the Heat fell to the Houston Rockets on March 21 at Kaseya Center to lose its 10th consecutive game via the Miami Herald. “To me, I just think why quit? That’s unreasonable. To me, that’s something that’s in your character to be a quitter and obviously I’m not a quitter so I’m not going to let my teammates quit.”
Adebayo understands the importance of not letting the team's energy get out of control.
“I bring the same positive optimistic energy every day,” Adebayo said. “It doesn’t matter what we’re going through. If we’re on a 10-game losing streak or if we’ve won seven straight, you got to keep that same energy because, like I preach to my teammates, you never know what can happen on the other side. You’re thinking about letting go of the rope. And then the one time you’re like, ‘I’m not going to let it go,’ you get a breakthrough.”