Miami Heat: Help is on the way; Bam Adebayo says he’ll play in Game 3 of NBA Finals

Help is on the way for the Miami Heat; Bam Adebayo eyes return in Game 3

The Miami Heat finds themselves in a 2-0 series hole to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, but help and reinforcements might be on the way. Shortly after the Heat’s Game 2 loss, Bam Adebayo, who exited in the third quarter of Game 1 and missed all of Game 2, told Yahoo! Sports that he plans on being in the team’s lineup for Game 3.

"“Yes, I believe I’ll be in the lineup,” Adebayo told Yahoo Sports after missing the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-114 victory that gave them a 2-0 series lead. “I’m feeling better. I believe I’ll play.”"

Bam was only an observer for Game 3 but struggled in his minutes even in Game 1 before re-aggravating his shoulder/neck issue – a nagging injury that he’s been battling recently in the playoffs.

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In 21 minutes of Game 1, Bam was limited to eight points and four rebounds on 25 percent shooting from the floor. It was clear that either the moment (his first NBA Finals game), the Lakers’ size, or both, were really impacting Bam’s game.

It’s unfortunate that his injury forced him to miss Game 2, but there could be a silver lining to it – perhaps while sitting in Game 2, Bam was able to get a clearer look at what the Lakers were doing offensive and defensively and could take something from that experience heading into Game 3 (if he indeed plays).

In Game 2, the Heat put up a much better fight. However, down both Goran Dragic and Bam, they simply couldn’t put together a significant scoring run at the end of the game. You’d have to think that with Bam, perhaps Miami plays a little better on the defensive end and perhaps the game is a bit closer and maybe they even pull it out.

But we’re not playing the “what if” game right now. The fact is that the Heat is down 2-0 to the Lakers in the NBA Finals and no matter what the general public may believe, this team isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.

If the fact that Bam says he believes he’ll be in the lineup for Game 3 wasn’t enough of an indication of that, perhaps Heat coach Erik Spoelstra helped hammer down that idea with his postgame comments.

Erik Spoelstra: "We don't give a s--- what anybody else thinks. If you want something badly enough, you figure it out."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 3, 2020

Of course, the Heat needs to stop talking tough and start translating their thoughts and grit to the court. Not to say that the Heat has been disappointing in the NBA Finals, though you could make the case for that to start Game 1, they’ve been thoroughly dominated by the Lakers’ offense.

For the Miami Heat, Game 3 of the NBA Finals will be a must-win. If they have any hope in making this a competitive series, that is. From the early looks of it, Bam Adebayo is going to do everything he can to be in the lineup for the Heat. Perhaps his return is something that could jumpstart the Heat in this series.