Bam Adebayo is expected to be back in the Miami Heat lineup in Tuesday night's Game 4 of the NBA Finals after missing the previous two games with a neck strain, an NBA source said Tuesday.
The All-Star center was optimistic about a return during a Monday interview, but also cautious as he continued treatment.
The Heat face the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. in the best-of-seven championship series at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.
Meyers Leonard started Games 2 and 3 of the series in place of Adebayo, who was injured in the Heat's Game 1 loss last Wednesday. The Heat then also lost Friday's Game 2, before winning Sunday's Game 3.
The Heat face the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. in the best-of-seven championship series at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.
Meyers Leonard started Games 2 and 3 of the series in place of Adebayo, who was injured in the Heat's Game 1 loss last Wednesday. The Heat then also lost Friday's Game 2, before winning Sunday's Game 3.
After Tuesday, the series continues with Game 5 at 9 p.m. Friday, the only two-day break during the Finals.
"I'm getting better," Adebayo said Monday. "It's up to the coaching staff, well, not the coaching staff, but the medical staff. I'm trying to get back as quickly as possible. They're just trying to make sure I'm safe and I'm ready to play. It's really day-to-day. When they say I'm ready to play, I'll be out there."
He added, "They just want to make sure this injury doesn't get worse. They want to make sure I'm back to what I was before I got injured, or close to."
Adebayo said he has been itching to return.
"Because I don't miss games. That's not me. That's not how I'm built. I want to play. I've always been like that," he said. "I've always got the thrill of just putting on that uniform and going out there and playing."
