Heat get crucial reality check ahead of Bam Adebayo’s looming return
Posted November 19, 2025
Bam Adebayo may be primed for a return against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, but it doesn't absolve the Miami Heat from the crucial reality check they've gotten over the last couple of weeks. And it's that if they are serious about making a genuine playoff run, they need to beef up their frontcourt.
Miami may have survived in the six games without Bam, under the assumption that he is set to return tonight, but they did learn a valuable lesson about their team. The Heat can feel good about themselves for going 4-2 without Bam, but they were dominated on the boards without him in the lineup.
And it was especially alarming
The Heat weren't a great rebounding team with Bam at the start of the season, but they were surviving. They were in the top half of the league in both overall rebounding and defensive rebounding. They were already a bad offensive rebounding team, but they still, they still managed to get by.
In the six games without Bam, though, the Heat fell two whole spots in rebounds per game. More specifically, they were outrebounded in every game in Bam's absence. Overall, in the last six games, they are a combined minus-52 in rebounding against their opponents.
The Heat must address this alarming issue
This won't cut it. If this is the new norm for the Heat, their lack of size is eventually going to catch up with them, especially considering that we're still under 20 games played this season.
And, unfortunately, I can't imagine how the simple return of Bam is going to solve all their issues. This was a concern before Bam's injury, and will still be one when he returns.
That's why the Heat desperately needs to add another rotation big to the equation. How and when they will do that remains to be seen, but recent reporting does seem to indicate that December 15 is a date to watch.
But if the Heat are going to have any sustainability in the Eastern Conference, especially when it comes to the impending playoff race, they're going to need more depth in the frontcourt.
If nothing else, that's certainly one thing that the Heat learned during Bam's absence.
The good news is that it appears Bam is on the precipice of a return to the Heat's lineup. But the Heat can't get too caught up in that and forget just how much this team needs to beef up its big man rotation.
Giants Get Major Update on QB Jaxson Dart Ahead of Lions Game
The Jameis Winston starting-quarterback era may be over for the New York Giants.
The Record reported rookie Jaxson Dart would return to practice for the Giants on Wednesday and had the potential to start in their road game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Dart, of course, was concussed in the Giants’ 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 10. He was on the sidelines in street clothes watching Winston complete 19 of 29 passes for 201 yards and rush for a touchdown in New York’s loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Winston was making his first appearance in a Giants uniform after he was elevated above Russell Wilson as the QB2 for the Green Bay game.
Jaxson Dart ‘Is Trending Toward’ Playing Sunday In Detroit
Dart sustained his concussion when he went face first into the turf at Soldier Field in the second half of New York’s loss in Chicago.
After a period of rest and ramping up as part of the return-to-play protocol, Dart’s return to practice indicates he is symptom free and has been throughout the ramp-up period.
According to Art Stapleton of The Record, if Dart gets through practice without any relapse of symptoms, he could be in line to meet with an independent neurological consultant by week’s end as the final stage before he gets cleared to play Sunday.
Dart, of course, has been in the concussion protocol four times in his rookie season and sustained his first brain injury against Chicago.
But when he has not been in the blue medical tent getting checked out, Dart has been one of the NFL’s most exciting rookies, since despite his 2-5 record, he has a 10-3 touchdown-to-interception rate, has completed 62.7 percent of his passes and rushed for the third-most yards of any Giants player (317).
Sitting Jaxson Dart Against The Lions Would Be A Smart Decision
Of course former coach Brian Daboll put Dart in harm’s way in an effort to save his job — which fortunately did not work.
But there are a number of factors that suggest keeping Dart from playing Sunday in Detroit would be in his, and the Giants’ best interest. Of course, No. 1 is the fact the Lions’ home, Ford Field, has artificial turf, which makes a head injury more likely — though Dart’s concussion did come on a grass field in Chicago.
But the Lions defense has been swarming of late too, which could leave the Giants quarterback in peril — especially if, as expected, the Giants are force to throw the ball due to a negative game script.
The Lions are sixth in the NFL in sacks (31), led by superstar Aidan Hutchinson’s 7.5. They have 59 QB hits in their 10 games and just held the Philadelphia Eagles offense to 16 points in a seven-point road loss Sunday night.
Sure, Dart must be chomping at the bit to get on the field, and the Giants and their fans surely want to see what he can do against one of the NFL’s best teams.
But Dart is expected to be the team’s franchise QB for the next decade, and he’s already shown signs of being so. There’s no reason to subject him to a second concussion in what has become a lost year already.
