Miami Heat

Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo will miss Monday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a non-COVID-19 illness.

The 6'9" center was initially listed as questionable due to a right shoulder sprain.

Adebayo is averaging a career-high 20.8 points along with 9.8 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.

His value to the team is evident in how much the offense falls off when he's on the bench. Miami has a 112.2 offensive rating with the 2019-20 All-Star on the court and a 102.1 offensive rating when he's out, per NBA.com.

Compounding matters, the Heat confirmed their backup center, Dewayne Dedmon, is dealing with a foot injury that will keep him out of the lineup against Minnesota.

Karl-Anthony Towns is out for the Timberwolves with a right calf strain, but they'll still have Rudy Gobert at their disposal inside. It will presumably be Orlando Robinson's duty to neutralize the 7'1" Frenchman.

Gobert had four points and didn't attempt a field goal when Minnesota earned a 105-101 win over Miami on Nov. 21. He might find life a lot easier in the return game.

The Heat have dropped two straight games, putting them ninth in the Eastern Conference at 16-17. Avoiding a third successive defeat might be difficult without Adebayo.

The NBA announced it fined the Miami Heat $25,000 for breaking league rules.

Miami was punished "for violating league injury reporting rules. The Heat failed to disclose an accurate game availability status for several players prior to its game vs. Oklahoma City on Dec. 14 at Paycom Center."

Despite the fine, Miami won Wednesday's contest against the Thunder thanks to Tyler Herro's heroics.

He drilled the go-ahead jumper with five seconds remaining of the 110-108 win and finished with 35 points behind a blistering 9-of-17 shooting from deep. Miami hit 24 three-pointers as a team, which proved to be the difference.

Herro was one of six players on the Heat to score in double figures, and Bam Adebayo posted a double-double of 15 points and 13 boards.

Miami didn't have Jimmy Butler or Gabe Vincent in the win.

The Heat have won three in a row after an abysmal 12-15 start to the season, which has propelled them into eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are also closing the gap on some of the top contenders and are just 3.5 games behind the third-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

Miami is surely in NBA-Finals-or-bust mode after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in two of the last three seasons. It reached the 2020 NBA Finals inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, although it fell short against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Next up for the Heat is a Saturday showdown with the San Antonio Spurs.

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro is on a historic heater.

After making nine three-pointers on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Herro scored a career-high 41 points on 10-of-15 shooting from three-point range in Thursday's 111-108 win over the Houston Rockets.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Herro is the only player in NBA history to make at least nine three-pointers in two games on consecutive days. He is the third player ever to make at least nine threes in back-to-back games, joining Stephen Curry and James Harden.

Herro's 19 three-pointers are the most by a Heat player in a two-game span.

The Heat have needed all of Herro's scoring in the past two games. He made the go-ahead shot with five seconds remaining to give them a 110-108 win over the Thunder. They had to hold on for a three-point win over a Rockets team that is tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the worst record in the Western Conference (9-19).

Scoring has been a huge problem for Miami so far this season. Head coach Erik Spoelstra's team ranks 27th in offensive rating (109.8) and 29th in points per game (108.0).

Injuries have played a role in the Heat's issues. Herro missed eight games in November with an ankle issue. Jimmy Butler has sat out 11 games already.

Since Herro returned to the lineup on Nov. 23, he's averaging 22.5 points on 43.9 percent three-point shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The Heat have gone 8-4 in those 12 games and are back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 14.

Herro will look to keep his recent hot streak going on Saturday when the Heat take on the San Antonio Spurs to wrap up their four-game road trip.

It turns out it takes plenty of motivation and competitive spirit to be one of the best players in NBA history.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated asked Dwyane Wade about LeBron James during a wide-ranging interview, and the Miami Heat legend opened up about how the King became even better during his four seasons in South Beach.

"The thing about LeBron is, he's a sponge," Wade said. "And so he will not allow anybody to be better than him at anything.

"If Ray Allen was going to shoot afterwards, he's going to go shoot with Ray Allen, with Ray Allen's form. He wants to be better than everybody at everything. And so I can never get work in a post without him coming to get work in a post. You know what I mean? And so when you see a guy like that who has the body to be able to do that, and he has the energy to be able to consistently do that, you know you're watching something special."

James was in Miami from 2010 through 2014, which was right in the middle of his prime as a player who was then in his late 20s.

He averaged 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game during that stretch and helped lead the Heat to the NBA Finals all four seasons. While they lost two of those series, he still became a two-time champion and clearly improved his game from being a "sponge" in such a championship environment.

All he did from there was lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2015-16 title and the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2019-20 championship.

LeBron James' jersey from Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals is up for auction.

Sotheby's has listed the official No. 6 jersey that James wore in the Miami Heat's 95-88 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to clinch their second consecutive NBA championship.

James finished the game with 37 points and 12 rebounds. He averaged 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the series and won Finals MVP for the second straight year.

The listing estimates the jersey could sell for between $3 million and $5 million.

"This game ranks as one of the most important performances of LeBron's career, during what has been widely debated as his greatest NBA season," Sotheby's officials told TMZ Sports.

Per StatMuse, James' 37 points are tied with Tom Heinsohn for the fourth-most in an NBA Finals Game 7. It's also the most points scored by a winning player in Game 7 of the Finals.

According to Sotheby's, the jersey is in "excellent condition consistent with use." It also comes with a photomatching certificate.

The 2013 Finals between the Heat and Spurs is best remembered for the sequence at the end of regulation in Game 6.

With Miami down 3-2 in the series and trailing by three in the final seconds, Ray Allen's three-pointer tied the score at 95 and forced overtime. The Heat prevailed 103-100 to force the decisive Game 7.

The Miami Heat are "expected to have a re-energized pursuit" of the Phoenix Suns' Jae Crowder, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Charania also reported the Suns discussed a possible three-team trade that would've sent Crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Atlanta Hawks have also shown interest in the 32-year-old forward.

Crowder has yet to suit up for Phoenix this season. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in September he requested a trade when the team told him he might be falling out of the starting rotation.

Even though Cameron Johnson's knee injury created a void at power forward, Crowder has remained away from the Suns. As a result, a trade may be inevitable.

In October, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported some officials within the Heat "have even expressed confidence Miami is Crowder's preferred destination."

However, Ian Begley of SNY reported in November the Suns could request Max Strus to be included in the trade package, which might be too high an asking price for Miami.

There's also the fact the Heat would need to match Crowder's $10.2 million salary. That's easier said than done when they have seven players—Strus included—making less than $5 million this season.

Crowder has a lot of value for a contending team. He's a 34.6 percent career three-point shooter and has the ability to guard both forward positions.

Miami has already seen firsthand what he can provide. In 20 appearances with the team in 2019-20, he averaged 11.9 points and 5.4 rebounds while hitting 44.5 percent of his three-pointers in the regular season.

As Charania's report laid out, though, there's plenty of competition for Crowder, and unless he arranges a buyout with the Suns, Phoenix has the final say on where he winds up next.

It was less than a year ago that the New York Knicks acquired forward Cam Reddish in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, but the team has reportedly been fielding offers to ship him away for quite some time.

"[S]everal teams have expressed interest in trading for Reddish since the Knicks acquired him in January 2022," SNY's Ian Begley wrote. "The Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams who reached out to New York in that span."

Reddish was removed from the Knicks rotation this week and hasn't played since last Saturday's 21-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks. New York has won back-to-back games since then and has a 12-13 record.

On Wednesday, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reported that the Knicks were working with Reddish and his representatives to secure a deal for him. However, the 23-year-old later said that he wasn't trying to force his way off the team.

"I haven't requested any trades," he said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "I have not. Y'all seem to know more than me, for real. I don't know what y'all talking about, but I haven't requested no trade, nothing like that."

Reddish has failed to make an impact since he entered the league as the No. 10 overall pick in 2019. The Duke product has a career average of 10.2 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the field and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc. Still, he is young and he has the potential to develop into a contributor in the right situation.

The Bucks are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they could use some extra firepower to compete against the defending conference-champion Boston Celtics. The Heat have been bitten by the injury bug early in the season and lack depth.

Begley noted that the Lakers and Knicks had engaged in discussions recently about a potential trade that would've required a third team to complete. Los Angeles has an open roster spot after waiving Matt Ryan and desperately needs to add shooting.

For now, Reddish will continue to ride the bench when the Knicks return to action on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets (7-18).

The Miami Heat are reportedly "willing to move" point guard Kyle Lowry in a trade, but finding a partner who would give them a desired return package may be difficult.

Ric Bucher of Fox Sports reported Miami is open to such a deal but noted "at 37, and with another year left on a three-year $85 million deal, it's hard to identify a team that would take him on and provide the Heat with an upgrade."

Miami is in win-now mode after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season and the NBA Finals during the 2019-20 campaign, but consistency has been an issue in the early portion of the 2022-23 season.

It is just 11-12 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

While that is good enough for the play-in tournament, it is nowhere near where the presumed championship contender wants to be even with plenty of time remaining to turn things around before the playoffs.

Lowry is a Toronto Raptors legend and has been a solid contributor for the Heat, but they could overcome losing him from the rotation with the right pieces back in any trade.

He is averaging 14.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game behind 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.1 percent shooting from deep this season. The six-time All-Star is no longer in his prime, but he could still help a contender down the stretch in a move.

The contract, as Bucher mentioned, limits the options for the Heat, especially when it comes to non-contenders.

Teams in rebuilding mode aren't going to look to add a contract that doesn't expire for an aging veteran, so the traditional contender-lands-an-impact-player-from-rebuilding-team swap might not work with Lowry unless draft pick capital is also included.

For now, Lowry remains on the Heat as the team looks to turn things around following an inconsistent start.