The Miami Heat is complete again.
Center Bam Adebayo and guard Kendrick Nunn, who did not travel with Heat to Walt Disney World on July 8, joined the team inside the NBA bubble on Tuesday to take the next step in preparing for the resumption of the season. .
Heat’s two starters were away for reasons the team and players refused to disclose, citing privacy concerns.
With the arrival of Adebayo and Nunn, Miami now has all 17 of its players on the NBA campus.
But 22-year-old Adebayo and 24-year-old Nunn will still not be able to join their teammates on the field.
After entering the Disney bubble, Adebayo and Nunn must go through the same quarantine period required in their hotel room that their teammates Heat experienced when they arrived at the league’s Central Florida campus at the beginning of this month.
This means returning two negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart on arrival before team activities begin – a quarantine that should last approximately 36-48 hours.
Based on this schedule, Adebayo and Nunn can clear the quarantine as soon as Thursday to leave their hotel rooms and start practicing with their Heat teammates.
With Heat’s set to begin his three-game scrimmage program Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings, Adebayo and Nunn will still be in the middle of their quarantine when the game starts. The other two Miami films arrive on Saturday against Utah Jazz and on July 28 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“They are two great players, two excellent teammates, so there will be no problem putting them back in place,” said heat eroticist Tyler Herro last week in Adebayo and Nunn. “They will immediately return to the swing of things. They also worked when they were 100% healthy. So we are excited to bring them back here. We really want to have a complete team here and be able to attack this with 100 percent. “
Before the NBA stopped playing on March 11 amid the pandemic, Adebayo was in the midst of a breakout season. In his third NBA season and his first full-time starter, Adebayo averages the maximum career points in points (16.2), rebounds (10.5), assists (5.1), steals (1.2), blocks (1.3) and minutes (34.4) is about to earn his first appearance in the All-Star Game.
Nunn had an exceptional rookie season, averaging 15.6 points with 44.8 percent shooting, 2.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 62 games (all starts). Nunn, who passed away in 2018, has been named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month three times this season.
“There will be an adaptation period, this is natural,” said Duncan Robinson forward of working with Adebayo and Nunn in the rotation. “But I know those guys did their due diligence and they stayed in shape too. So we are itchy and excited to get them back, as I know they have to get here. Like anything, it will take a bit of a period of adaptation, but that’s what practices are for, that’s what walk-throughs are for and you monkey, one against the other, and living, and we re-acclimatise . “
Heat has had three positive players on the COVID-19 test since mandatory testing began on June 23, with 15 of the team’s 17 players moving to Disney on the bus on July 8. Striker Derrick Jones Jr., who allowed his name to be released after his positive test, was canceled in time to travel with the team.
The Miami Herald did not report the names of the two players who most recently proved positive because they did not authorize the release of their names. But guard Goran Dragic recently mentioned that Adebayo and Nunn were far from the team, without specifying why.
Those who tested positive for the COVID-19 test must meet the criteria for the discontinuation of the isolation, which is symptom-free, returning at least two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests after more than 24 hours and then receive the medical authorization before going to Disney.
The season will resume on July 30th and end in October at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Miami has less than two weeks to prepare for the start of its eight-game seeding schedule, which begins August 1 against the Denver Nuggets (13:00, ESPN, Fox Sports Sun).
The Heat (41-24) has already taken a spot in the playoffs, which begin on August 17th.
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