Heat’s Bam Adebayo: ’I’m happy BG is coming home.’ Also, Lowry to miss first game of season

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was happy to wake up Thursday morning to the news of WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release.

Russia freed Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange that brings her back to the United States after almost 10 months since her arrest. Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February when customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.

“I’m so happy for BG. I’m happy BG is coming home, man,” Adebayo said ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night at FTX Arena.

Adebayo was able to get to know Griner during their time together at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021. Adebayo won his first Olympic gold medal with Team USA’s men’s basketball team and Griner won her second Olympic gold medal with Team USA’s women’s basketball team in Tokyo.

“Just from knowing her from the Olympics, she’s such a sweet girl,” Adebayo said. “She doesn’t bother anybody, minds her own business, stays in her own lane. I’m really happy that she gets to come back and see her family and just be back in her own bed. I feel like it’s going to be hard for her to get readjusted with the world. Because obviously, none of us have no idea what she was going through. When she gets back over and hopefully she tells her story one day, I feel like that would be a great story for people to hear.”

In negotiations to have Russia free Griner, the United States released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

“Brittney has had to endure an unimaginable situation, and we’re thrilled that she is on her way home to her family and friends,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We thank the members of the NBA and WNBA community who never wavered in their efforts to raise awareness of Brittney’s unjust circumstances.”

LOWRY OUT

The Heat will be without Kyle Lowry for the first time this season.

Lowry, 36, will miss his first game of the season on Thursday against the Clippers for rest purposes. Entering Thursday, he had logged the fifth-most minutes in the NBA at 907 minutes.

The Heat will also be without Jamal Cain (G League), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) against the Clippers. The rest of Miami’s roster is expected to be available for Thursday’s game.

The Clippers will be without Moussa Diabate (G League), Kawhi Leonard (right knee injury management) Terance Mann (concussion protocol), Jason Preston (G League) and Norman Powell (left groin strain) against the Heat. But Paul George is expected to play Thursday.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Through the Heat’s struggles, Herro has played well.

After missing eight straight games because of a sprained left ankle, Herro entered Thursday’s matchup against the Clippers averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists in seven games since his return.

“I missed eight games. It’s going to take time,” Herro said. “I can score with the best of them. But I’m not focused on my scoring and my stats on offense. I want to win and that’s what we want to do in here, so we got a lot of work to do and we’re going to continue to stick with it and we’re not running from anybody.”

▪ The Heat entered Thursday with the NBA’s seventh-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating this season. It’s just the continuation of a concerning trend, as Miami ended last regular season with the 10th-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating, the 2020-21 regular season with the fifth-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating, the 2019-20 regular season with the third-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating, and the 2018-19 regular season with the second-worst fourth-quarter offensive rating.

“I don’t know,” Lowry said when asked to explain the offense’s fourth-quarter struggles this season. “It’s a lot of things you can say and think about and look at. But we’re just not playing well enough to finish games, honestly.”