Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers Final Injury Report: One key player returns, while others sit out

The latest news features a couple of surprising changes to the injury report for Saturday night's matchup.

Feb 8, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) grabs a rebound during the fourth quarter against Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ahead of their Saturday night game against the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat announced that star big man Bam Adebayo will miss a second consecutive game, dealing with lower back soreness.

Kel'el Ware was a late addition to the injury report, originally listed as probable before being upgraded to available within 20 minutes.

Additionally, the Pacers announced that starting swingman Aaron Nesmith has been upgraded to available, making his return after missing 19 straight games with a knee sprain. Also, notorious Heat killer T.J. McConnell will sit out with soreness in his hamstring.

Here's the rest of the injury report and game preview:

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INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Kel'el Ware: Available - Quads

Bam Adebayo: Out - Back

Tyler Herro: Out - Toe

Terry Rozier: Out - Not with team

PACERS

Aaron Nesmith: Available - Knee

T.J. McConnell: Out - Hamstring

Isaiah Jackson: Out - Concussion

Ben Sheppard: Out - Calf

Obi Toppin: Out - Foot

Tyrese Haliburton: Out - Achilles

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Game date, time and location: Saturday, Dec. 27, 8:00 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

TV: TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (South Florida), FanDuel Sports Network Indiana

Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 93.5 FM/107.5 FM The Fan (Indiana), 96.1 FM/1370 AM (Bloomington) 1380 AM (Fort Wayne), 92.5 FM/1340 AM (Muncie)

VITALS: The Miami Heat (16-14) and Indiana Pacers (6-25) meet for the first of three regular season matchups. Last season the teams split the series, 2-2. The Heat are 58-76 all-time versus Indiana during the regular season, including 43-25 in home games and 15-51 in road games.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Davion Mitchell

G Norman Powell

C Kel'el Ware

F Pelle Larsson

F Andrew Wiggins

PACERS

G Andrew Nembhard

G Bennedict Mathurin

C Jay Huff

F Aaron Nesmith

F Pascal Siakam

Betting Lines (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Spread: Heat -6.5 (-112), Pacers +6.5 (-108)

Moneyline: Heat -260, Pacers +215

Total points scored: 230.5 (over -106, under -114)

QUOTABLE

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra: "It was good to see our guys just dive into the process. It's tough in NBA seasons. You're always going to go through something and we've been through a rough patch together, but I really commend the group for just coming in on Christmas Eve, just to try to work to get things better.

It definitely helped having Pelle [Larsson] and [Nikola Jovic] available tonight, particularly with Bam [Adebayo] being out. But there was a collective spirit, you could feel it from tip-off and you could feel it in those swing moments when, inevitably, a team will come back and make a run and they're on their home-court, but we had responses pretty consistently throughout the course of the game and it was just good to see that effort level, the requisite level, and then, playing the right way offensively."

MORE MIAMI HEAT STORIES

What the Miami Heat can apply from their win over the Atlanta Hawks against the Indiana Pacers

Heat players to watch, running in transition and other keys vs Pacers

Without Bam, Heat wings and guards push past Hawks

Larsson impact felt as Miami Heat offense revived in win vs. Hawks

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Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket