‘It’s still sore.’ Lingering foot pain will keep Goran Dragic out vs. Hawks
Goran Dragic was hopeful lingering pain in his right foot wouldn’t force him to miss any games.
But it will keep him out of at least one. The Heat held Dragic out of Saturday’s contest against the Hawks in Atlanta, with his foot still bothering him.
“I feel like it’s frustrating, but just need to think about the future,” Dragic said Saturday morning at the Heat’s shootaround session. “It’s still sore, so hopefully go day-by-day and see what happens.”
This marks the first game Dragic has missed this season, and he will be re-evaluated when the Heat arrives in Detroit for Monday’s matchup against the Pistons.
Coach Erik Spoelstra decided to start Justise Winslow in Dragic’s place against the Hawks, alongside Rodney McGruder, Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk and Hassan Whiteside.
“We have a lot of ball handlers,” Spoelstra said. “If anything, our roster has as much depth with ball handling and playmaking as any conventional team would with specific point guards. Additionally, the league is changing. It really is becoming less position oriented. I’m having enough challenges getting the ball spread around to guys. It seems like half of my roster wants to bring the ball up and initiate offense.
“So when Goran is out, it will give other guys opportunities to do that. But that extends to our frontcourt. We have frontcourt players that also handle the ball quite a bit.”
Dragic tried to go through Saturday’s shootaround, but the Heat made the decision to keep him out to rest his foot. He received a cortisone shot earlier in the week to help ease the pain, but it didn’t completely resolve the issue.
“It’s calmed down a little bit, but it’s still sore,” Dragic said. “Basically the area where the cortisone shot is, there is not a lot of cushion. It’s straight into the joint. That’s probably why it’s so sore still.”
Dragic, 32, is averaging 17.7 points on 41.7 percent shooting to go with 3.4 rebounds and five assists in seven games this season.
An MRI on Dragic’s right foot before the start of the season returned negative. When asked Thursday if surgery was an option, he said: “No, no surgery.”
Dragic missed seven games last season — three with a sore left elbow, two with a bruised left knee, one with a sprained right ankle and one with a sore right knee. Miami was 5-2 in his absence.
Why did JJ stay in Miami?
After traveling with the Heat for its road preseason games, James Johnson did not travel with the team for its current trip to Atlanta and Detroit. Johnson stayed in Miami to continue his rehab from off-season surgery for a sports hernia.
Why did the Heat decide to keep Johnson in Miami after bringing him on its preseason trip?
“Just more work,” Spoelstra said. “We have [assistant coach Anthony Carter] staying behind, just to get him two workouts a day. Our focus here is with our guys and our staff has a lot of responsibilities right now.”
Dion Waiters is also in Miami working his way back from left ankle surgery. There is still no timetable for the returns of Johnson and Waiters.
Sioux Falls opener impresses Spo
The Heat’s developmental affiliate, the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, won its season opener 112-101 over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Friday.
Skyforce forward Yante Maten, who is under a two-way contract with the Heat, finished with a team-high 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Miami’s other two-way contract player, Duncan Robinson, recorded 15 points and shot 3 of 8 on three-pointers.
“It’s all about our culture, upholding the standards we have here,” Spoelstra said Saturday when asked about Sioux Falls. “We thought they did a great job of that last night. It was a good first win at home. I was just getting a breakdown from [general manager Andy Elisburg] right now. I texted with [Skyforce head coach Nevada Smith] after the game last night. But it was cool to see a lot of guys involved in that win, a lot of contributions.
“For any team in any league at any level to be really successful, it’s going to require some sacrifice. There’s a lot of talent on that team. A lot of guys with big aspirations. To get what everyone wants, it’s all about the success of the team and giving to the team. That was a good start last night.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2018 at 1:14 PM.