Adebayo, Dragic doubtful to play in Game 2 of Finals vs. Lakers. What now for Heat?
There wasn’t much that went right for the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Two of the Heat’s biggest strengths, three-point shooting and getting to the foul line, were weaknesses Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers shot 11 of 17 on threes in the first half and outscored Miami 45-33 from deep, while also finishing with a 25-11 edge at the free-throw line.
The result was the Heat’s most lopsided defeat this postseason, an 18-point loss to the Lakers on Wednesday to open the Finals.
But the worst part of Game 1 for the Heat didn’t have to do with any of that. Instead, it’s the fact that starters Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic were forced to leave the game early because of injuries, and their status for Game 2 and beyond is in question.
The Heat said Thursday that Adebayo (neck strain) and Dragic (torn plantar fascia in left foot) are both doubtful to play in Game 2, which is Friday at 9 p.m. on ABC at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
“They say when it’s bad — when it rains, it pours,” Jimmy Butler said Thursday of the Heat’s injury issues. “All in all, though, we’re still expected to win. We got here for a reason. We realize we belong. But we also realize how well we have to play on both ends of the floor to give ourselves a chance to win.
“Obviously, we definitely need those two guys, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve always said, next man up when a man goes down, and right now we’re definitely going to have to do that.”
Miami, down 1-0 in the Finals, is facing its first series deficit this postseason after posting a 12-3 playoff record on its way to the final round.
“You have to go through your plan A, plan B, plan C,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday when asked how the Heat will adjust to the potential absences of Adebayo and/or Dragic. “We love getting to work as a group. It’s not going to be between the four lines and grinding it out. It’s just looking for solutions and trying to get to a better version of our game against a quality opponent. We all know that we have to play much better than we did last night at all levels.”
Dragic did not play in the second half Wednesday because of the foot injury. He recorded six points on 3-of-8 shooting and three assists in 15 first-half minutes, as the injury looked to occur in the second quarter when Dragic stepped on Lakers guard Rajon Rondo’s foot.
And Adebayo did not return after exiting Game 1 with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter because of what the Heat labeled on Wednesday as a strained left shoulder that he looked to hurt in a collision with Lakers center Dwight Howard. But an MRI after the game revealed it to be a neck strain on the left side.
In Dragic’s case, there have been those who have played through a torn plantar fascia in the past. Heat captain Udonis Haslem is among them, as he tore the plantar fascia in his left foot near the end of the 2015-16 regular season and played through the pain during the playoffs that year.
“When you pop it or tear it, it’s almost like a surgery in itself,” Haslem said of the tear after that season. “That’s the way they explained it to me. That’s something where it doesn’t really matter your age. It can happen to a young person or when you’re old. The recovery is the same.”
It’s still unclear whether Dragic, 34, has completely torn the plantar fascia in his left foot or if it’s just a partial tear.
Joe Johnson played through the same injury for the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, receiving an injection in his foot before each game to alleviate the pain. He struggled, however, and shot just 41.7 percent from the field and 25.6 percent from three-point range in a seven-game series loss to the Chicago Bulls.
If Dragic is able to return at some point in the series, the next question is: How will the injury affect his play?
Dragic, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has been one of the Heat’s most reliable and efficient offensive options this postseason. He entered the Finals averaging a team-high 20.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting to go with 4.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the playoff run.
If Dragic is not able to play in Game 2, rookie guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn are the top two options to replace him in the starting lineup. Herro started eight games in the regular season, and Nunn started in each of his 67 appearances during the regular season before Dragic replaced him in the starting lineup at the start of the playoffs.
“We feel for him right now,” Herro said of the ailing Dragic. “We hope that he can get back, and we know how much he wants to win, how much he wants to help us compete.”
As for Adebayo, his left shoulder bothered him during the Eastern Conference finals. But Spoelstra said Thursday that the neck strain is a “different injury.”
Adebayo, 23, finished Game 1 of the Finals with eight points on 2-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and zero assists in 21 minutes before leaving the game in the third quarter.
Adebayo has been one of the Heat’s best players in the playoffs, averaging 17.8 points on 55.7 percent shooting, 10.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals. The only game he has missed this season came in the regular-season finale with Miami’s playoff seeding already determined.
If Adebayo can’t play Friday, the top options to replace him in the starting lineup include Kelly Olynyk, Solomon Hill and Meyers Leonard. Olynyk has averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in the playoffs, Hill has played in four consecutive games after spending the first 12 games of the postseason out of the rotation, and Leonard has played in just one game during the playoff run.
Forward Derrick Jones Jr. could also move back into the Heat’s rotation to provide added depth to a shorthanded roster.
Without Adebayo, Herro said “almost everything changes [schematically] because of how much Bam does for us offensively and defensively.”
Adebayo and Dragic are tied with a team-best plus/minus of plus-77 this postseason.
Davis, James and the Lakers already are a tough enough challenge for the Heat. Losing Adebayo and/or Dragic for any amount of games this series would make that challenge a lot tougher for Miami.
“We almost need to play a perfect game to beat them,” Herro said. “It’s not just one game, we’re going to have to do it four times. We’re just going to have to fight. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be one of the hardest things we do in our basketball careers, but I think we have the right personnel, the right guys, the right mindset to do it.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
