The Miami Heat confirmed Friday, October 2 (Saturday, October 3, Philippine time) that Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic will miss Game 2 of the NBA Finals as the Heat try to rebound from their opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dragic, the team’s leading playoff scorer, tore his left plantar fascia in the Game 1 defeat in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
Adebayo, the All-Star who already had a left shoulder problem, strained the left side of his neck in Wednesday’s championship series opener.
“These two guys are really amazing,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Like everybody in our locker room, there’s a real special sense of brotherhood and responsibility. They were both lobbying to play and we ultimately had to take the decision out of their hands for tonight.
“So we have other guys obviously that will get an opportunity tonight and we have learned over the course of really the last 3 or 4 months you expect the unexpected.
“The world has changed and so many things have been thrown at us in the last 3 or 4 months, I think our level of grit and perseverance has been tested and proven and it will be again (Friday).
Spoelstra said he had every confidence in guard Kendrick Nunn and center Meyers Leonard, noting both started more than 60 games during the season.
“These are not easy losses by any stretch of the imagination,” Spoelstra said. “But the guys that we’ll be plugging in had major roles for us during the course of the year.”
But the loss of Dragic and Adebayo was a big blow to the hopes of the fifth-seeded Heat as they seek to rebound from a 116-98 loss in Game 1. – Rappler.com
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