After a slow start, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to turn things around and dominate the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Unfortunately for the Heat the 18-point loss may not have been the worst thing to happen as they also dealt with a number of injuries on the night with the most serious occurring to veteran point guard Goran Dragic.
Though he spent the regular season as Miami’s best player off the bench, Dragic has been a starter for the Heat in the playoffs and has led them in scoring in the postseason at 20.9 points per game.
Dragic suffered an injury during the second quarter of Game 1 and did not come out for the second half, leading many to wonder exactly what the issue was. There was no contact on the play that seemed to cause Dragic’s injury which is usually cause for concern and that was validated after the game.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Dragic suffered a plantar tear in his left foot:
Miami's Goran Dragic has suffered a plantar tear of left foot, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2020
While this would sound like an injury that would rob the Heat of one of their most important players in the NBA Finals, that might not be the case, as Dragic hasn’t yet been ruled out of the remainder of the NBA Finals:
Dragic has been able to put pressure on his left foot and hasn't ruled out returning to play in the NBA Finals, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/Ea1LeqncBL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2020
Though this sounds like a stretch on paper, there is actually a precedent for something like this. In 2013, Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson suffered the same injury in a first round series and didn’t miss a game. He did struggle mightily however, shooting just 41.7% from the field and 25.6% from 3-point range in a seven-game series.
Even if Dragic is able to continue it would seem likely that he’ll be hampered for the rest of the series. While a capable shooter, Dragic’s game is predicated on his ability to utilize the pick-and-roll to get to the basket and this kind of injury will make that more difficult.
The Lakers defense was excellent in the first game of this NBA Finals and Dragic at less than his best will make this series even tougher for the underdog Heat.
Jimmy Butler OK after turning ankle in Game 1
Dragic seems to be the most serious of the Miami injuries, but he certainly wasn’t the only one as all of Miami’s biggest stars suffered some kind of ailment in Game 1. Bam Adebayo aggravated a shoulder injury in the third quarter, and Jimmy Butler turned his ankle.
Butler remained in the game following the incident, which occurred just before halftime. “Little bit sore,” he said after the loss. “I’ll be OK with some treatment. I’ll get ready to go again. I think I got to be ready to go.
“So we’ll see how it feels [Thursday], but I’m going to be fine.”
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