Game 1 of the NBA Finals was extremely disheartening to watch given the injury count for Miami Heat. Although Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler are not ruled out of the Finals against LA Lakers, Miami Heat fans have a reason to worry as X-Ray results are not very promising for Goran Dragic.
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1311503067364446208?s=20
Dragic left the game early on in the second half due to foot injury resulting from a drive to the rim. It looked an awful lot like Kevin Durant’s injury from the 2019 playoffs. The X-Ray revealed it to be a planter tear, not Achilles which is a sigh of relief. Miami Heat was trailing by 17 points to begin the second half, and they needed Goran Dragic to make a comeback. Before Dragic’s foot injury, Jimmy Butler had a scary ankle twist in the second quarter however, he returned to play in the third.
Goran Dragic qualified for the NBA Finals first time in his 12-year career with 5 different teams. He’s been with Miami Heat since 2016 and became an all-star as well. Even though his 2019-20 regular season performance was not promising, Dragic improved tremendously in the playoffs. Scoring 20.9 points per game in the postseason with occasional 30-point games as opposed to just 16 in the regular season, Goran Dragic is making a name for himself in the playoffs.
There is a strange correlation between Dragic’s numbers and Miami Heat’s win percentage. Every time The Dragon scores with poor efficiency, Miami lost the game which happened once against Milwaukee Bucks and twice with Boston Celtics.
Per Gragg Slybander, Miami Heat sideline reporter, X-Ray results are not in Heat’s favour ruling Goran Dragic out for the rest of the series.
Goran Dragic is “likely done for the series”. per @GregSylvander
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) October 1, 2020
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Severity of Bam Adabeyo’s injury still unclear
In addition to Goran Dragic’s horrific injury in the second half, Bam Adebayo’s collision with LeBron James left him squirming on the floor. He suffered a strain on the same shoulder he was struggling with against Boston Celtics.
He is arguably the most improved player this season offensively as well as defensively. Bam’s triple-double in Game 6 of the eastern conference finals clinched the series for Miami Heat. This is his third year in the NBA and he started all 72 games this season as opposed to only 18 last season. He was a front runner in the DOPY race as well as the MIP race, if this isn’t improvement then what is?
His points, rebounds, and steals have all gone up in the postseason which is a hallmark of a great player. He is currently averaging a double-double starting every game for the Miami Heat.
After he left the game in the third quarter, he was ruled out for the rest of the game. The severity of the injury is still unclear as his return for Game 2 hangs in the air.
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