Goran Dragic has also been ruled out for Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals.
Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals was an absolute rout, with the Los Angeles Lakers asserting their dominance over an underdog, injury-stricken Miami Heat squad in an 18-point blowout that wasn’t even that close.
Game 2 might follow a similar blueprint.
After Bam Adebayo was unfortunately ruled out for Friday’s Game 2 with a shoulder strain, Goran Dragic (left plantar fascia tear) is set to join him on the sidelines, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania:
In essence, the Heat will be missing two of their best three players heading into a pivotal Game 2 while trailing 1-0 in the series.
Goran Dragic is out for Game 2, and everything’s worse now
Game 1 was an eye-opener as far as the Lakers’ 3-point shooting, solid bench play and Anthony Davis’ outright dominance were concerned, but a healthy Heat squad has shown its resilience throughout this surprising Finals run.
Unfortunately, the “healthy” part took a nasty turn in the series opener, and it could prevent what might have been a fun matchup from ever getting up off the ground. Heading into the championship round, Dragic was Miami’s leading scorer in the postseason, averaging 20.9 points per game and playing some of the best basketball of his career as a lead attacker and penetrator off the dribble.
With Miami’s most important two-way player sidelined in Adebayo, and Dragic now set to join him on the bench, the Heat will be missing quite a bit of oomph on both ends of the floor. Against the likes of LeBron James and a peaking AD, this could spell bad news for Miami and any NBA fans who were hoping for a longer, more entertaining series.