Heat center Bam Adebayo (neck) and guard Goran Dragic (plantar fascia tear) will miss Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, the team announced on social media.
This marks the second straight game missed for both players, with the Heat currently trailing the Lakers 2-0 in the series. Adebayo and Dragic had hoped to return on Sunday, but over the past 48 hours the team had been listing them as “doubtful” to suit up.
“I can see the anguish, literally, in their eyes … they really want to be there because they love their teammates and they put their heart and soul into it,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, as relayed by Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).
Miami lost 124-114 in Game 2, starting Tyler Herro in place of Dragic and Meyers Leonard in place of Adebayo. The team struggled to protect the paint and allowed LeBron James and Anthony Davis to combine for 65 points on 29-for-45 shooting (64%).
In addition to Adebayo and Dragic, Heat star Jimmy Butler is also coping with an injury. Butler turned his ankle in the team’s Game 1 loss last week, but still managed to produce 25 points and 13 assists in nearly 45 minutes during Game 2.
It’s unclear whether Dragic or Adebayo will be ready for Game 4, which will take place on Tuesday. Adebayo, the Heat’s second All-Star, is in the midst of a career-best campaign, while Dragic has served as the team’s second-leading scorer during the postseason (19.9 points per game).
wellll, ummmm. damn. still watchn.
And uhhh, yeah.
It was totally worth it. Basketball is the greatest game ever.
Seems like the biggest question is who wins FMVP rather than who’s gonna actually win the finals lol. Sucks, I feel bad for the Heat and for these guys. I’m a Lakers fan but I would’ve loved to see it more of an evenly matched series without injuries. Don’t like to see anyone get hurt as is and definitely would’ve rather have seen a better matchup with those guys in. Heat got a good young team mixed with some experienced vets and Jimmy is the clear leader of that team. I’m happy for him more than anything. Glad he’s finally showing what he’s got, just took the right team, some young guys willing to play hard and take his lead. They’ll be in the mix again for a while with that young talent and Jimmy isn’t old himself so he has years left also. Just sucks it has to end like this with the team missing two of their better players. Glad Jimmy found a home though, been a fan of his for a while. Curious to see how they attack free agency.
Worst thing (for the Heat) is that both Dragic and Adebayo got injured with the team trailing by 30 in the 3rd quarter. They shouldn’t even haven been there.
What is the difference between last year and this year finals?
A lot is different. Last year the favourite had injuries and the underdog won the series. This year the underdog has injuries and the better team will likely win in 4-5 games instead of 5-6 games.
Ad deserves finals mvp. Best plus minus and is the anchor on defense.
Of course he does but they will still give it to LBJ
LBJ almost had a quad-double: 25 PTs, 10 RBs, 8 assists, 8 TOs
So much for the Heat getting swept. Lakers fans are nowhere to be found.
Jimmy’s built like iverson, can get 1 game by himself against the lakers in a finals. At least butler has reinforcements coming unlike ai.
Houston fans should worry about their sorry ass team
Righter here. Laker fans don’t need to hide after losing a game unlike the Rockets since they built a club that actually has the guts to survive in the playoffs.
Predicted Lakers in 6. My goodness you are one butt hurt individual. Harden and Westbrook will never win a ring. Get over it.
Just for the record: contrary to what most Lakers fans think, AD is guardable.
AD and KCP were both -26 in game 3, so much for Davis being MVP-worthy.
Bam is coming back for gm4. This ain’t over yet. How’s Philly feeling about Jimmy now. This was a great gm. Young Heat team stepped up. They all followed Jimmys lead. Duncan had a bad gm. Expect him to shoot better next gm. Bam coming back. Still a chance this can be a series. Go Heat .
Jimmy so amazing in the 3rd game.to bad gar pax traded him out from my bulls.always love him
Embiid only had one word for it: “Inspiring”
link to twitter.com
“How’s Philly feeling about him now?” Well the fans wanted him and JJ over Harris and Horford so we are still pissed not to have him. The Sixers org and FO refuses to change their behavior and realize it’s a problem so they are probably living in denial thinking that Rivers will fix Harris and that Butler won’t age well.
I wonder if they’re just scared?
They’ve played better without them. The ball moves more and there’s more spacing without Bam. Leonard and Kelly getting mins has changed the series. Spo would never have done this if Bam was still playing. Lakers should start Morris