Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic and big man Bam Adebayo are both listed as doubtful for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, it was announced Thursday.
Dragic has a plantar fascia tear in his left foot, while an MRI for Adebayo revealed a neck strain following Wednesday’s 116-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1.
Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler, who turned his left ankle at the end of the first half Wednesday night, was wearing a wrap on his left ankle Thursday during a press conference with reporters.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven NBA Finals is Friday (9 p.m. ET, ABC).
Despite all the setbacks, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his team have prided themselves on not using excuses throughout the season. That attitude hasn’t changed as the Heat attempt to regroup in the series.
“At this point, it’s all hands on deck,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “And it’s not like the guys that were potentially sliding into the rotation haven’t played before; these guys have confidence and have played big roles for us all year long. Our depth has been one of our biggest strengths. It’s not just coach-speak. We’ve utilized our depth all year long.
“The other benefit of all of this is, we’ve been in this bubble with an extra training camp, and everybody’s gotten great work in, regardless of whether they’ve gotten big-time minutes in these playoff series. We’ll just have to see tomorrow who’s available and make the adjustments accordingly.”
Like Spoelstra, Butler remained confident that his beleaguered team would rise to the challenge once more in the postseason.
“You talk about adversity — I mean, for us, we thrive in that,” Butler said. “And I say it all the time, if you look at … Everybody probably thought they were gonna do that to us anyway. They probably think they’re gonna do it to us three more times in a row.
“I beg to differ. Nobody picked us to be here. Like I said, we embrace it. We love it. But we know that we can win; we do. But we know that we gotta play perfect, man. We can’t not rebound and not get back. So coming into Game 2, all the adversity, backs against the wall, yadda, yadda, yadda — we’re gonna win.”
Adebayo, who has averaged 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds during the postseason, clutched his shoulder as he exited with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter of Game 1. He was briefly examined on the sideline before heading back to the locker room for X-rays, which were negative, the Heat said.
He played 21 minutes in the Game 1 loss, scoring just eight points and grabbing four rebounds.
Adebayo, 23, initially injured his shoulder in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston Celtics, saying only that he was “good” when asked to clarify exactly what the injury was. After appearing tentative at times in Game 5 and taking blame for the loss to the Celtics, Adebayo carried the Heat into The Finals with a career high 32 points and 14 rebounds in a Game 6 closeout win.
Spoelstra on Thursday said Adebayo’s injury in Game 1 against the Lakers was not the same left shoulder/wrist issue he has been dealing with since the Celtics series.
“They say when it’s bad, ‘when it rains, it pours,'” Butler said. “All in all, though, we’re still expecting to win. We got here for a reason.”
Butler acknowledged he thinks “there was a lot of nerves” during the young group’s first appearance together in The Finals.
“We realize we belong, but we also realize how well we have to play on both ends of the floor to give ourselves a chance to win,” Butler continued. “Obviously, we definitely need those two guys, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve always said ‘next man up’ when a man goes down, and right now we’re definitely gonna have to do that.
“But I think it’s tough to lose your minds moving at a thousand miles per hour, obviously not sleeping. But it’s just because we all care, we all want to win, we all want to be champions.”
Dragic had just six points and three assists in 15 minutes Wednesday, well below his playoff scoring average of 19.9 points per game. He appeared to suffer the injury during the second quarter while driving against Rajon Rondo, but he didn’t exit the game immediately.
According to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Dragic left the locker room after halftime and was nearly at the entrance to the court before a team staffer stopped him. The 34-year-old guard then went back to the locker room and did not return.
Butler said he spoke to Dragic after the injury and knows how much it is hurting him not being out there with his teammates.
“Obviously we want him out there with us,” Butler said. “We know that. We need him. He’s been huge for us in the playoffs, all year long, in the sense of doing whatever he was asked to do — come off the bench, start, score, facilitate, whatever.
“But it’s bigger than basketball. We care about him as a person. We want him to be right. I can talk to him as much as I can, but you can hear that pain in his voice — of him feeling like he may have let us down. But he did not, and I want him to know that. He’s carried us to this point, and it’s only our duty to pay that back to him right now.”
Dragic’s status for the remainder of the series is uncertain, and the Heat will likely look to rookie guard Kendrick Nunn to pick up the slack.
Nunn earned praise throughout the regular season by averaging 15.3 points per game, but Spoelstra has not leaned on him nearly as much in the bubble, giving more minutes to veterans Dragic and Jae Crowder and sharpshooters Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.
Nunn’s arrival in the bubble was delayed after both he and Adebayo tested positive for COVID-19. Nunn fell out of the rotation early in the postseason and now appears to have a chance to play on the game’s biggest stage.
“I don’t think I need a speech or anything like that because I’m ready,” Nunn said Thursday. “I’m ready to play. I’ve been ready. I’ve been doing it all season. I have to step up, it’s as simple as that. Some guys are down and I’ll be ready to play, compete and go out there and try to get a win.”
Veteran Kelly Olynyk, who has also struggled to find time in Spoelstra’s rotation of late, is the likely candidate to get more minutes if Adebayo can’t play. In 13 postseason games in the bubble, Olynyk is averaging 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Nick Friedell contributed to this report.