The NBA Finals lost a bit of intrigue in Game 1 when the Heat, in the midst of a blowout loss, saw two of their star players go down with injuries. Goran Dragic left the game with what was eventually determined to be a plantar fascia tear of his left foot, with Bam Adebayo leaving in the third quarter with a neck strain.
Both players were held out of Game 2, with mild hope that they could play later in the series. The Heat lost Game 2 despite a valiant effort to keep things relatively close in the second half, but the talent discrepancy without Adebayo and Dragic was simply too great. In Game 3, the Heat will once again have to find a way to scrap their way to a win without the services of their All-Star big man and former All-Star point guard, as the team announced both would be sitting out again.
#LALvsMIA INJURY UPDATE: Bam Adebayo (neck) & Goran Dragic (foot) have both been ruled out of tonight's #NBAFinals Game 3 vs the Lakers.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 4, 2020
It’s an extremely unfortunate way for this Finals to be taking place, as the Lakers won Game 1 emphatically, injuries or not, but the Heat not being at full strength puts a damper on the excitement that the series began with. Miami was on one of the great playoff runs we’ve seen from an unexpected contender, and for them to not have a shot at the Lakers with their full squad is a disappointment. Still, as Erik Spoelstra said after Game 2, they don’t care what expectations are, they still feel they need to go out and win, with or without Adebayo and Dragic.
