Goran Dragic was expected to return to the court today but because of lingering foot pain, he won’t practice with the Heat nor play in the game against the Hawks tonight.
“I feel like it’s frustrating but just need to think about the future. So it’s still sore, so hopefully, go day by day and see what happens,” Dragic said (via Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel).
Miami hopes Dragic will be able to play against Detroit on Sunday, though the team will continue to take the long view rather than rushing him back on the court. While Dragic is the only true point guard on the roster, coach Erik Spoelstra believes the team has all it needs despite not having another traditional floor general.
“We have a lot of ball handlers,” Spoelstra said. “If anything, our roster has as much depth with ball handling and playmaking as any conventional team would with specific point guards.
“Additionally, the league is changing. It really is becoming less position oriented. I’m having enough challenges getting the ball spread around to guys. It seems like half of my roster wants to bring the ball up and initiate offense. So when Goran is out, it will give other guys opportunities to do that. But that extends to our frontcourt. We have frontcourt players that also handle the ball quite a bit.”
Miami had a Briante Weber, an experience, defensive-minded point guard, on the roster during training camp but elected to release him.
Heat defense needs James Johnson back soonish