Although Heat point guard Goran Dragic was active for Game 6 and was able to play 19 minutes on Sunday, he was limited by his torn left plantar fascia. After the game, he told reporters that the injury – which he suffered in Game 1 of the Finals – won’t require surgery and that it should heal on its own now that he has plenty of time for rest and rehab.
“The one thing I didn’t have (until now) was time,” Dragic told reporters, including Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Dragic will be a free agent this offseason and will be able to sign with any team. However, his comments after the game suggested he’ll be looking to re-sign with the Heat. In a message to fans on Twitter, he said of the Heat, “What we’ve built is something special and we’ll be back!”
Heat star Jimmy Butler, for one, would welcome Dragic back with open arms. Butler said after the game that he wishes he could play with the veteran point guard “forever,” according to Jackson (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Despite making the Finals and getting to within two games of a championship as a No. 5 seed, Butler said on Sunday night that the team fell short of its goals for the season. “I told them that I would win them (a title) and I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain, so that means I got to do it next year,” Butler said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “I told Coach Pat (Riley), I told Coach Spo (Erik Spoelstra) I’m here to win one. I didn’t do my job, so moving forward, I got to hold up my end of the bargain.” Butler also reiterated a point he has made in the past, stating after the loss that playing for the Heat is “where I belong.”
- While the Heat’s magical Walt Disney World run was cut short a couple wins shy of a title, the team is well-positioned to enjoy more success in the coming years, writes Manny Navarro of The Athletic.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks previews the Heat’s upcoming offseason, including the team’s decisions on a possible rookie scale extension for Bam Adebayo and new contracts for veteran free agents Jae Crowder and Dragic.
How can you not like Butler? Love that determination. They have a good chance at the No. 1 seed if they continue what they’ve been doing in the second half of the season.
he was right when he was here in minny, but the way he went about things probably could have been handled better. still wish we had him tho, we’ll be left to wonder what him and towns could have done together.
Did he really need to handle things better when he fits right into what the Heat have been doing?
Look at both teams’ cultures and that should answer the question.
It was a mistake playing Dragic. He looked so off.
Dragic should go to Dallas. Regardless if the Heat were at full strength they still probably lose in 7 games. Lakers were on a mission. Hopefully the Dodgers are as well this year.
Very much agreed. Obviously he’s not the reason the Heat were blown out by like 20-30 points but he definitely made the team worse. He could barely even run.
To be fair, everyone wearing a black jersey looked off last night.
That’s about what Mark Jackson said yeasterday— nobody looked good on either offense or defense— and they were only in the second quarter! Maybe third. But I doubt he was supposed to say that. Breen almost did when Butler was missing free throws.
I agree. Part of it was the Lakers and part of it was the Heat. I told my son last night as we were watching on TV that Miami just didn’t look like themselves. Probably fatigue from the previous games wore them down. But they accomplished so much more than I thought they would at the beginning of the playoffs. As a Lakers fan I am very happy and want to say that the Heat have so much earned my respect. It is crazy that we won the title the first year back in the playoffs after such a drought. Anything can happen and next year should be a blast. The surprises are what makes the NBA so hard to predict and so much fun to watch. Congratulations to both teams for their great seasons and entertaining finals!
Congrats to the Lakers.
It has been a fun season for the Heat and the Marlins here in Miami. So proud of both teams this year.
I love Dragic but I think Nunn and Herro should be given ample playing time next year at the 1 and 2. Or I’d try to get Oladipo for a package of Nunn, DJJ and Olynyk….
When it comes to Dragic, I’d rather re-sign Crowder if it came down to a decision based on cap space/duration. Hopefully we can snag Giannis come 2021 as well but all in all, this team is building something special.
I’m up for letting Nunn and Herro play instead of picking up Oladipo. I want to keep the cap favoring us going in for Giannis to combine with our kids and Jimmy. With the right contract agreements, it can all fit and the team is there for a championship with a more advanced Nunn, Herro and Adebayo, along with Butler all supporting Giannis.
Great season by the HEAT. Easily, easily over achieved.
It’s funny that only a few among ESPN and those covering the games, point out that the LAKERS are practically playing against 3 rookies, a young upcoming center, 2 aged vets who got to the team at the trade deadline and Jimmy. Dragic, injured of course.
The narrative, as usual, has always been about LeBron.
Except, for the 1st and last ones, all the Finals games were relatively close. All those rookies making LeBron sweat.
Its funny to think that it took the LAKERS vets, Rondo, Pope, a Game 6 to realize that the lanes were wide open for them.
Skip Bayless is a putz, but some do get it right sometimes. LeBron got an easy path this year, besides his puppet-master work of getting AD.
Miss those good ole days when players just let the chips fall where it falls.
No insider trading, knowing your role. Letting the GM’s do their jobs.
3 rookies…??? Nunn,herro,and….???
Duncan more or less still a rookie …….. mostly G-League last year.
Funny that you still had to ask …….. it should be clear enough, to those who play of follow hoops.
Its still not a rookie.he played 15games with 1 start.10mpp.and practically lakers play against a team which can beat the best team in the east.to bad the heat got those injuried.it would be very thight final.
The TV sports “news” uses LJ as a go-to or tentpole for ratings. I don’t like it either as it seems kind of desperate and dehumanizing not to mention ad-supporting. I rarely watch that or pre-, post-, or half-time shows so to not get tired of it all!
I think the TNT halftime panel has made a comeback though with humor. Barkely is just making noises at this point. {I exaggerate}
Does anyone sees a reunion with Whiteside? He ended in bad terms in Miami I heard some rumors about him and his agent trying to make things up here, for the right price he can help Bam down the post, he wouldn’t be needed for anything else as we have a young core who can score. Maybe Gallinari rumors also? lets put some fire to this offseason before Giannis sweepstakes.
Whiteside, hell no.
Even a half-injured Nurkic was played over lazy-bones Hassan in PORTLAND.
Riley tried to get Gallo last trade deadline, OKC probably asked for Herro, which closed negotiations fast.
It will be extremely hard to get back to the Finals next season with KD and Kyrie in Brooklyn and Ben and Joel in Philly. I like Tyler Herro just not sure he is the third piece to go with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Miami could have pushed a game 7 if they won game 4 when Lbj and AJ were soooo down. Spo 1st half of game 6 is pretty bad no Olinyk, no zone defense from -10 to -30
We are constantly given the “Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA” from various pundits. Maybe. But he could use an assistant whose sole responsibility is waking him up about who he’s taken out of the game and forgot about on the bench. Time after time, his substitutions brought the Celtics back in the game. The finals weren’t much better. His entering of Dragic in the game while Herro and Robinson sat on the pine allowed the Lakers to quickly get away and roll to a big lead. I like Dragic, and I felt his anguish after being hurt. But this wasn’t the moment, and not with the lineup on the floor.
If this was a one game mistake, it’d be one thing, but sheesh. These were the Lakers. You’re battling for a game 7