Orlando—Injured Miami Heat stars Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were both listed as doubtful Thursday for game two of the NBA Finals, dealing a hammer blow to the franchise’s hopes of leveling the series.
A day after the Heat were pounded 116-98 by the Los Angeles Lakers in game one, Miami’s task became more daunting after confirmation of injuries to both Dragic and Adebayo.
Dragic has suffered a torn plantar fascia in his left foot while a scan revealed Adebayo is nursing a neck strain in his left side.
Both are doubtful to play on Friday, the Heat said in a statement.
Injuries to Dragic and Adebayo deprive Miami of two of the team’s most important players in their run to the finals.
Miami talisman Jimmy Butler, who rolled an ankle in Wednesday’s mauling but is fit to play on Friday, said Thursday he believed the team could bounce back.
“Knowing we may be a couple men down, other guys are going to have to step up in a big way,” Butler said. “I’m really, really excited to see how we bounce back, but I think we’re capable of it.”
Butler, meanwhile, said he had spoken to a downcast Dragic since the injury, revealing that the giant Slovenian believed he had let down his teammates.
“It’s just tough to see him in this position because he cares about the game, cares about his teammates, and he really wants to win,” Butler said.
“You can hear that pain in his voice, of him feeling like that he may have let us down, but he did not, and I want him to know that.
“He has carried us to this point, and it’s only our duty to pay that back to him right now.”
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he was confident the team possessed enough depth to remain competitive, noting that the roster had forged tight bonds inside the Orlando bubble.
“At this point, it’s all hands on deck, and it’s not like the guys that were potentially sliding into the rotation haven’t played before,” Spoelstra said.
“These guys have confidence and have played big roles for us all year long. Our depth has been one of our biggest strengths. 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 has gotten great work in, regardless of whether they’ve gotten big-time minutes in these playoffs series.
“We’ll just have to see tomorrow who’s available and make the adjustments accordingly.”
Meanwhile, Doc Rivers has reached agreement to coach the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers just three days after parting ways with the Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN reported Thursday.
Citing unnamed team sources, the US sports broadcaster reported Rivers had agreed to a five-year deal that will bring him back to the Atlantic Conference, where the Sixers are a rival of the Boston Celtics, with who Rivers won an NBA title as coach in 2009.
Clippers said on Twitter Monday that he was no longer coach of the Clippers, who squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semi-finals as they bowed out to the Denver Nuggets.
Rivers, 58, had joined the Clippers from the Celtics in 2013, but while Los Angeles were consistent playoff qualifiers under his tenure he was unable to take them beyond the Western Conference semi-finals.
ESPN reported that 76ers general manager Elton Brand reached out to Rivers and his agent, Lonnie Cooper, to gauge interest in the Philadelphia job and Rivers was soon headed to Philadelphia for meetings with the owners.
The 76ers had reportedly been focused on landing former Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni.
It’s been more than a month since the 76ers sacked Brett Brown after seven seasons after Philadelphia were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
The 76ers did not immediately confirm the signing, but star big man Joel Embiid tweeted a welcome to Rivers, saying he was “excited for the future and what we’re building here.”