- Miami look to rebound from lopsided Game 1 loss to LA
- Short-handed Heat rule Adebayo, Dragić out for Game 2
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“I’ve had to play the role of not just head coach but almost a parent the last 24 hours,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says of the decision to rule out Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragić during his pre-game availability. “These two guys are really amazing. Like everyone in our locker room, there’s a real special sense of brotherhood and responsibility and they’re both lobbying to play. Ultimately, I had to take the decision out of their hands for tonight.”
He continued: “We have other guys obviously that will get an opportunity tonight and we have learned over the course of really the last three or four
months you expect the unexpected. The world has changed and so many things have been thrown at us in the last three or four months, I think our level of grit and perseverance has been tested and proven and it will be again tonight.”
Miami will be down two starters for tonight’s Game 2 after Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragić were both ruled out with injuries.
More from the AP:
Adebayo is dealing with issues with his left shoulder and the left side of his neck. Dragić tore his left plantar fascia in Game 1.
Both were evaluated and treated multiple times Thursday and Friday, without enough improvement to give either of them a chance to get on the floor for Game 2. The Lakers won Game 1 easily, 116-98.
