LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 30: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat fight for a rebound during the first quarter in Game One of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 30, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI – The Miami Heat confirmed Friday that Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic will miss game two of the NBA Finals as the Heat try to rebound from their opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dragic tore his left plantar fascia in the game one defeat in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
Adebayo, who already had a left shoulder problem, strained the left side of his neck in Wednesday’s championship series opener.
“These two guys are really amazing,” Spoelstra said. “Like everybody in our locker room, there’s a real special sense of brotherhood and responsibility. They were both lobbying to play and we ultimately had to take the decision out of their hands for tonight.
“So 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 (Friday).
Spoelstra said he had every confidence in guard Kendrick Nunn and center Meyers Leonard, noting both started more than 60 games during the season.
“These are not easy losses by any stretch of the imagination,” Spoelstra said. “But the guys that we’ll be plugging in had major roles for us during the course of the year.”
But the loss of Dragic and Adebayo was a big blow to the hopes of the fifth-seeded Heat as they seek to rebound from a 116-98 loss in game one.