Goran Dragic will miss at least three games with a strained left calf, the Miami Heat announced.
Update – Thursday, Jan. 14: Goran Dragic’s MRI revealed a Grade 1 calf strain, according to Yahoo Sports reporter Shams Charina. Dragic has been sent home by the Heat and won’t be with them for the remainder of their road trip. The earliest he could play is Tuesday when the Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks.
Miami's Goran Dragic had MRI today revealing Grade 1 mild calf strain, sources tell Yahoo. Dragic will be reevaluated in one week.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 14, 2016
Although the Miami Heat have managed to avoid falling victim to a plethora of injuries as they did last season, there may be bad news on the horizon regarding point guard Goran Dragic.
While he is unsure of exactly when the injury occurred, Dragic strained his left calf sometime during the team’s Monday night 111-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has confirmed that Dragic underwent an initial set of tests on Tuesday in Los Angeles, which fortunately ruled out a tear. However, he is flying back to Miami today to get a MRI, in order to further determine a more detailed diagnosis; this means that he will miss the remainder of the Heat’s West Coast road trip.
"“It’s a bad strain,” Dragic said earlier today. “Hopefully it’s nothing worse. I don’t know which move when it happened. It just started hurting. It’s frustrating. Of course, I want to be here to help the team, but it’s a part of the game. I’ll just try to get healthy as fast as possible.”"
Miami plays the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, before facing the Denver Nuggets on Friday, and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. They will then finally head home, to host the Milwaukee Bucks next Tuesday.
Big man Hassan Whiteside has also been dealing with an injury of his own. Sidelined for over a week, the center has been experiencing knee pain, after getting banged up during play. When the issue first presented itself, Whiteside explained:
"“I really felt like I couldn’t really do anything, as far as running or jumping.”"
He is currently a game-time decision, for tonight.
In lieu of Dragic’s absence, both Beno Udrih and Tyler Johnson will need to step up.
Teammate Dwyane Wade, who has obviously gotten close to Dragic, was asked about how the team will fair now, moving forward.
"“I don’t know. I really don’t. We’ll see man. I think we’ll be fine. We’re going to miss what he brings especially in transition and in attack. Hopefully what the other guys bring — it’s not going to be Goran — but its effective enough and it helps our team.”"
The guard was also asked what role he will play, in trying to fill the void left behind by Dragic.
"“I play the game the same. Some nights I come out really facilitate. Some nights I come out and really attack. Some nights I do both at the same time. I think its moreso going to be on Beno and how he approaches the game and what he feels he needs to do to get guys going, but also be aggressive because he can score the basketball. We need that position to be able to score as well. It will be more so on those guys than myself or Chris [Bosh].”"
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Both the organization as well as the fans are anxiously awaiting to see what the MRI results will say, and hoping for the best for Dragic. Nothing else is known at the time, regarding the extent of his strain or how long he will be out for.