The Miami Heat got lambasted in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Certainly, no help in Game 1, if they aren’t healthier by Friday’s Game 2, it’ll be a similar result.
The Miami Heat entered Wednesday’s Game 1 riding a high. After dominating their way through the NBA’s Eastern Conference, before finally running into their first semblance of a challenge in the Boston Celtics, they came into the NBA Finals with things clicking on all cylinders.
It certainly continued to look that way to start the game as the Miami Heat got out of the gates quickly. They got out to as much as a 13 point lead on the Los Angeles Lakers at one point.
That all changed though, as the Lakers began to put it on in the second quarter and never looked back. They led the game by double digits from that point on, getting out to a lead that was as memorably big as 28 points but potentially even higher.
The Miami Heat were not only let down by their defense as a whole, their zone defense specifically, and their shooting as a team on the offensive side, but their health failed them too. Jimmy Butler turned his ankle badly early on in the game and although he stayed in the game, continuing to play, he was clearly hampered by it for the remainder of the contest.
The Miami Heat got beat on Wednesday and badly. Their health might be the biggest concern heading into Friday’s Game 2 though.
Bam Adebayo reaggravated that same arm/elbow/shoulder area that he did in the Boston series. He came out to dominate the elimination game in that series, so it seemed like an afterthought at this point, but apparently it wasn’t.
Not to leave off a member of the Miami Heat’s current Big 3, Goran Dragic also sustained an injury that appears to potentially be serious. After halftime, the Miami Heat’s microwave never returned to the floor.
He did appear to glare or look down at his lower body extremity area at one point, a typically bad sign when talking about a lower extremity injury, but things aren’t clear as of yet. While some reports said he was awaiting the results of an x-ray, Miami Heat insider Greg Sylvander had this early report.
I’m hearing Dragic is likely done for the series.
— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) October 1, 2020
Working to 100% confirm but not looking good from what I’m told.
While the Miami Heat were taken to the woodshed on Wednesday night, it’s not as bad as it seems if they are at least somewhat healthy moving forward. This is a tough team and one bad defeat actually shouldn’t deflate them, it should only motivate them.
If they are healthy enough on Friday, they can take that motivation and act on it. Again though, let’s pray and hope for health for everyone but especially for our three stars. That’s why the Miami Heat injuries are the biggest takeaway from Game 1 of the NBA Finals.