ORLANDO (AFP) – Miami Heat star Goran Dragic said he is unlikely to be fit to play in Tuesday’s NBA Finals game four but is hopeful he may recover in time to feature later in the series.
Dragic, who has been sidelined since suffering a torn plantar fascia in his left foot in game one last Wednesday, said he was pessimistic of being fit enough to play on Tuesday.
“How I feel right now, it’s probably low,” Dragic said when asked to give a percentage chance of his playing on Tuesday.
“They told me that it can change day-to-day. It’s just a matter of comfort, and if I can push off my leg. I do have to admit, it’s better than it was. We’ll just see how it’s going to react in the near future.”
Dragic admitted however that despite the improvement, he remained in pain and did not want to risk harming Miami’s chances if he was less than fully fit.
“I’m dealing with a lot of pain, so that’s the main concern,” he said. ”I don’t want to be a liability there on the floor for my team. I want to be the best that I can be.
”The only thing what I can do right now is to be on top of my treatments. Basically I’m doing that 24/7, and try to be back on the floor with my team.”
Dragic meanwhile said he had struggled to watch from the sidelines since suffering the injury.
The Lakers romped to victory in games one and two, before the Heat won game three on Sunday in the best-of-seven series.
“It’s not the easiest thing right now for me to sit down on the sideline and watch my team, how they are battling, how they are playing well, and of course I want to be out there,” Dragic said.
“Most of the times I ask myself, I ask the guy above us why it has to happen right now. It’s tough.”
Miami are also sweating on the fitness of Bam Adebayo, who remains sidelined after suffering a neck injury in game one which also ruled him out of games two and three.
Adebayo said Monday the injury remained ”day-to-day”.
“I’m trying to get back as quickly as possible,” Adebayo said.
“They’re just trying to make sure I’m safe and I’m ready to play. It’s really day-to-day. When they say I’m ready to play, I’ll be out there.”
“Tomorrow I could play; tomorrow they might tell me no. I don’t know yet. I’m just trying to do everything I can necessary to just be prepared for when I do get to play.”
