[jwplayer 2Ux7FWhW]
Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic missed four games during the NBA Finals due to a left foot injury but that doesn’t mean the 12-year veteran wasn’t helping his team while he was off of the court.
Dragic tore his left plantar fascia during Game 1 of the NBA Finals and missed the next four games before returning on Sunday in Game 6 versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Prior to the injury, Dragic had been playing magnificently, even leading the Heat in scoring to that point of the postseason.
He recorded five points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 18 minutes during Game 6 as the Lakers closed out the Heat to win their 17th championship. While Dragic was injured on the bench, though, he said he was constantly talking to rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn to offer tips and feedback.
Tried to be, tried to talk to Tyler and K-Nunn as much as possible. Those fellas had a tremendous playoff. They played well. And, you know, do whatever it takes. If I cannot be on the floor with my team, try to be there for them, try to tell them what I see and stay engaged through the whole game.
After Game 6, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra commended Dragic as one of the veterans on the team that helped Herro and Nunn throughout the year. Spoelstra pointed to Dragic, Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem as key players this year in terms of mentoring the younger guys on the roster.
The display by Dragic to help Herro and Nunn proved to be yet another example of the strong chemistry the Heat had all season long. The end result wasn’t there, of course, but the Heat proved to be one of the best stories to surface from the season.
[lawrence-related id=23281,23258,23254]
[vertical-gallery id=22963]