The Heat lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the injuries they sustained are far more concerning

The Heat looked overmatched in Game 1 vs. the Lakers, but injuries to Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, and Jimmy Butler are far more concerning.

The Miami Heat lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals convincingly, with the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers cruising to a 116-98 win that didn’t look much in doubt following a strong Lakers run to close out the second quarter.

The Heat struggled to get open looks, the Lakers got unbelievably hot from deep in the first half, and Los Angeles won. So it goes. A loss is a loss.

…Except the Heat suffered two, possibly three, key injuries during the game. And now Game 1 doesn’t look like a bad break for Miami; it looks like the end of the line.

The bad injury luck started in the first half, when Jimmy Butler badly rolled his right ankle while driving at Anthony Davis. Butler collapsed to the ground, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was forced to use a timeout to get him off the floor.

Butler had rolled it, but gamely kept on, and has vowed to keep playing this series, even if he did admit after the game he was in pain.

Then things got even worse.

Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo both were forced to exit the game, with Dragic suffering a plantar tear in his left foot, according to numerous reports, and Adebayo suffering a shoulder strain.

All three have vowed to try and come back and play this series … but how effective will they be?

A loss is a terrible thing in a playoff series, but the Heat have bounced back from such things before.

Injuries to arguably their three most important players? That will be tougher to overcome. The Heat were already underdogs in this series, but with Butler, Dragic, and Adebayo banged up, I’m not sure they stand much of a chance, even if the three do gamely try to play on.

Anything can happen, but things don’t look good in Miami.

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