South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Hoping for Dragic’s return
While the odds of Goran Dragic rejoining the Miami Heat during their seven-game trip were minimal once the team departed South Florida on Feb. 10, in light of coronavirus travel protocols, hope remains for a rapid reunion upon the Heat’s return after Monday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Based on the severity of Dragic’s sprained left ankle, the Heat were positioned to receive a hardship exception from the NBA had they applied at the start of their trip, with Avery Bradley, Chris Silva and Meyers Leonard already in the midst of extended absences at the time. That would have allowed the Heat to add an additional player without a roster cut.
Such a move, however, also would have required Dragic to sit out two full weeks, which would have meant being ineligible, regardless of the status of his ankle, for Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at AmericanAirlines Arena. So the Heat bypassed the opportunity to sign the likes of Isaiah Thomas or another available player.
Since Dragic is not with the team for Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, that makes it eight consecutive games sidelined since he was injured in the Feb. 5 home victory over the Washington Wizards.
“I think we’ve missed him a ton,” Heat center Kelly Olynyk said. “He was unbelievable for us in that playoff run last year.
“And when he played this year, he just settles us down, making plays. He’s a vet. He knows how this game goes, and he’s someone we definitely miss in a lot of areas.
“Obviously, we can’t wait to get him back. He’s someone that kind of takes us over the top, especially coming off the bench in that second unit. He makes sure there’s no drop-offs.”
Kendrick Nunn has stepped into the void with Dragic out but appreciates what has been missing.
“Goran is a big piece for us,” Nunn sad. “We miss him, of course.”
Dragic has appeared in only three games since Jan. 25, having also been sidelined for three games with a strained left groin.
Reunion time: Saturday’s game delivered Heat assistant coach Caron Butler back to where he spent time as a Lakers broadcast analyst last season.
That had him reminiscing ahead of Saturday night’s nationally televised game.
“It seemed like it was last week, actually,” Butler said in a Spectrum SportsNet interview of his time working on Lakers playoff broadcasts. “All of a sudden being on the sideline now is just a different element to it. But I’m so blessed to be doing what I’m doing.”
Butler said the coaching opportunity had been a long time coming since his brief playing tenure with the Heat, through conversation with Heat President Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra.
“It was a combination of Spo and Riles,” said Butler, who also played for the Lakers. “They reached out. It happened from watching [the Lakers’ broadcast team] evaluate the game.
“Riles had reached out and said it’s a great opportunity. And Spo, we had been reaching out and connecting for quite some time, probably over the last three, four years.
“And it just so happened I was like, ‘You know what? All right, let’s do it.’ ”
Ticket time: The Heat on Saturday put a limited number of individual-game tickets on sale at Heat.com for their four games at AmericanAirlines Arena between Wednesday and March 2 (versus the Raptors, Jazz, Hawks, Hawks). In order to make such purchases:
Prior to viewing the ticket locations, terms and conditions related to the pandemic must be agreed to.
Tickets purchased will be mobile-only entry, accessed via the Heat app.
Due to physical-distancing protocols, seating is limited. Tickets are based on availability and inventory may sell out quickly.
Tickets are sold in groups of two and four, called “pods.” All seats in a pod must be purchased. There is a four-ticket-per-game limit.
Tickets can be transferred to guests.
Parking passes inside arena P2 Garage are available for purchase.
Arena lounge areas remain closed.