Foot pain forces Dragic to sit out

Udonis Haslem appreciates what it is to have and to have lost LeBron James . . . and to have endured.

MIAMI — Sometimes the treatment proves more troublesome than the injury. And sometimes the lack of a Plan B provides a window in to the composition of a roster.

Both were at play for Saturday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, with Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic sidelined by ongoing discomfort in his right foot.

The initial plan, after two days away from the practice court, was for Dragic to return to Saturday morning’s shootaround. Instead, he was held out of that session and ruled out for Saturday’s game, with the hope for a return Monday against the Detroit Pistons, on the final stop of this three-game trip.

“He was going to,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of participating in the shootaround, “but it just still was tender. We looked at him and told him to sit it out. Jay [Sabol, the Heat trainer] and I made the decision, ‘Let’s give it another day or two.’ ”

Dragic received a cortisone shot Wednesday after playing in backto-back losses Monday against the Sacramento Kings and Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

“It’s calmed down a little bit, but it’s still sore,” he said Saturday. “It’s basically the area where the cortisone shot is, there is not a lot cushion. It’s straight into the joint. That’s probably why it’s so sore still.”

Dragic, 32, said the pain is pronounced while he is running.

“I feel like it’s frustrating,” he said, “but just need to think about the future. So it’s still sore, so hopefully go day by day and see what happens.”

Spoelstra said the team would revisit the situation Sunday in Detroit.

“We just want to get another day, see how he feels,” he said.

Dragic is the lone true point guard on the roster, with the team bypassing a second such option because of the ballhandling and playmaking possibilities of Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson and Dwyane Wade, as well as sidelined Dion Waiters and James Johnson. Among those released by the Heat at the end of training camp was defensiveminded point guard Briante Weber.

“We have a lot of ball handlers,” Spoelstra said. “If anything, our roster has as much depth with ball handling and playmaking as any conventional team would with specific point guards.

“Additionally, the league is changing. It really is becoming less position oriented. I’m having enough challenges getting the ball spread around to guys. It seems like half of my roster wants to bring the ball up and initiate offense. So when Goran is out, it will give other guys opportunities to do that. But that extends to our frontcourt. We have frontcourt players that also handle the ball quite a bit.”

Dragic previously said he has been experiencing the pain since training camp. He said he initially was told the pain from the cortisone shot would “calm down” in 48 hours. He said an MRI taken last month came back negative. He missed seven games last season: three with a sore left elbow, two with a bruised left knee, one with a sprained right ankle and one with a sore knee.

G League success: The Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, opened their season Friday night with a 112-101 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants that included contributions from several players who spent time in camp with the Heat.

Both of the undrafted forwards on Heat two-way contracts started. Yante Maten closed with 20 points and six rebounds, with Duncan Robinson finishing with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

Weber, who started at point guard, filled the box score with 18 points, eight steals, eight assists and six rebounds.

Heat general manager Andy Elisburg and Heat vice president of player personnel Adam Simon attended.

“It was cool to see a lot of guys involved in that win, a lot of contributions,” Spoelstra said. “For any team in any league at any level to be really successful it’s going to require some sacrifice. There’s a lot of talent on that team. A lot of guys with big aspirations.

“To get what everyone wants, it’s all about the success of the team and giving to the team. That was a good start.”

DON EMMERT/GETTY If you didn’t know better, you would think former Detroit Pistons nemesis Rasheed Wallace was a long-time friend of the Heat. First there were his offseason workouts in North Carolina with Heat center Bam Adebayo. Now Wallace has been offering tutorials to the New York Knicks, part of the changes there with former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale taking over as Knicks coach. “We’ll bring him out periodically throughout the year or he’ll meet us in places,” Fizdale told the New York media. “It’s a great injection of energy and IQ. And the guys really like him.”The Heat, with Hassan Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk and Adebayo, aren’t the only team in the Southeast Division trying to find a way to make it work with three big men. The Charlotte Hornets also are coming to terms with carrying Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez. “We’re still searching, [but] I like the dilemma I have,” first-year Hornets coach James Borrego told the Charlotte Observer in advance of the Heat’s visit. “These are some good centers, and we’re not even playing one of them.” That would be former first-round pick Frank Kaminsky, who went one pick ahead of the Heat’s Justise Winslow at No. 9 in the 2015 NBA draft. “For some of the guys it can be frustrating at times, but we’re looking for the right combination.”The Heat were not alone in failing to keep pace with the Sacramento Kings this past week. The Orlando Magic got a similar dose of breakneck defeat the following night. “There are always a lot of teams that run the ball hard on misses, but after made baskets, literally, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team play this fast,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. As point guard De’Aaron Fox told the Sacramento Bee, “We just try to wear teams out. We’ve seen it in a couple of games. We’ve seen some teams kind of break down in the fourth quarter and we try to keep running.”