The Miami Heat are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference with their 16-10 record, but they are dealing with a bunch of nagging injuries. Goran Dragic is one of the Heat players dealing with an injury as he officially has a sore hand at the moment, but he thinks there might be some ligament damage in his thumb although he has not gotten an MRI on it yet, according to Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald.
Dragic is currently listed as a game-time decision for Miami's game against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, and if he can't go it will leave the Heat thin at point guard. Miami has already ruled out backup point guard Tyler Johnson for the game as he is dealing with a shoulder strain which has had him in and out of the lineup. If Dragic needs to miss this game that would leave Beno Udrih, who was acquired via trade earlier this season, as the last true point guard standing.
Dragic's injury is not considered serious, and the team says he just has a sore hand, but Dragic thinks his thumb has some ligament damage. Dragic has yet to miss any time due to this injury; in fact he has started all 26 games for the Heat this season, but he says the thumb hurts when he catches the ball and plays defense. Dragic also said the injury does not affect his ability to dribble or shoot.
Dragic is in his first full season with the Heat after signing a five-year, $85 million deal this offseason, and so far he has been a bit underwhelming. Dragic isn't the first option on the team, so his numbers were expected to go down a little, bit but he is averaging just 11.3 points and 5.3 assists per game. Dragic averaged 16.6 points per game in 26 contests with the Heat last year, and the drop-off can be attributed to his shooting percentages which are 44 percent from the field and 26 percent from three, down from 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
The Heat need Dragic on the court considering their current lack of depth at point guard, and the good news is Dragic doesn't believe the injury will get worse. The best thing for the thumb is rest, but until Johnson is healthy enough to play Miami really doesn't have any options at the point, so don't expect Dragic to miss much time, if he misses any at all.
