Goran Dragic active for Game 6 vs. Lakers [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Oct. 11, 5:47 p.m. — So we’re not 100% sure if Dragic will play, but reports are saying that he is active for Game 6 vs. the Lakers on Sunday night. He isn’t in the starting lineup, so for now we’ll assume that he’s coming off the bench. It’s unclear how many minutes he’ll play and if he’ll make an impact, but he’s apparently OK to play.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is saying that Dragic has been told the injury can get any worse from him playing. Again, I’d be surprised if Dragic plays a ton off the bench but he’s active and available. It’s hard to trust him in DFS and really I don’t see his return impacting the betting side of things much. It’s not like Erik Spoelstra isn’t going to play Jimmy Butler 40+ minutes with the season on the line.

UPDATE: Oct. 9, 4:44 p.m. — Dragic has been ruled out for Game 5 vs. the Lakers on Friday. He has missed the past three games of the series and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to make his way back before this ends. Tyler Herro will start again and we should see Jimmy Butler spend most of his time tonight with the ball in his hands. Kendrick Nunn may get some run off the bench but with the season on the line, expect to mostly see a tight rotation from Erik Spoelstra.

UPDATE: Oct. 7, 5:43 p.m. — Dragic is being listed as doubtful to play in Game 5 vs. the Lakers on Friday. He has missed the past three games due to a tear in his left foot. Dragic tried to play in the loss in Game 4, but wasn’t able to go after testing his foot during pre-game warmups.

UPDATE, Pre-game: Dragic will not play in Game 4 vs. the Lakers on Tuesday night after testing his foot in pre-game warmups, per Shams. We’re just waiting on whether or not Bam Adebayo will play for Miami.

UPDATE, Game 4: Dragic plans on warming up prior to Game 4 vs. the Lakers on Tuesday night, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will attempt to play despite the tear in his left foot. If Dragic can tolerate the pain, he will play.

Miami Heat PG Goran Dragic told reporters Monday afternoon that it’s unlikely he’ll be able to return for Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Dragic, who has missed the past two games due to a foot injury, said that he has been experiencing pain since last round. The Heat won Game 3 and the series is now 2-1 heading into Game 4.

With Dragic out the past two games, it’s been the Jimmy Butler show for Miami. Butler is coming off a 40-point triple-double to help the Heat win Game 3 and make it a series. Bam Adebayo (shoulder strain) has also been sidelined after re-injuring himself in Game 1. Despite the two injuries, the Heat are very much in this series after a convincing victory on Sunday night.

This doesn’t change much for me in terms of betting. The Heat are 7.5 point underdogs for Game 4 right now. What they showed in Game 3 may be difficult to duplicate but we’re still awaiting word on Bam. If anything, with Dragic out the Heat are running everything through Butler, which has worked the past two games for the most part. Jimmy is 13 assists per game since Dragic went down. Before that, the Heat offense had much less flow. It also seems everyone is sort of rallying behind Butler.

In terms of DFS, Butler will be chalk again in the DraftKings Showdown. For whatever reason, his price is down $200 since Game 3, now sitting at $9,600. He’s also just $14,400 in the Captain’s spot, so again, he’ll be very high owned on Tuesday night. Kendrick Nunn ($4,200) should continue to get more playing time off the bench and he’s been the better value compared to Tyler Herro ($8,000) and Duncan Robinson ($5,000). Herro would be the pivot for Game 4. He had a miserable shooting night in Game 3 (6-18) and is due for a bounce back.