NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 5, 2020

Goran Dragic

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. Can you update us on if it's feeling any better, and also your emotions last night watching Jimmy do what he did?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, I'm doing everything what I can do. It does feel better than when it happened. But you know, we'll see. I mean, I don't have no timetable yet.

But if I go back to last night's performance by Jimmy, I mean, that's why he's the leader. That's why he's the heart of this team. Unbelievable performance. Happy for him, happy for us. He was just tremendous in all aspects of the game.

Q. Have they given you any indication of whether or not playing on it could lead to a longer recovery from it?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, it's already -- I damaged -- I snapped it, so it's already bad that it is. I'm dealing with a lot of pain, so that's the main concern. I don't want to be a liability there on the floor for my team. I want to be the best that I can be. It's just -- it is what it is.

Q. Goran, to sort of clarify, can you return in this series from a safety and health standpoint, or is it a matter of just it would take something unfortunately maybe miraculous at this point treatment-wise?

GORAN DRAGIC: You know, if I'm honest, I don't know. I don't know because this injury depends on how it goes. It progresses differently from other guys. The only thing what I can do right now is to be on top of my treatments. Basically I'm doing that 24/7, and try to be back on the floor with my team.

We will see. If I'm honest, I don't even have the answer to that question because I don't know.

Q. With the game tomorrow, is tomorrow definitely out? And then maybe with a two-day break a better chance thereafter?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, it definitely is a high percentage if I have a few days. But like I said, I'm making some progress, then some days I'm the same. We'll see. We'll see.

My team, they played well last night. They give me that chance that I can still fight through it and hopefully come back to the floor.

Q. When you said the first part of that answer, when you said the percentage, were you saying high percentage you would play or high percentage you wouldn't play?

GORAN DRAGIC: How I feel right now, it’s probably is low. They told me that it can change day-to-day. It's just a matter of comfort, and if I can push off my leg. I do have to admit, it's better than it was. The injury happened four days ago. We'll just see how it's going to react in the near future, and hopefully I will be back.

Q. I know you say you're in a lot of pain, but despite that, how much have you been lobbying to play through it? And were you dealing with plantar fasciitis before, or is this just an injury that came out of nowhere?

GORAN DRAGIC: I want to be out there with my team. That's no secret. That's what I was working my whole career for 12 years in the NBA.

The injury-wise, it's not new. I already played for the last two series, Milwaukee and Boston. Of course, it was not so severe. But we don't have a lot of rest in between, so I was doing all the treatment that I can, and unfortunately it happened what happened.

Q. We can hear your voice; we know you're disappointed. How are you doing emotionally? What's been going through your mind the past few days?

GORAN DRAGIC: I mean, it's not the easiest thing right now for me to sit down on the sideline and watch my team, how they are battling, how they are playing well, and of course I want to be out there. But yeah, I don't know. Most of the times I ask myself, I ask the guy above us why it has to happen right now. It's tough. It's tough. You know, try to look at it this way: everything is with a purpose, so we'll see.